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HRiday Veda

SEPTEMBER, 2014

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Human Resources and its concomitant facets are playing an ever in-

creasing role in the functioning of organizations. With the increased

emphasis, it is necessary for an organization to formulate and execute

strategies based on HR practices, none more important than Employer

Branding.

At its most basic, an employer brand refers to how an organization is

perceived by its employees and the general populace, whereas em-

ployer branding refers to the strategies employed to mold that per-

ception. In today’s hypercompetitive era, the perception of an organi-

zation in the eyes of employees, potential employees, and consumers

plays a key role in the overall success of the aforementioned organiza-

tion. As a result, it is necessary for an organization to employ and de-

ploy suitable employer branding strategies to attract, recruit, and re-

tain relevant talent.

The question remains, how do you formulate and implement employ-

er branding strategies with a high degree of efficacy? The key lies in

understanding and communicating the Employer Value Proposition

(EVP), i.e., the unique set of values and benefits that an employer

offers to its present and potential employees. However, the EVP is just

the tip of the iceberg. Developing an attractive employer brand is an

art with its own nuances and intricacies.

This edition of HRidayveda will take you on a journey into the fasci-

nating world of employer branding, with the help of content submitted

by you, and your peers.

Happy reading ! :)

-Team HRiday

INSID E THIS ISSUE:

Editorial 2

HR news 3

Employee branding–

trend in recruiting

5

Employer branding 7

Employer value

proposition

9

Employer brand

image

10

Build your brand 12

The new zeitgeist 13

Employer brand 15

Employer branding

process

17

Employer value 19

HR IDAYVEDA

Editorial

3

P A G E 1

“The new facility,

which will be

operational by next

month, can seat

around 4,500

employees.”

Modi had reconstituted the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet

HTC Global to hire 7,000 in India

Indian salaries see 60% hike

PMO turns to strategic HR Over the past fort-

night, two senior bu-

reaucrats, recently

empanelled as secre-

taries to the govern-

ment of India, were

surprised when they

got a call from the

Prime Minister's

Office (PMO). They

were asked about

their areas of interest

and the departments

they might be inter-

ested in handling as

and when an opening

comes up. The phone

calls are part of a larg-

er informal human

resources competency

mapping exercise be-

ing driven by the PMO

to identify the best

officials suited for va-

cancies that have aris-

en and would arise in

the central govern-

ment in the coming

six months. The idea

behind the initiative

steered by additional

principal secretary in

the PMO PK Mishra, is

to get the right men

for the right job…

Read more

new government, a

booming stock market

and improved busi-

ness sentiment are

encouraging employ-

ers to hire in a big

way. Salaries in recent

After a lull in

recent years,

India's labour

market is en-

joying a burst

of activity, as

euphoria over a

months have gone up

by up to 60 percent

compared to last year

in some industries.

Read more

centres in Hyderabad and Chennai and a global workforce of over 6,500 employ-ees, is furiously ex-panding on the back of its deal pipeline and revamped sales force. “In order to ex-pand and provide our unique value-add ser-

vices to clients, we are investing in a highly talented workforce and state-of-the- art infrastructure. Read more

HTC Global Services, a provider of IT and IT-enabled services, plans to add an addi-tional 7,000-8,000 employees to its workforce here in the country over the next few years. The U.S-based company, which has delivery

The senti-

ment is a

sea change

from just a

year ago.

E D I T O R I A L

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P A G E 4

“I dedicate this

award to my HR

team, who has been

instrumental for all

the achievements in

the last year ”

- Sunil Suji , VP-HR

Caption describing

picture or graphic.

Hathway bags HR excellence award

People matters’ tech HR conference

SAP Labs to hire 60 people with autism Aimed at harnessing talents of people affected by autism to work in technology-oriented jobs, SAP Labs today said it will employ around 60 people by the end of this year. The an-nouncement is in line with SAP's global aim to employ one per cent of its workforce

with people affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by 2020. Including India, SAP locations in the US, Canada, Ireland, Germany and Brazil will employ around 60 ASD affected people by the end of 2014, the company said in a statement. Currently, five individuals with

autism work at SAP Labs India and an ad-ditional five would be hired by the end of 2014, it added. ASD refers to a range of neurodevelopmental conditions, character-ised by communica-tion difficulties, stere-otyped or repetitive behaviours and inter-ests. Read more

for many corporations

across the world. It is

to capture the ris-

ing HR technology

trends that People

Matters organized

the TechHR Conferenc

In a globalized

and economi-

cally dynamic

world, HR tech-

nology is prov-

ing to be the

game-changer

e 2014, India’s first

coalescence of Human

Resources (HR) and

Technology leaders on

August 22, 2014 in

Gurgaon.

Read more

India. This was the

first time ever that

Hathway as an organi-

sation had participat-

ed in an HR Award

category and its Hu-

man Resource VP

Sunil Suji bagged the

award as “The HR

Leader of the Year” in

the Large Enterprise

category.

