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Employer Branding is quite
the rage these days. Yet, I’m
still amazed at what many people
think it means to “create”
an Employer Brand. Let me give
you an analogy for what I see
as a common -- and very misguided
-- approach to Employer Branding.
Engaging in this mistake doesn’t
just hamstring your ability
to become an Employer of Choice,
it will diminish employee morale,
loyalty, and engagement.
Here’s the analogy…
Several years ago, a friend
told me how much he loved his
new Audi, but then in the same
breath, how he would never buy
another one. This seemed a bit
puzzling, until he went on a
rant about his distasteful buying
experience, followed by frustrating
service experiences. Because
he bought it from the only Audi
dealer in his area, his service
alternatives would require a
long commute. Even though this
car was his all-time favorite
vehicle, he would never buy
another.
About a week later, I heard
an especially clever radio commercial
by this same dealership. After
it ended, I juxtaposed the “we’re
so wonderful” message
from the commercial with the
story my friend told me.
“Isn’t this so
typical,” I thought, “They
spend all this money and creativity
on getting people to come through
the door, only to drive them
back out by the experience they
deliver. Wouldn’t it make
sense to invest some of that
money on upgrading the service
they actually deliver?”
This is exactly what I see
most companies doing when it
comes to Employer Branding –
or recruiting for that matter.
They invest great sums of money
and intellectual firepower on
clever ads and recruiting campaigns,
but next to nothing on making
sure they actually deliver a
great work experience that makes
a great Employer Brand possible.
The Illusion of Employer
Branding
Over the years, when I’ve
asked HR professionals and ad
agency reps about whether they’re
involved in Employer Branding,
if they answer “Yes”,
they always go on to talk about
updating logos, creating spiffier
collateral material, coming
up with the perfect tag line,
followed up with their “internal
branding campaign” –
i.e. trying to convince their
employees this is who they are
as an employer. Those things
are great (sort of), but it’s
putting the cart before the
proverbial horse.
Just like the car dealership,
those approaches might help
get people through the door,
but if the employer doesn’t
actually deliver a great work
experience, those employees
will soon be heading back out.
Before You Tell The
Labor Market Who You Are (Or
Would Like Them to Think You
Are)
If you’re spending thousands
of dollars on “Employer
Branding” that focuses
on creating an alluring employer
brand that is really a myth,
you’re wasting your time
and money. Before you “spread
the word”, invest in making
sure what you’re saying
is true.
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This
means, you want to first: |
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1) |
Ask your employees what
they think about you as
an employer. |
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2) |
Find out what they see
as your strengths and your
weaknesses. |
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3) |
Ask them how
you compare to other employers. |
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4) |
Find out what new hires
heard about you and why
they chose you over other
potential employers. |
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5) |
Ask your new hires if
you’ve been delivering
what they expected. |
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6) |
Ask employees representing
different demographics and
professions what you can
do to become more of an
employer of choice. |
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7) |
Make sure you DO something
with this input. There’s
nothing quite as effective
at breeding cynicism and
disengagement as asking
for employee input and sending
it into the big Employee
Input Black Hole. Al Stubblefield,
CEO of Baptist Healthcare
– an employer of choice
and patient satisfaction
exemplar in the healthcare
field – notes that
the foundation of their
success has been soliciting
and using employee input.
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8) |
Design
key employee experiences
with greater mindfulness
and precision. Make sure
each step of the crucial
employee experience creates
a positive emotional and
perceptual take away .
Ask employees for step-by-step
feedback on these critical
employee moments of truth
because they profoundly
affect an employee’s
overall work experience .
Examples of such moments
of truth are:
a.
New hire orientation
b. The onboarding process
c. Any organizational
change
d. Performance reviews
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9) |
Unleash
your secret Employer Branding
weapon: supervisors and
managers who know how
to create a great work
environment. Quint Studor,
former president of Baptist
Hospital, noted that their
willingness to invest
in their middle manager’s
professional development
differentiated them from
most organizations. Common
sense combined with research
by the Gallup Organization
tells us that bosses are
THE most important factor
affecting an employee’s
work experience. As Gallup’s
research revealed:
“Employees
join companies, but they
leave managers.”
Thus,
if you’re serious
about actually BEING an
employer of choice and
not just saying you are,
invest in leadership development
at all levels. Make sure
all of your supervisors
and managers get the training
and coaching required
to know how to create
a work environment that
can make you an employer
of choice. |
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10) |
Set
up a system that shows
managers how they’re
doing and holds them accountable.
Quint Studor describes
this as the “glue”
that holds the whole process
together. If you want
your leadership development
investment to translate
into employer of choice
status and a powerful
Employer Brand, you MUST
provide your managers
with a scorecard, progress
reports, and coaching.
Otherwise, only your better
managers will attend your
leadership development
program, and even they
will forget to implement
what they learned amidst
the maelstrom of today’s
workplace.
Without
accountability, the managers
who are in the greatest
need of a skills upgrade
– typically those
who think the people part
of managing is “touchy
feely” – will
either avoid leadership
training or, if required
to attend, will fail to
use what they learned.
Thus, if you’re
serious about being an
Employer of Choice, manager
accountability is a must. |
The Consequences Go
Far Beyond Employer Branding
If you do Employer Branding
right, you won’t just
enjoy the luxury of having the
cream of the crop want to work
for you, you will also enjoy
many side benefits. If you analyze
and upgrade the work experience
you provide, if you actively
involve your employees in all
aspects of the process, and
if you keep monitoring and refining
each aspect of the work experience
(especially those critical moments
of truth), you will also enjoy
these “side benefits”
– all of which affect
your bottom line:
1. Lower turnover
2. Lower absenteeism
3. Higher productivity
4. Better customer service
5. A more positive, “can
do” workforce
Resources to Help You Create
a Magnetic Employer Brand™
1) If you want more of the
“how to’s”
related to analyzing and creating
a more Employer-of-Choice-worthy
workplace, start with How
to Build a Compelling Employer
Brand.
2) If you want an article that
explains more about the power
of effective Employer Branding:
The
True Power of a Magnetic Employer
Brand™.
3) Another article that examines
the important of getting the
employee experience right, is:
If
You Want a More Effective Employee
Referral Program…Thing
“Experience”.
4) For a recording of a presentation
David did at a conference, titled
“How
to Create a Magnetic Employer
Brand™.
Are You Doing a Good Job? If
So, I Would Love to Hear From
You
Finally, if you’re already
doing this, I’d love to
hear from you. It’s always
fun sharing examples of what
organizations are doing things
right. Email me at: David@HumanNatureAtWork.com.
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