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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

INTERNAL ASSIGNMENT-SEM 3

TERM PAPER

The role of Employer Branding in Recruitment and

efficient utilization of Social Media for the same

Aakriti Agarwal

Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies

Delhi University

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Contents

Introduction 3

Objectives 4

Research Methodology 4

Analysis

Employer Branding 5-7

The Role of Social Media 8

The Right Way to go about Social Media Recruitment 9-11

Conclusion 12

Bibliography 13

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Introduction

Traditionally, consumers used the Internet to simply expend content: they read it, they

watched it, and they used it to buy products and services. Increasingly, however,

consumers are utilizing platforms—such as content sharing sites, blogs, social networking,

and wikis—to create, modify, share, and discuss Internet content. This represents the social

media phenomenon, which can now significantly impact a firm's reputation, sales, and even

survival.

Social media plays a crucial role in contemporary recruiting, especially with respect to

employer branding. According to Employer Branding International, 76 percent of

companies use social media to solidify and promote their employer brands. Organizations

broadcast their cultures, their values, and their beliefs by making strategic moves on social

media, hoping they’ll strike a chord with people who will fit in as employees.

For effective employer brand promotion, however, the company can only attract current

and future employees if it has an identity that is true, credible, relevant, distinctive and

aspirational.

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Objectives

To understand the concept of Employer Branding and study its relevance in today’s terms

To analyse Social Media Recruitment and understand its role in getting better recruits

To understand why is it that these phenomenons are trending so much

To suggest effective ways to recruit through social media while creating a strong employer

brand at the same time.

Research Methodology

Secondary sources of data have been used for this paper like blogs, scholarly articles, etc.

Firstly, each term was understood, then its relevance was put into perspective to

understand how they fit into the objectives that the paper seeks to fulfil.

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Employer Branding

Employer brand is an organisation's reputation as an employer. The term was first used in

the early 1990s by Simon Barrow, chairman of People in Business, and Tim Ambler, Senior

Fellow of London Business School, in the Journal of Brand Management, and has since

become widely adopted by the global management community.

This academic paper was the first published attempt to "test the application of brand

management techniques to human resource management". Within this paper, Simon

Barrow and Tim Ambler defined the employer brand as "the package of functional,

economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the

employing company"

Minchington (2005) defines employer brand as "the image of your organisation as a 'great

place to work'". The process of employer branding is concerned with talent attraction,

engagement and retention strategies deployed to enhance your company's employer

brand. Factors such as the marquee value of a company’s name, its industry position, and

even its corporate culture all contribute to the brand presence that can influence a job

seeker’s decision.

Organisations understand their consumers, consumer behaviour and research forms a

major part of any company’s R&D concerns, but understanding employees, what drives

them, WHY should they work for the company, how to make them more efficient, ends up

being sidelined and shoddy HR work is done just for formality’s sake. But any true global or

leading company which is successful today spends a considerable amount of time and

effort .

Brand management was largely viewed as a marketing terminology and was the key to

attracting and retaining consumers but organisations are increasingly understanding the

role of brand from the internal point of view as well, that is, for the present and potential

employees.

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Therefore, for every company to truly assess its employee engagement with the company,

it must ask itself the following questions.

● Why do people stay with your company?

● Why do people want to work for your company?

● Who are your stars; what are the common behaviors and traits that your stars

possess?

This would lead the company to come up with its EVP. The employer value proposition

(EVP) is a unique set of offerings, associations and values to positively influence target

candidates and employees.

By analyzing the factors influencing the employer brand, and by defining a strong and true

EVP, the employer will be able to deliver sound and consistent communications during the

communication phase and develop an attractive, as well as unique, employer brand.

The EVP provides attributes and themes to be used as a long-term foundation for your

branding and creative work. It ensures that the communication and branding done by a

company is consistent, unique, true and relevant to important target groups. Employers

that develop their EVP successfully benefit from an increase in their talent pool and

employee engagement.

But why is the need for employer branding increasing in today’s times?

What do BMW, Apple, and Southwest Airlines have in common?

They are all exceptional at linking employment and product brand. Apple hires the most

creative people to make the most creative products. BMW hires people who are driving

enthusiasts to build the ultimate driving machine. Southwest Airlines hires people who

have “fun” in their DNA.