Read more

Multi system operator

Hathway Cable &

Datacom has added

another feather to its

cap by winning the HR

Excellence Award or-

ganised by Genius

Consultants in associ-

ation with Times of

E D I T O R I A L

5

EMPLOYER BRANDING- TREND IN RECRUITING

how to appeal to candidates. Smaller organizations

may find it difficult to compete with large companies

in fiscal terms, but they may be able to offer a well de-

fined career path to engage the best talent. Therefore

the employer brand must reflect what they expect

from employees and how it will foster their develop-

ment. One significant lesson that organizations have

learnt over the years

is that if you have a

reputation for

treating people well

and offer a stimu-

lating environment

with secure employ-

ment and the poten-

tial to progress, you

stand a far greater chance of luring, recruiting and re-

taining good people. One effective and relatively inno-

vative way to promote the organization's brand is by

making employees blog and tweet about the work-

place. Employ ‘brand ambassadors’ who should be re-

sponsible for engaging the target audience. This can

be achieved in a numerous ways such as blogging

about the workplace and posting pictures which depict

a pleasant environment to work in. These corporate

ambassadors must be selected carefully, since they

have to maintain a consistent, controlled employer

brand image. This will result in prospective employees

having a positive outlook of the organization. This

helps in word of mouth and employees will compete

to work for such organization resulting in healthy re-

cruitment.

The demand for increased efficiency and productivity

has made employer branding progressively more vital

for recruiting and retaining employees. In order to

attract and retain the best people for a variety of jobs,

each level of employees must be treated in a way spe-

cifically tailored to them. Something that's often ig-

nored when we speak about employer –employee

Gone are the days of “post and pray”:

where you post job offers and wait for a

flock of candidates to apply. Today's re-

cruiters have better technology at their

disposal but at the same time they have to

deal with a versatile set of candidates. As

the war for talent increases, savvy employ-

ers are trying to capitalise on their brand

to attract the crème de la crème. As social

media platforms have become common-

place destinations for both employers and

consumers alike, it's vital to position our

company effectively in front of potential

job candidates. Hence employer branding

is the crux in today's recruiting scenario.

Never before in the history of advertising

have had employers had so many instru-

ments to publicize their brand to large au-

diences. Social media platforms like

LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook coupled

with advertising tools like online job

postings; enable employers to broadcast

their brand and messages to targeted and

interested audiences. Even job advertising

outlets are now more specifically targeted

so that employers aren't just posting and

praying. For example, online job portals

like Naukri.com, Times jobs and Recruiters

Lounge lets employers connect with in de-

mand diversity candidates. You can also

target by geography, state, and city or by

industry, and job title or keyword. It's ap-

propriate to say that employers with a

strong brand presence in the marketplace

rely on it heavily to lure potential employ-

ees. Brand reputation works very well for

major employers; reflected in the fact that

less high profile employers can find the re-

cruitment process more cumbersome. But

an enviable brand can be built if you know

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Continued... tain current employees and attract potential em-

ployees best suited for each segment. The organiza-

tion must also decide on the design of the work-

place, providing an individual ample space and pri-

vacy to optimize performance at work. All these in-

centives must be made known to the corporate so-

ciety, resulting in a positive projection of the com-

pany. Thus, with an ever increasing quality of candi-

dates, possessing a high bargaining power, compa-

nies must focus on projecting the prowess of their

brand- ‘lest it be too late’.

By—

Eden Fernandes

Nikita Bindal

relationship. The nature of these relation-

ships impacts the organizations brand direct-

ly. A strong connection and efficient commu-

nication within the hierarchy results in a posi-

tive projection of the organizations brand

across the corporate community. The ever

increasing number of MNC’s entering the

global market has resulted in highly qualified

candidates possessing huge bargaining power

when it comes to choice of jobs. Naturally,

businesses wish to channel the most re-

sources to those segments driving the most

profit and the most important segment to

employers are the company's employees. The

company should choose which benefits pack-

ages and employee incentives which help re-

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EMPLOYER BRANDING

along with social media permeating every fabric of the

individual’s life makes information gathering and

spreading easy. And this goes both ways. Thus, the

employer knows that a bad experience by a former

employee can end up on the internet alongside an ex-

cellent one. It is a double edged sword, a system of

checks and balances in itself. How are companies

communicating their

employer branding?

Some of the top medi-

ums to communicate

an employer brand are

social media channels

and career websites.

76% of companies

communicate their

employer brand

through social media, 64% of companies communicate

their employer brand through their career website,

and according to this global trends report no other

medium is used by the majority of brands to com-

municate their employer brand. According to Employ-

er Brand International Chairman and CEO Brett Minch-

ington. “Employer brand strategy provides a way for-

ward for organizations to ensure they can attract and

retain the talent required for growth.”

Branding is the playfield of marketing and advertising.

However, since the recruitment element was involved,

the human resources department of a company usual-

ly looked after it. However, more and more organiza-

tions are sourcing the task to their marketing depart-

ments. Good PR is what will get people interested.

One shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but a good

cover does prompt people to look at the book, pick it

up, peruse it and finally decide if they want to buy it or

not.

The strongest ace that any company can whip out is its

goals and culture. A fierce purpose for being in

existence makes the company a force to reckon with.

“It’s a match!!!!” He screamed. “Bring out

the sweets and music! Let there be danc-

ing!!! I have finally found my perfect

match!!!” This sounds like a match maker

did his job right… Or does it???

The recent phenomenon in the job market

have made the sangam of potential em-

ployee and potential employer a match

maker’s case study. Gone are the days

when the employee grovelled at the al-

mighty feet of the employer who watched

from his high throne as potential employ-

ees battled like gladiators, down to the last

one standing. They still do. However, what

each company has slowly come to realise is

that no matter how small the job, finding

the right candidate triumphs every ounce

of sweat and blood poured into the recruit-

ment process. The job market is now a

marriage bureau, and the classified adverts

or job hunting websites vie in the Coliseum

for a match made in corporate heaven.

