Employer Branding Analysis Essay Example

values, what it promises to deliver to emotionally connect employees so that they in turn deliver what a business promises to customers."

Employer branding is predicated on the assumption that human capital brings value to a firm (Backhaus and Tikoo, 2004). It is supported by the resource-based view proposed by Barney (1991), that possession of resources that are rare, valuable, non-substitutable and difficult to imitate create competitive advantage for the company. Through the creation of a valuable employer brand, employers might attain competitive advantage.

To build the employer brand, an organization must work from the inside out, with a consistent substance, voice, and authenticity throughout the employment relationship. Sartain and Schumann believe that the employer branding may be the most powerful tool a business can use to emotionally engage employees.

In 2009, Sartain and Schumann expanded their discussion of employer branding to include branding for talent. To brand for talent is to market an organization as a place to work to create demand--as a magnet for talent-- to attract, retain, and engage the right people to do the right work at the right time with the right results. The impact is a company as famous for talent and for its products and services.

There is ample evidence that employer branding and employee engagement, when linked, can have significant efficiency and commerical impact -- Gallup and others provide rafts of data on the impact on Earnings Per Share, Total Shareholder Return, Employee Retention, etc.

According to the Wall Street Journal (March 23, 2009) “Companies have long divided consumers into segments. They should do the same with potential–and current workers.” Ms. Lara Maroko and Dr. Mark D. Uncles recommend that employers use

the same tools and techniques employed to market to segments of consumers to reach out to potential and current workers. They argue that it is more profitable to treat certain groups of workers and potential workers differently based on a segmented marketing approach. The academics reference research that suggests that there are five ways to think about consumer differentiation: potential profitability, product feature preferences, reference groups, bargaining power, and choice barriers.

Schumann and Sartain in “Brand for Talent” state that segmentation is at the core of any effective marketing program. The talent brand can move beyond generic messaging to express what will truly make the difference to a worker. For some, the brand may instigate a choice and for others reinforce a choice. But segmentation doesn’t mean creating a separate talent brand for each segment. It simply means adapting the talent brand message for each segment based on insight into audience needs and preferences. Chapter four outlines a methodology of segmenting talent by assessing demand for the worker against brand pressur

A “good company tag” is critical to a company’s ability to attract, motivate and retain the best and the brightest, thus gaining competitive advantage in the marketplace. Internationally, those companies that are voted as Best Companies to Work For also yield higher returns for shareholders. In fact, employee attitudes are directly linked with company performance, according to Watson Wyatt’s Human Capital Index. Additionally companies that are considered good employers have a strong identity and image in the marketplace. . Employer branding is the process of creating an identity and managing the company’s image in its role as an employer. As organizations are complex, open systems, single

interventions are not enough. The employer brand has to be aligned and congruent with what the company delivers to the employee, customer, public and shareholder.