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Many HR pros, especially in small- to medium-sized companies, might say, "Oh, we don`t have an HR brand." They may think they have yet to develop one. But that`s a misconception. Want it or not, you already have an HR brand. Is it a good one? Is it aligned with your business and recruiting strategies? Let`s look at what`s involved, according to Bethany Haley, president of Savage Branding & Corporate Design in Houston, Texas.
"HR Branding: A Field Guide" is the title of a booklet created by Savage to help organizations identify the essence of what they are as a place to work--a combination of culture, reputation, benefits, and internal relationships. As the booklet says, HR branding "is an emotional attachment that makes employees long-term partners in achieving your company`s goals." In addition, the partnership only succeeds when the brand "rings true and is reinforced across all touch points that the employee encounters at your company."
To represent the uniqueness of your corporate culture, it should be aligned with your external branding. As examples of successful alignment, Savage offers these, among others:
Deloitte + Touche: Does it matter who you are? Or does it matter what you do?
Amazon.com: Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
Anheuser-Busch: We tap talent.
Picture yourself at Kodak.
Microsoft: How far will you go?
Southwest Airlines: Freedom begins with me.
The Home Depot: Build communities. Build relationships. Build dreams. Build something.
Xerox: eXpress yourself.
Where does HR start identifying its brand? A good first step is to assess the characteristics of the employees who have remained with you for the longest time, as well as of those you`ve lost long before you wanted to. Two cautions: If all your best and brightest who`ve left are part of Generation Y, that tells you more about their constant quest for new challenges than about who you are as an employer.
Second, assess whether your long-tenure employees are top performers. If not, you may be retaining the wrong people. Keep your eye at all times on the people who contribute the most to your organization. If you lose a few mediocre performers, don`t worry about it. Identifying the strengths of people who succeed in your company can also be crucial for effective recruiting strategies.
Ask yourself, and your colleagues, whether the company treats its employees as well as it treats its customers. In the same way your customer service has to be good all the time, not just when it`s convenient, employees` experience of working in your organization needs to be consistent and rewarding. As the national recruitment manager of a large network of printing facilities puts it, "You entice someone to join your company--that`s the dating process. But once that`s over you have to work even harder on the relationship. What companies really need to focus on these days is recruiting their existing employees."
Enhance Your HR Brand With These Steps
Here`s more from Savage on how to recognize and then spark up your HR brand.
Carefully define your employer value proposition: It`s not just about your mission to your customers; just as important are the values your employees will derive--beyond salary and benefits--from working for your organization.
Be sure you have top-level support for your branding effort. If it doesn`t seem important to the C-level suite, you may be able to persuade them by talking about the impact of the war for talent on your recruiting program, stressing the hard-to-find skills.
Create an ongoing communications program that reinforces the HR brand by recruiting through new-hire orientation all the way to retirement. Remember that your brand doesn`t die when an employee resigns or retires. If you`ve inculcated the messages well enough in the person`s mind and heart, he or she will continue to broadcast them to others. Dell Computers instituted a branding campaign called "Be the Reason." Aimed at employees through newsletters, awards events, and PowerPoint® presentations, the campaign reminded them of their pervasive influence on Dell`s relationships with customers. The customer satisfaction index improved by 20 percent within the first year of the campaign. For more about branding and the Dell program, visit Savage`s website at www.savagebrands.com.
Although it`s not all about compensation and benefits, some of it is. Don`t neglect to keep your offerings competitive within your industry and location.
As you build your HR brand, stick strictly to the truth--all the time. Once employees come to believe what the organization tells them, they are your best means of getting your message out to customers and the general public.
Extend the brand as well to potential employees, even if you`re not yet aware of your need for them in specific jobs. That means the brand should be prominent at trade shows, trade association meetings, networking events, and wherever else your organization appears.
Source:
http://www.hr.blr.com
"HR Branding: A Field Guide" is the title of a booklet created by Savage to help organizations identify the essence of what they are as a place to work--a combination of culture, reputation, benefits, and internal relationships. As the booklet says, HR branding "is an emotional attachment that makes employees long-term partners in achieving your company`s goals." In addition, the partnership only succeeds when the brand "rings true and is reinforced across all touch points that the employee encounters at your company."
To represent the uniqueness of your corporate culture, it should be aligned with your external branding. As examples of successful alignment, Savage offers these, among others:
Deloitte + Touche: Does it matter who you are? Or does it matter what you do?
Amazon.com: Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
Anheuser-Busch: We tap talent.
Picture yourself at Kodak.
Microsoft: How far will you go?
Southwest Airlines: Freedom begins with me.
The Home Depot: Build communities. Build relationships. Build dreams. Build something.
Xerox: eXpress yourself.
Where does HR start identifying its brand? A good first step is to assess the characteristics of the employees who have remained with you for the longest time, as well as of those you`ve lost long before you wanted to. Two cautions: If all your best and brightest who`ve left are part of Generation Y, that tells you more about their constant quest for new challenges than about who you are as an employer.
Second, assess whether your long-tenure employees are top performers. If not, you may be retaining the wrong people. Keep your eye at all times on the people who contribute the most to your organization. If you lose a few mediocre performers, don`t worry about it. Identifying the strengths of people who succeed in your company can also be crucial for effective recruiting strategies.
Ask yourself, and your colleagues, whether the company treats its employees as well as it treats its customers. In the same way your customer service has to be good all the time, not just when it`s convenient, employees` experience of working in your organization needs to be consistent and rewarding. As the national recruitment manager of a large network of printing facilities puts it, "You entice someone to join your company--that`s the dating process. But once that`s over you have to work even harder on the relationship. What companies really need to focus on these days is recruiting their existing employees."
Enhance Your HR Brand With These Steps
Here`s more from Savage on how to recognize and then spark up your HR brand.
Carefully define your employer value proposition: It`s not just about your mission to your customers; just as important are the values your employees will derive--beyond salary and benefits--from working for your organization.
Be sure you have top-level support for your branding effort. If it doesn`t seem important to the C-level suite, you may be able to persuade them by talking about the impact of the war for talent on your recruiting program, stressing the hard-to-find skills.
Create an ongoing communications program that reinforces the HR brand by recruiting through new-hire orientation all the way to retirement. Remember that your brand doesn`t die when an employee resigns or retires. If you`ve inculcated the messages well enough in the person`s mind and heart, he or she will continue to broadcast them to others. Dell Computers instituted a branding campaign called "Be the Reason." Aimed at employees through newsletters, awards events, and PowerPoint® presentations, the campaign reminded them of their pervasive influence on Dell`s relationships with customers. The customer satisfaction index improved by 20 percent within the first year of the campaign. For more about branding and the Dell program, visit Savage`s website at www.savagebrands.com.
Although it`s not all about compensation and benefits, some of it is. Don`t neglect to keep your offerings competitive within your industry and location.
As you build your HR brand, stick strictly to the truth--all the time. Once employees come to believe what the organization tells them, they are your best means of getting your message out to customers and the general public.
Extend the brand as well to potential employees, even if you`re not yet aware of your need for them in specific jobs. That means the brand should be prominent at trade shows, trade association meetings, networking events, and wherever else your organization appears.
Source:
http://www.hr.blr.com