Thus, the onus lies not only on the job

seeker, but the employer as well. A simple

way to go about this exercise is a good re-

ferral system. Well-designed employer re-

ferral programs produce high performers,

high retention rates. They are faster, di-

verse, and even cheaper than other

sources. The impact of social media has

been so strong that that the referral hire

target for top firms is now approaching a

dominant 50 percent of all hires.

One of the long term advantages of an in-

vestment in branding by the employer is

that the effects are long term. The best

way to do so is be yourself. It may sound

like a cheesy self-help book tip, but it does

hold in good stead. Increasing competition

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Continued... A company’s greatest asset is its employees. Win

the employee, win the battle. Otherwise, you end up

trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

By -

Audrick D mello

Brian Fernandes

Existence makes the company a force to reck-

on with. “To forget one’s purpose is the com-

monest form of stupidity,” said Nietzsche. A

good brand goes a long way. Employer brand-

ing is essential to attracting the right candi-

dates. It can be as small as the personal

grooming habits of the employees of the

company or even the manner the executive

assistant greets a customer.

“A satisfied customer is the best business

strategy of all,” wrote business author Mi-

chael LeBoeuf. The candidate is like a custom-

er. If he or she is happy with the product or

service, he or she grows loyal. And they in

turn, will recommend the company to another

prospective candidate, the same way they

would do with a restaurant or a movie.

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EMPLOYEE VALUE PROPOSITION

tion, engagement and retention. Simply put, Employee Value Proposition is a people promise given by an em-ployer to its employees for the services they render. Pritpal Kular, ex-Director HR at Max Bupa Health Insur-ance defines EVP as the total employment experience of an employee in an organization. It is a people-centered approach that is directed to existing staff and integrated manpower planning strategies because it comes from employees themselves.

Why Employee Value Proposition?

Amidst crazy work schedules, stretched deadlines and global interactions, organiza-tions may choose to ignore focusing on em-ployer branding. How-ever, organizations that have an EVP in place or have witnessed the power of EVP in their previous organization swear by the out-standing impact it can have on the employees, culture of the organization, retention and the employer brand as a whole. Organizations have even gone to define statements such as ‘In a world of million customers, I see my Employees first’. The world has transformed immensely from Stone Age to Technology Age and now to what is called as the ‘Human Age’. Manpower Group coined the term ‘Human Age’ in 2011 at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. Previous eras were defined first by the raw materials that trans-formed them: stone, iron and bronze; then they were characterized by the domains people conquered with ever-improving technology: industry, space and infor-mation. Now, it will be human potential itself that will be the catalyst for change and the global driving force economically, politically and socially.

The people promise is about co-creating a deal that gives purpose and a sense of connection to employ-ees. It’s more like a two-way agreement wherein what the organization gives is what it gets.

Furthermore, employers understand the relevance of a robust EVP from two dimensions:

Employee engagement is one of the most talked about topics in today’s corporate world, not just in the HR fraternity but also in all business functions. Organizations are hiring consultants and spending millions world-wide to enhance their employee en-gagement levels which are of course relat-ed to both, job as well as organization. There are numerous reasons as to why cor-porations are indulging in it and one of the most prominent one is ‘employer brand-ing’. Individuals could debate on why em-ployer branding is even necessary at all and to those we could just drop a few names such as Google, Tata, Taj Hotels (part of Tata Group). These names certain-ly ring a bell in our heads and we definitely strike a chord with all of these even when we have never been employed by them. Ask yourself why?Employer branding is an area on which Human Resource profes-sionals and Management Consultants are brainstorming, devising strategies and im-plementing plans around the globe. Some are successful and many fail. Employer branding comes in varied forms and one of the most recent form that is gaining popu-larity and organizations are seeing hu-mungous success in is Employee Value Proposition (EVP).

What is Employee Value Proposition?

Different individuals have defined EVP differently. EVP is the balance of the re-wards and benefits that are received by employees in return for their performance at the workplace. EVP is a set of associa-tions and offerings provided by an organi-zation in return for the skills, capabilities and experiences an employee brings to the organization. EVP is an employee-centered approach that is aligned to existing, inte-grated workforce planning strategies be-cause existing employees and the external target audience have informed it. An EVP must be unique, relevant and compelling if it is to act as a key driver of talent attrac-

10

that promise is imbibed and internalized deeply through processes, policies and operations of an or-ganization. With every process that is conducted, the promise must be translated into action along with an impact on all business functions respectively.

Committing to the Promise: to be able to ensure suc-cess of the promise, everyone in an organization has to own it. A definite action plan followed by a personal commitment from each employee irrespective of the business function must be identified, verified and de-cided upon.

Employer branding is a tool that has the potential to formulate a certain image and perception of an organ-ization to the world at large. Employee Value Proposi-tion, if identified, internalized and committed to with the right intent can be a critical selling point for an or-ganization when the brand image is concerned.

By -

Vijayant Yadav

In today’s competitive world, “Employer Branding” is

an integral part of every organization giving them an

edge by adding to their Brand Image. Employer brand-

ing is portrayal of the organization as a great place to

work. It is about promoting the economic and psycho-

logical perks to existing and prospective which leads to

job satisfaction making the organization a desired

company to work at, as it is said “a company’s image is

seen through the eyes of its associates and potential

hires”. A very renowned example for this can be

“Google” – an indisputable leader according to many

rankings and awards. Google, with its' tagline , “Do

cool things that matter” and making its employee

perks (nap pods, gourmet food, 24x7 fitness centre,

the dry cleaners and the massage service) known all

over the web, has leveraged on the aspect of

Talent: in this overtly competitive corpo-rate world, it’s extremely imperative to attract, retain and develop talent

Customer Satisfaction: customer is prime and the desired impact on customers can only be attained when employees work together towards engaging with customers for higher customer satisfaction

Competitive Employer Market: gone are the days when compensation used to be the only factor behind attracting and re-taining an employee. Today, culture is the key and employees look for promises, even though unsaid.

