If the trend of companies hiring dedicated employer brand leaders continues as it has over the past few years, 2015 is a breakout year for the employer branding industry. We will see a tipping point in employer branding in 2015.

Understanding these trending areas for employer branding will keep you focus in the right direction in a management field which is growing in importance in companies all over the world. There are three steps which will assist you to get your employer brand strategy right.

1. Five questions you must know the answer to

These questions are some great questions for candidates to ask at interview to assess how evolved the company is in their approach to employer branding.

1. Why would someone want to work for you?
2. What percentage of your managers have received training in how to deliver the brand experience? (Employer Brand International research found only 46% have!)
3. What is the perception employees and candidates have about your employer brand?
4. What level of visibility do you have of your employees/talent pool?
5. What percentage of your employees would recommend your company as a great place to work?
6. Adopt a strategic approach to employer branding across the employment lifecycle

In organisations, systems consist of people, structures, and processes that work together to make an organisation healthy or unhealthy.

Too many companies and vendors still promote employer branding as a talent acquisition and/or recruitment function. Companies adopt this perspective usually due to a lack of awareness of the benefits of employer branding across the employee life-cycle whilst vendors usually take this approach to support the business development of their products.

Focusing employer branding on talent acquisition only usually results in an improved recruitment and onboarding process that has usually very little impact on culture and/or business performance due to lack of consistency in the employee experience as they evolve through their tenure. Siloed organisational structures also do little to promote a strategic approach to employer branding, because the HR personnel don’t get along with the marketing and/or communications personnel.

Exacerbating the situation further is executives that have very little awareness of employer branding so it ends up as an operational project that lives in the HR department but has very little impact on business performance.

A strategic approach to employer branding requires a strategic perspective towards how your company attracts, engages and retains talent. Undertake an employer brand audit and/or employee experience mapping project. Hopefully, the results will inspire your leaders to change their perspective and thinking on employer brand strategy and management.

See: Employer Branding Strategies to Attract Talent

2. Be clear on what you stand for

Your organisation’s mission, vision and values should be clearly defined and this should flow through to your employer branding communications.

Two of the standout companies in this area are Apple and Starbucks. Starbucks are very clear on what they stand for and their social media and content strategy is aligned with their key strategic objectives. Starbucks don’t just sell coffee, their mission is: ‘To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.’

This is supported by their values:

‘With our partners, our coffee and our customers at our core, we live these values’:

• Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.
• Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other.
• Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect.
• Delivering our very best in all we do, holding ourselves accountable for results.
• We are performance driven, through the lens of humanity.

3. Adopt a community concept to your employer brand strategy

Many of the world’s top companies such as P&G, Mars, Chevron and Google are thinking ‘Community’ in their approach to employer branding. They adopt a strategic approach across the employment life-cycle and consider all internal and external stakeholders in developing their strategy through an integrated corporate, consumer and employer, one brand lens.

Their employer branding 3.0 approach is focused on sustainable business practices at a time where corporate sustainability is being challenged by an increased focus on ethical resource allocations across energy, water and human resources.

If you are determined to improve your company’s employer branding, community concept is currently the best choice. The concept is most likely growing in the future.

See also: Employer Branding Case Studies

Source: LinkedIn Pulse