Previously people wished more for physiological and security needs only and social came

in a bit higher up the ladder while actualisation came generally after a certain career stage,

but now in the hyperconnected world, and with the growth of the middle class lines

between personal and professional are blurring and people are connecting like no other.

Also the ubiquity of mobiles, and therefore connectivity to social networks has created

unprecedented hike in social needs and changed the way people communicate altogether.

All major brands have their social network pages, therefore now it has become almost a

prerequisite, something of a comfort factor.

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Today’s young generation brings a brand new set of values to the workplace. The emerging

workforce is not just looking for a high salary, or a successful career; young people want

more. They want purpose. They want to know why: “Why should I work here, how does it

fit into what I want with my life and why does this company do what it does?” Today’s

students and recent graduates do not make the same distinction between work and spare

time as previous generations did. Their careers are an important part of their identity and

consequently an integral part of their life in general. In a recent global Universum study on

career personalities, 85 percent of those surveyed said that their work is part of who they

are, not just a way of making money

Job security isn’t that much of a concern and with increased globalisation as well, the

willingness to move or relocate for work has increased. Turnover rates are also higher.

People leave an organisation without much of a hesitation, in fact its the standard way to

rise up the ranks. This increased mobility of employees therefore forces organisations to

create an environment, a work culture, that would truly make their employees feel good

about their job. This can be done by improving work life balance, increased focused on

corporate social sustainability, supporting volunteer efforts; so that the employees believe

their company has a bigger purpose than just making money.

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The Role of Social Media

Recruiting is (and has always been) a social activity. Social Media Recruiting made internet

recruiting more like recruiting in real life (except that a billion people are now only one

message away). Companies need to start to engage a candidate in a way they never could with a recruiter

because of (social media's) scalability and the ability to have a two-way dialog. They can

showcase the company with pictures and videos and give candidates an idea of what it feels

like to work there.

Linkedln recruiting tools focus on finding candidates and networking online; while

Facebook and Twitter recruiting tools focus on employer branding- an important part of

engaging candidates. But whether it’s the company LinkedIn or Facebook page or everyone

involved in the interviewing process from the HR manager to the CIO – and even the firm’s

external PR messaging – the brand needs to come though consistently at every touch-point.

Companies that don't embrace social media as a recruitment tool might risk losing quality

candidates to their competition that is focused on such outreach,

The candidates expect the employer to be there, and if they aren’t then the company is

losing out on a sizeable proportion of audience and losing out in terms of quality of the

applicants as well.

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Advising Employers on the Right Way to go about Social

Media Recruitment

❏ Put a human face to social media, have a person managing social media and let

people see who that person is. This would be the social media equivalent of an HR

coordinator who conventionally handles e-mail communication.

❏ Promote social media as a legitimate medium of communication. Conduct online

workshops, presentations, events etc. and request people to contact you through

social media storefronts. It is not enough to add a standardized “Follow Us on

Twitter” button everywhere.

❏ Create a Social Media Policy with clear guidelines on how to use social media

while being an employee at the organization. Make it clear that any social media

bloggers are expressing their own views.

❏ Use the openness of social media to monitor sentiments regarding your company,

both positive and negative. Conventional channels of communication present only

feedback that is explicitly directed towards you. With social media, however, you

can often also monitor feedback about you directed towards peers.

❏ When building your online network, don’t forget your biggest asset: your current

employees. Everyone at your organization can help with the recruiting effort.

Internal recommendations are a great way to find reliable people, and having your

employees help announce job openings in their LinkedIn and Facebook status

updates expands your reach to people who aren’t directly connected to your

company

❏ Consider your current employers as brand advocates for your company. In the

business scheme of things your employees serve three main purposes – (1) to work

with your customers properly, professionally and efficiently; (2) to see that your

company acquires and retains customers; and (3) to help your business grow and

succeed. To do all of this effectively, your employees need to be fully immersed in

your brand. So, it would be beneficial to meet with them once in a while and provide

them with tips on best practices, and strategies for handling their day-to-day

responsibilities properly. Ensure that your employees have a firm grasp and

thorough understanding of who you are as a company and why.

❏ Use real and virtual professional and social networks. For example, in May 2008,

TMP Worldwide recruiters set up Network in World, a “virtual job fair” on Second

Life. Ernst & Young has groups on Twitter and Facebook where it posts job updates.