Be seen as a Great Place to Work: every organization understands the relevance of being looked up as ‘the’ place to work and hence they are ensuring that every possi-ble step is taken towards making their re-spective organization as a sought after place to work

How of Employee Value Proposition?

While it’s nice to talk, plan and design beautiful people promises, it’s extremely difficult to implement and live them. To ensure a successful run of an Employee Value Proposition, which is a key driver for Employee Engagement, one could consider the following three aspects:

Understanding the Promise: corporations must invest a significant amount of time and effort in identifying and creating a promise. The promise has to be directly related to the business drivers and the cul-ture of the organization. It has to ensure that the brand, which the employer wants to known as, is clearly reflected in the promise.

Internalizing the Promise: it’s imperative

Internal External

Talent Competitive Em-

Customer Orientation Culture and Place to Work

EMPLOYER BRAND IMAGE

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compatibility of the candidate but will also help in

achieving the aim of becoming the employer of choice.

Lastly, measures should

be taken to track the

image of the organisa-

tion and performance

level for making sus-

tained improvements.

Employer brand is the

image and reputation of

the organization as per-

ceived by the potential recruits. Having a strong em-

ployer brand increases the employer offerings, making

the offer lucrative. With high competitiveness in the

professional world, employer branding have gained

importance in acquiring and maintaining the talent

which can help the company’s overall turn-over and

serve company’s interest with dedication. A brand is

not a static concept, it is a dynamic one which requires

different subgroups with different job profiles to be

treated in a specific manner tailored for them. Em-

ployer Branding is not about the employer-employee

relationship, it is about retaining the people which can

maximize the profit. This can be done by first under-

standing what the employee wants from its employer

and then using these perks and incentives to retain

the current employee or hire new talent.

By—

Divya Gupta

of Employee Value Proposition. Further,

the movie 'The Internship' had so many

people wanting to be a part of Google and

its 'cool quotient'.

Employee Value Proposition is a vital part

of Employer Branding. Just as a customer

brand proposition is used to define a ser-

vice or a product offer, an employee value

proposition is used to define an organiza-

tion’s employment offer. Employee Value

Proposition is the unique offerings of the

company in return to the value that an em-

ployee adds to the company with his skills,

capabilities, experience and hard-work. A

well-developed employee value proposi-

tion helps you retain talent for longer du-

ration and motivate them to go that extra

mile to do the work efficiently and effec-

tively. The main part of defining an em-

ployee branding strategy lies in under-

standing why an individual works for a giv-

en organization. The top management

should also be aware of the values it offers

to activate Employee Branding. To be sure

that the company is hiring the right kind of

talented candidates who are compatible

with the firm, communication, marketing

and talent sourcing plan should be formu-

lated. It will not only help in judging the

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BUILD YOUR BRAND

veying universally appealing messages. Such efforts have been misplaced, as the desired job applicants don’t trust much on what the employer has to say. A survey reveals that 60% of applicants are sceptical about the message conveyed by the employers of the company and candidate today rely on the employer for only about 20% of information when looking to apply jobs. Candidates do seek other sources of infor-mation. So the efforts need to shift form merely con-tributing to brand management that ap-peals to everyone to helping people make informed decisions on if a particular job is suitable to them or not.

So how do you go about building a unique employer brand?

Larissa Hallefors, Account Director, Ph.D., Employee Research and Consulting, TNA Sifo Sweden has talked about a unique and differentiated Employee Brand based on Emotional drivers of the targeted group, us-ing her insights from her latest research work. She claims that “Unique Employer Brand builds on Emo-tions”. She considers the following,

Candidates in seek of appropriate jobs get attracted to the companies who believe what they believe in, who stand for something they can connect to easily

Employer of choice stands out of the crowd, it exhibits uniqueness – offering something that no other employer can offer

Employer of choice helps candidates to answer queries like “Why should I work here” than just limiting to “What would I get if I worked here”. It brings in a lot of value addition to the employee and help him be associated with the organisa-tion for pretty long and helps the company in turn to keep the potential and talented employ-ees from losing out on them.

Rational arguments doesn’t create uniqueness. It is actually achieved through speaking to the emotional needs of stakeholders and in main-taining a connect to Employer brand. Magic is

How do we define Employer Branding? Minchington (2005), defines employer branding as the Image of any organisation as a ‘great place to work’. The process of employee branding is concerned with as-pects such as talent attraction, engage-ment and retention deployed to enhance company’s employer brand. Employer branding is not just important to the or-ganisation for better business but im-mensely to the people as well who are in search of suitable jobs and the organisa-tion’s image as perceived by the world out-side makes it one of the important factor for potential employees to apply.

A key definition in understanding employer branding is the term ‘employer of choice’ meaning ‘An employer of any size in the public, private or not-for-profit sector that has met the high standards established by Employer of Choice, earning the coveted certification mark. Employers that have successfully completed the rigorous evalu-ation process are recognised for their lead-ership, culture, and best practices that attract, optimize and hold top talent, achieving corporate objectives in total.’

Why is employer branding important? Be-cause companies are unable to target qual-ity based employees or high performers. A survey by CEB (Corporate executive board), a leading member-based advisory compa-ny has reported that the company has found 78 percent of employers across the globe have undertaken a formal employer branding initiative over the past 3 years but, in doing so, have simply succeeded in attracting more and not better people. This brings in universal approach for people to apply and barely focusing on those poten-tial or best candidates for the job. Employ-ers ought to focus more on the right mix of talent or the talent pool search. Companies have gone the marketing approach for re-cruitment by incorporating different brand channels including the social media by con-

13

stronger than logic.

Some other aspects are:

Unclear ownership of an employee brand may lead to ineffective collaboration and can even cause branding to become a ‘political issue’. Hence clear ownership of an employer brand and collaboration from all aspects and cor-ners of a business is essential”. Employer branding is complex and lack of an experienced strategist can craft to an ineffec-tive branding of the organisation, engaging an external expert in such circumstances can bring the brand to life and communicate earned value professional to the market.

Finally, let’s look at a quick checklist pre-pared by a leading team of specialist zeroed in on at the International Employer branding and engagement summit, 2014:

Save money on hiring staff

Attract the best candidates

Motivate professionals in a company

Always be trendy among candidates

Be outside the competition

Count Your success

Pump up your HR brand

Work with talent and talent will make

you a profit

Find out what candidates and workers

are thinking

By -

Sushma N

It’s boom time! Although the past two decades have had numerous troughs, such as the recent reces-sion, it’s been a ride dominated by crests. The ad-vent of the digital age, the rise of a new global mid-dle class, and their concomitant factors have given rise to a generation that perceives the world dis-tinctly. This generation val-ues and cherishes different things as compared to its predecessors. Although the same phrase can be used in the context of every genera-tion, the economic and cul-tural progress of the last two decades has molded a gener-ation whose needs, wants, desires, and priorities are varied in ways unforeseen by prior generations.

Millennials, i.e., people born in the mid 1980’s and after, entered the job market at a time when the world was embroiled in an eco-nomic climate that can be compared to the Great Depression in terms of its immediate, and future impact on individuals. They entered, or tried to en-ter the workforce at a time when most employers were looking to cut costs, and layoff employees. This dichotomy created a rift between the expecta-tions, and eventual reality for those unable to se-cure a job. The Great Recession is a milestone that has had a long lasting impact upon the psyche of Millennials. The war on terrorism, international al-tercations, revelations about unethical practices (Ponzi schemes, insider trading, etc), the rise of Wik-iLeaks, the Snowden revelations, the Arab Spring, globalization, the virtually unlimited and uninhibited access to information made possible by the inter-net, and myriad such events have had a profound impact on the way Millennials think, and perceive the world. This psychological shift has expressed itself in the form of a distinct zeitgeist. For although the Boomers and Gen Xers identified with conserva-tism and conformism, the Millennials think of them-

THE NEW ZEITGEIST

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themselves as budding iconoclasts. The cur-rent generation is confident, expressive, re-bellious, and liberal. They value transparency, and emphasize work/life balance. They’ve be-come accustomed to being connected, and expect the use of technology in their work. Milleninals enter the job market with precon-ceived expectations, and in most cases, the fulfillment of those expectations takes prece-dence over the remuneration offered. This generation doesn’t believe in a 9-5 effort in return for a set compensation. Work is an es-sential component of their identity, and com-promising their ethos for the sake of mone-tary gains is blasphemy. As Millennials re-place the older generations in the workforce, it is imperative that organizations project themselves as the ideal places to work. This can be accomplished through diligent em-ployer branding. Whereas the employer brand is the sum total of the employees, po-tential recruits, and the general populace’s perceptions about a brand/organization, em-ployer branding can be defined as the process by which an organization conveys its value to potential recruits. In an era where knowledge and skill based work is taking centre stage, it is essential that organizations effectively com-municate the value they can contribute to the lives of potential recruits. Hiring, and retain-ing top talent is imperative for the success of an organization. The Employer Value Proposi-tion (EVP), i.e., the unique benefits that an employer can offer its employees, is a critical facet of employer branding. A potential re-cruit in search for an employer that resonates with his/her deep held beliefs is unlikely to make compromises in terms of selection cri-teria. As a result, to attract such talent, it is imperative for an organization to communi-cate its culture to potential recruits effective-ly. This culture in turn, must develop organi-cally through the actions and values of top management.

Effective organizational communication and a strong culture are powerful differentiating factors between sundry employers. An organization with a culture that resonates with potential recruits will receive a considerably large number of applications, which in turn will increase the talent pool for hiring. Such an organization will hire employees that perfectly fit within the culture, and the loyalty borne out of such a fit ensures retention and low attrition rates. Re-muneration is an important criterion when it comes to selecting a place to work. However, it is no longer the sole selection criteria for the current generation. Other aspects, such as a fit between the organiza-tional and individual values, the type of work, the meaning derived from work, and its contribution to the betterment of society have become equally, if not more important. In many cases, the purpose takes precedence over the pay package, examples being cases of individuals looking to work for NGOs. In such a world, an organization will ignore its EVP and employer branding initiatives at its own peril. Ignorance will lead to an employer-employee mis-match, which will have an insidious effect upon the organization. Thus, in order to attract, hire, and re-tain top talent, employers must effectively com-municate the unique value they can offer to poten-tial recruits. The values of the organization and its employees must be in congruence with each other. Circumventing the era’s zeitgeist with respect to work, i.e., the importance of purpose and meaning, will preclude future success.