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❏ Leverage all available social media tools. Examples: John Fluevog Boots & Shoes

uses its Open-Source Footwear Social Network to solicit customers’ shoe designs.

Starbucks gathers consumer ideas on its My Starbucks Idea social network.

❏ Meaningful, cooperative teaching combines mentoring, peer learning, formal

“competency” training and experiential “context-based” learning. Deloitte’s leaders

estimate that its Coaching and Career Connections site has helped save between

$120 million and $150 million through retaining employees.

❏ Consider your company’s recruiter(s) to be the spokespeople for your organization.

They represent your company’s brand each and every time they conduct business

on its behalf. Is their recruiter brand portraying the company culture in a positive

light? Do they make a point to uphold interview and appointment times? Do they go

out of their way to find the perfect fit for a position and prepare them ahead of time?

Individuals committed to excellence in their professional interactions will not only

make lasting impressions but also build and sustain your brand reputation.

❏ Depict very clear ways to contact company. Consumerism has grown leaps and

bounds. People do not hesitate to post reviews regarding products on the social

forums, but there’s still stigma regarding career postings, as it could be viewed in

bad light. If consumer communication can evolve from email newsletters and one

way TV ads then so should the employee communication. Recruiters should be

made more visible and accessible on the social handles.

❏ Make sure to keep your Jobs/Careers page on your company website updated

regularly. Maintain job descriptions and utilize your social media pages to share

current job opportunities. Along with keeping this page current, check all links

regularly to ensure they are working properly. This simple maintenance will show

prospective candidates and recruiters the kind of company you are, representing

your brand in a reputable way.

❏ A professional LinkedIn page for employees should include their education, work

experience, skills and current job positions. Your company’s LinkedIn page can be

a great online marketing tool; it is a great place to showcase information about

your company (products/services), and feature promotions to specific followers

and LinkedIn group members. It will allow you to connect with qualified

individuals in the job market and locate ideal candidates for your company.

❏ In addition to LinkedIn, your company could utilize several other social media

capacities to build the online presence that you want. Facebook, Google+,

Twitter,Klout, Youtube and Slideshare are all networks that when used correctly,

could hugely benefit your company. Through your voice on these networks you can

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find prospects to connect with, and enable them to see the kind of company culture

that they could potential be a part of.

❏ There are plenty of resources for job seekers to utilize to discover nearly everything

they need to know before they express interest in your company. People want to be

a part of a company with a mission; make sure you and your staff know what you

stand for, and how you represent that through the way you conduct business. This

will work to attract people with the qualities and attributes that you want to

represent your brand.

❏ Glassdoor is a free jobs and career review site that provides inside access to jobs

and companies. Monitor the reviews, add photos and create posts of your own –

offering helpful and unique information about your company to users.

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Conclusion

Organisations should focus on hiring employees who possess the same behaviors and traits

as their brand. They should also understand the importance of linking product and

employment brand.

Social media recruiting doesn’t follow the rules of the old standard job posting: publishing

a job ad and waiting for the inbound of resumes won’t work here. In this new environment,

the best approach is to constantly work on building relationships that the company can rely

on when it’s time to hire, accessing a pipeline of candidates that already showed interest in

working for the company, or access trusted influencers that can help connect to the right

people.

It's important to maintain the pieces that have resulted in successful hires to date. Social

media is meant to fuel other strategies. Social media should not replace traditional

recruiting strategies and tactics, but instead should supplement the solid recruiting

practices companies already have in place, thereby promoting integration of traditional

recruiting strategies with social media strategies.

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Bibliography

Barrow, S. and Mosley, R. The Employer Brand, Bringing the Best of Brand Management to

People at Work, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester.

Minchington, B (2010) Employer Brand Leadership – A Global Perspective, Collective

Learning Australia.

Martin, G (2009) Employer Branding and corporate reputation management, The Peak

Performing Organisation, Chapter 13, pp 252, Routledge, London.

Edwards, M. R., (2010), An integrative review of employer branding and OB theory,

Personnel Review Vol. 39, No.1, pp.5-23

Barrow, S. (1990), 'Turning recruitment advertising into a competitive weapon', Paper

delivered at the CIPD Annual Conference, Harrogate, UK.

Ambler, T and Barrow, S. (1996), The employer brand, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 4,

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