By -

Mayank Kalia

15

EMPLOYEE VALUE PROPOSITION

the top position in India at the ‘Asia’s best employer Brand Awards 2014’. This simply means that Shoppers Stop perception among its current as well as prospec-tive recruits is that of the company which has been able to successfully fulfil the needs of its employees. But what is more important for one employee may not be that important to other employee. Hence this is a subjective term. But the companies should take cogni-zance of all these varied needs so that it is able to satisfy their needs. This is absolutely im-portant for a company as other competitors may beat the company on these parameters and thus the company might not be able to keep its talented pool of employees. One trend that has been observed is that companies with especially strong brands also top the rankings of best employers. Auto-mobile manufacturers like BMW, Daimler, Audi as well as giants like Lufthansa, Siemens and SAP top the list of most-sought after employers. These are exactly the same companies that lead the annual Global Brands ranking. Over 20% of employees under the age of 30 say that they would prefer to have a lower paying job with a brand that they believe in. Establishing an ap-pealing internal and external employer image, there-fore, necessitates the understanding of both talent’s and the company’s needs and wants: What are Top Talent’s career expectations? What are the company’s strategic objectives? After gathering this information, the company can then begin to define its unique iden-tity:

What makes it an exceptional employer?

In the employer branding discipline, this is known as the company’s Employer Value Proposition (EVP). In essence, the EVP is the set of unique employer offer-ings which are considered valuable to Top Talent. A clear and defined employer brand can offer significant benefits to your organization. It can significantly im-prove application rates and put your company in the enviable position of having a wide pool of talent to

Employer brand is an organization’s repu-tation as an employer. The term was first applied in the early 1990s, and has since become widely embraced by the global management community. Minchington (2005) defines an employer brand as "the image of your organization as a 'great place to work'". The process of employer branding is concerned with talent attrac-tion, engagement and retention strategies deployed to enhance your company's em-ployer brand. Just as a customer brand proposition is used to define a product or service offer, an employee value proposi-tion is used to define an organisation's em-ployment offer. The marketing disciplines associated with branding and brand man-agement have been increasingly used by the human resources and talent manage-ment community to attract, engage and retain talented candidates and employees, in the same way that marketing applies such tools to attracting and retaining cli-ents, customers and consumers. Just as brand management is necessary for a com-pany to sell its products the employer branding is necessary for the company to sell itself. The company should have a good brand image to attract talented profession-als and to keep its current pool of employ-ees. Similar to brand perceptions there can also be employer brand perceptions. Cer-tain companies might be perceived as putting more attention to certain issues than the others. There can also be percep-tions about employer benefits such as sala-ry, wages, perks, etc. The overall holistic development of the employee also forms a portion of the employer branding process. For most employees being able to switch their job profile and the ease through which they achieve this also form a part of their perception about their own company. The company which is not so flexible in terms of giving satisfactory job profiles to its employees might be perceived as a not so employee friendly. Shoppers Stop got

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choose from. In tight recruitment markets,

where competition for the best talent is fierce,

it can also help keep the organisation top of

mind, make your company stand out in a

crowded market and provide compelling rea-

sons to join your company rather than going

elsewhere. In companies where values, per-

sonality and desired behaviours have been

deeply embedded across the organization, em-

ployers are also likely to benefit from in-

creased engagement from employees. Greater

employee engagement and motivation have

been shown to result in greater productivity

and higher retention rates – all of which con-

tribute to retaining skills and knowledge, and

ultimately improving your bottom line. In-

creased engagement with the brand will also

help build employee loyalty reducing the risk

of losing your best people to competitors, and

therefore avoiding the financial implications of

recruiting and on-boarding their replacements.

Employees form the essence of all the compa-

ny values and beliefs. To be able to sell some-

thing to the customers it is first important to

make sure that employees are enthused about

the product. Because ultimately it is them who

develops a project, sell goods, deliver services

etc. Until the company is able to convince

them that is the best product in the category

they will not be able to convince the custom-

ers. This also requires being able to satisfy

what an employee actually needs. This is not

only limited to monetary terms but also in

overall terms of his/her expectations from

himself/herself and from the company. If after

delivering his valuable services for the compa-

ny the employee is not able to get what he ex-

pected there is no reason left for him to con-

tinue with his current company. Ultimately it is

the employees that form an organization. To

make the organization successful we should

start from within i.e. by keeping the employees

needs in mind.

Because it is this success/failure of being able to de-liver these needs is the perception on which the prospective recruits depend. Why will a talented young person with good experience in a sector want to work in a company that he knows is not so em-ployee centric and may not be able to offer him something different. Taking cognizance of the im-portance of employer branding HCL’s follows an em-ployee first, customer second approach. Other com-panies should also follow steps and discover meth-ods by which they can maintain their employer brand value to a respectable position.

By— Paritosh Moghe

17

EMPLOYER BRANDING PROCESS

All these perks come at a cost for Google. But so does employee

dissatisfaction and high turnover. There is a lot of competition for

talent in Silicon Valley (and around the globe for that matter) and

when you can retain your employees, it means less time and

money spent recruiting. (Bulygo, n.d.)

So to summarize, companies should strive for a unique EVP. A

proposition that its competitors would find it difficult to imitate.

It has to be a well thought and well researched positioning strate-

gy which would hold well even in long term and highly competi-

tive / volatile market envi-

ronments.

Be specific when defining

the EVP and target seg-

ment. You cannot be eve-

rything to everyone. With

finite resources and time

serving as constraints, it is

always advisable for organi-

zations to identify target

talent pools and focus on enhancing the awareness of its brand

within this segment pool. (Team, 2014)

The implementation part. An employer branding campaign can

be implemented under various stages of interaction with the

workforce be it existing or new. Some trending brand enhancing

campaigns are highlighted below:

1) Marketing to target talent pool—Let’s take the example

of HCL, a global technology and IT enterprise based in In-

dia. It has currently 47% of its workforce as Gen Y and

many of their future employees would be in college. The

management believes in taking their “ideaprenuership”

culture to top management colleges with their - MAD LTD:

Make a Difference, Lead The Difference campaign. This

campaign allowed young college entrepreneurs to submit

their “ideas of change” in three different categories: So-

cial, Technology, and Business. Through this campaign HCL

reached 100,000 students across campuses in India.

(Narayanan, 2014)

2) Via social media platform and movies—According to an

SHRM research on Social Networking Websites and Re-

cruiting/Selection, more than three-quarters (77%) of or-

ganizations reported using social networking sites to re-

cruit potential job candidates in 2013. For HCL, LinkedIn

was the go-to network. They started sharing jobs, compa-

ny updates, employee testimonials and much more to

showcase their talent brand. They segmented their audi-

ence based on geography (India, Europe, US) and role

Google Career’s tagline states “Do cool things that

matter”. This particular organization (or dream for

many) appears in every employee’s list of compa-

nies to work for. Starbucks is listed as world’s most

ethical companies for the seventh year and made it

onto Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for

(CAFFREY, 2013). You are on Facebook. Wow that’s

cool! How would you react if you were given an

offer letter to join them at their 1601 Willow Road

address instead? It’s a no-brainer right? What

makes these organizations unique from an employ-

ee’s perspective? Employer branding is the concept

that would help us answer these questions.

So what is employer branding and its process? An

employer brand represents the image a company

projects as a potential employer. If you have a

strong employer brand and unique value proposi-

tion, then your company is considered a distinctive

place to work, with attractive brand values and ca-

reer prospects. (what-is-employer-branding, n.d.) .

Establishing an appealing internal and external em-

ployer image, therefore, necessitates the under-

standing the needs and wants of prospective em-

ployee’s and the recruiting company’s.

(Mossevelde, 2014)

Clarity is needed here.

What are top talent’s career expectations? What are the company’s strategic objectives? (Mossevelde, 2014) What are the trending practices and value proposi-tions of the industry and competitors in general which are used to lure prospective talents? Company can then begin to define its unique identi-

ty: What makes it an exceptional employer? In the

employer branding discipline, this is known as the

company’s Employer Value Proposition (EVP). In

essence, the EVP is the set of unique employer

offerings which are considered valuable to top tal-

ent. (Mossevelde, 2014)

To understand EVP better,

Google’s EVP is its unique work culture. It’s not the

typical corporate “work” culture. In fact Googol-

plex (Google HQ) looks more like an adult play-

ground! (Bulygo, n.d.). It offers unparalleled perks

and bonuses and not to mention the sought after

nap pods, videogames, foosball and other recrea-

tional cum stress busting activities.

18

place in their hearts. They would look for opportunities to engage

with your brand and would be willing to build a relationship with

you, endorse you and vouch for you. (Team, 2014)

New hiring and employee engagement.

Employer brand plays a key role in shaping promises of employ-

ees and creates a tacit psychological contract with the organiza-

tion (Sebastian, 2013) .The aim is to create not just employees

per se but engaged brand ambassadors.

Strategizing recruitment processes is imperative. Organizations

may have their own pressures and limitations but HR should al-

ways strive to provide the best candidate experience. At entry

level it’s the ease of application process, experience one has at

the front office, experience while applying on the website, availa-

bility of an interviewer on the given time and clear information

about the next set of steps to be followed after an interview are a

few things that can go a long way in creating a unique experience

for the candidate. While at the senior level, it is more about com-

municating the job context well, valuing the candidate’s time,

allowing them to ask as much as answer are the things that

matter a lot. All this can only be ensured with a proper standard-

ized procedure in place.

Talking of creating a unique candidate experience for the rejected

candidates, Prithvi Shergill, Chief Human Resource Officer, HCL

Technologies shares a very meaningful thought, “Never consider

a candidate rejected”. In times of stiff competition each individual

is open to robust learning and need not be a reject forever, hence

it is important to keep your non-selected candidates engaged as

well. Organizations should maintain a database of such individu-

als and keep them regularly engaged through online initiatives.

This could come handy as a ready pool of talent to explore in fu-

ture whenever required. (Agrawal, 2014)

How do we quantify an employer branding campaign? After all

decision makers are keen on ROI more than anything else.

Industry analysts believe that there is no immediate and clear ROI

associated with such a campaign. However certain organizations

have developed their own yardstick to measure which are sum-

marized below:

Attraction metrics for success of an employer brand

Number of job applicants per rupee spent on advertising the job

Candidate acceptance rate per rupee spent

Cost per hire

Length of time to fulfil job openings

Engagement & retention metrics for measuring success of an

employer brand

Retention rate of new hires and tenured employees

(sales, project managers, consultants) to deliver rele-

vant content to them. (Narayanan, 2014)

Just like people recommend great movies and restau-

rants, they can do the same with careers. Starbucks

has put this idea into its employer branding – just take

a look at their YouTube and Twitter accounts. Employ-

ees express their love for the company through the

Starbucks Jobs’ Twitter account with #sbuxjobschat.

They will tweet why they’re proud to partner with the

company. With thousands of views on YouTube, Star-

bucks’ videos have an impact on recruiting. (CAFFREY,

2013)

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn made a Hollywood

movie- The Internship. More than a commercial mov-

ie people regard this as a corporate branding activity.

The brand being served here is Google. The movie

shows how the protagonists face severe competition

to secure an internship with the tech biggie (A Google

spokesperson says Google accepts only 1,500 interns

out of 40,000 applicants every year in the United

States) (Bulygo, n.d.) . Owen and Vince are seen sliding

between the floors (yes slides not elevators!) , when

they get tired they are seen eating gourmet food for

free and when they want to take a power nap they

can do so in futuristic and high tech nap-pods. If all

this wouldn’t attract an employee then nothing

would!

Inbound Marketing (I/B)

The whole concept of hammering the customer till he/

she converts the sale has been replaced with the prac-

tice of Inbound Marketing. Let the customer come to

you. Not vice versa. In this case the customer is your

employee or at least your potential ones.This para-

digm shift is gaining popularity and is of high utility to

employee branding campaigns. I/B focuses on supply-

ing prospects with the information they need and to

keep them gently moving through the recruitment

funnel by providing more and more personalised con-

tent. The main corporate website, social feeds

(Facebook, Twitter accounts etc.) and blogs are a good

place to start. Content, competitions, staff, social en-

gagement, your corporate site and search engines will

drive more potential candidates to your social chan-

nels. A little spend on promoted stories and tweets

also helps get the ball rolling! (Thomas, 2013) If your

brand content is able to positively influence the con-

versations of your talent, you have already won a

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Employee satisfaction and engagement level

Constantly assessing/re-enforcing our value proposition

by monitoring and action planning on employee feed-

back/concerns

Retention and career growth of people from within

(Modi, 2012)

To summarize, employer branding is the combination

of market research, advisory services, communications

and marketing to achieve both a credible and desirable

brand position. Being a cyclical process, constantly

measuring performance and adjusting activities and

strategies to continuously improve, it begins with un-

derstanding unique employer qualities and continues

into sustaining the employer brand as a living, vibrant

and attractive entity. The alternative to employer

branding, and perhaps even catastrophic scenario, is to

be considered as a generic employer, unspecific in

offerings and unnoticeable to promising career seek-

ers. Finally, through talent acquisition and retention,

the end purpose of employer branding is to stimulate

business growth and achieve strategic business goals.

(Mossevelde, 2014) Not to forget Feedback/ Concerns /

Ideas/Improvements etc. from all stakeholders which

should be incorporated as part of the lessons learnt

and be used to come up with even better brand pro-

motion campaigns in the future.

Did I mention content and credibility? I guess not.

Employer branding campaigns have to be transparent

and have to be backed up with authenticity and sub-

stance. Here is hoping the employees who work for the

below toilet paper company don’t have access to inter-

net!

By -

Adin Ravindran

Well, it basically deals with an all-inclusive recruitment strategy that positions one’s company in an eye-catchy way. Having said that, it is certainly not just another advertising campaign to build up a brand name while developing a catchy tagline! It is a long term vision that comprehends the core values and behaviours which define what employers expect out from their employees and vice versa.

Planning, Creating and Deploying

For an organization, it all boils down to building up its Employer Value Proposi-tion (EVP) because EVP, in simple words, is the promise you make to your current and future em-ployees. While a company is busy devising its employer branding strategy, it must ensure at the back of its mind that it has clear factual points supporting its message and that it is in line with its overall corporate brand – in con-sistency with its core values. Bob Kelleher, a renowned Em-ployee Engagement Speaker, always refers to one thing that is common to Apple, BMW and Southwest Airlines - they are all exceptional at linking employment and product brand. Apple hires the most creative people, BMW hires people who are the driving enthusiasts, while, Southwest Airlines hires people who have “fun” in their DNA!!

The Whys and Wherefores

With the population ageing, retirements in colossal num-bers, and fewer graduates with the right skills entering the workforce, companies will scuffle to find the right fit for the hard-to-fill positions. This calls for a complete shift in the way employers approach their hiring methods. Long gone are the days of organic growth wherein an organization posts a job and waits for candidates to apply. Today, com-panies must become the first choice in order to recruit and retain the bright candidates – and this is exactly where em-ployer branding comes in! It is about delivering a compel-ling and authentic experience to candidates, more im-portantly, at the same time.

Breaking the Myth

One of the most common myths associated with employer branding is that it appears to be just as a typical wish list of how the company would like to be perceived but in reality, there’s more to it. For example, promoting “work-life bal-ance” as a significant benefit to entice candidates is no doubt a great idea, but if the organization doesn’t have the programs in the right place, the message won’t be credible and would eventually lead to undesirable consequences, sully the reputation of the already existent brand image of the company, to start with.

By -

Rohan Shukla

EMPLOYER VALUE Ever thought of how the organization you want to work with should be like? Or why a particular com-pany is desirable to be worked with? Or what is it that pulls you towards an organization, makes you work happily those extra hours, if needed? Well, that train of thoughts makes its halt at the term called “Employer Branding”. If you look up the in-ternet, you would find umpteen number of defini-tions for Employer Branding. Wikipedia tags it as ‘an organization’s reputation as an employer’.

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