Most companies are just now catching on to the power of employment branding. We recently were introduced to the highly creative employment branding videos of Apple, Ernst & Young, Google, Intel, and Accenture. Each company was able to capture the companies’ culture, along with all the possibilities an employee will experience while working at each company. What ideas are you working on to attract top talent? Are you prepared for the coming new year challenges of attracting talent to your company? How will you stand out from the crowd?
2014 Branding: Imagine,Create & Be The Brand
In 2014, companies will need to really build a strong employment brand in order to attract good employees. It will be the year that thinking outside the box makes the company hip to be the square peg.
Step 1: Imagine the Brand
The elements that make a strong brand include the following:
- Captures the true desires and possibilities of the candidate
- Creates unimaginable anticipation about working at your company
- Consistent message employees share about working at your company
- Captivates the hearts and minds in feelings of experiencing enjoyment, status, and daily challenges
This is the most exciting time during the process of employment branding. Gather your recruiting teams together for a brainstorming session of developing ideas that will align with the corporate brand. Invite the marketing department, the human resource department, one member from various other departments, and executive team members, if available. This not only brings multiple minds together to build the brand, but creates energy that increases employee belief in the brand that delivers a consistent message inside and outside the organization.
STEP 2: Create the Brand
When focusing on creating the brand it is very important to align with the consumer brand. The sales force will be able to relate the message and guide you in the right direction. The consumer brand holds many messages of soft qualities that empower the employment brand when they are aligned together. Some of the soft qualities could be passion, humbleness, integrity, tenacity, or positiveness.
Think about the individuals that walk the walk and talk the talk of the company brand. These individuals make incredible representatives of the companies employment branding. Teach them the consumer brand soft qualities, the company brand, and the employment brand and they will deliver a consistent message when seeking good candidates.
Step 3: Be the Brand
Recently, our family sat down to watch a movie together. It was the children’s movie Kung Fu Panda. As the movie progressed along, I found myself captivated by the personality of the Panda. At first, he appeared to be a complete train wreck and lacking any of the skills possessed by the Furious 5. They were being really hard on him and making statements about how he would never be one of them and should pack his things and go home. When the master started to believe in him, it allowed him to see Panda in a different light. Panda possessed the skills of the Furious 5, he just needed to believe in himself in order to find his natural talent. Once he started believing, he became the Dragon Warrior.
In order for your employment brand to become a consistently strong message, your employees must believe in it and Be the Brand. You will know when branding is working positively because talent will simply fall into the hands of your sources and recruiters. They will carry the message consistently to potential candidates and it will act like a boomerang bringing referrals to your doorstep.
Spark the Discussions
As we move deeper into the 21st century, robots are going to become pervasive in many industries. I would like to see an animation company take one of their recruiters and make an employment video with the recruiter as an animated robot. It would be a small 5 minute video including the elements that make a brand strong, the soft qualities of the consumer brand, and aligning all with the employment brand.
This is simply one idea to spark the discussions of creating an employment brand for your business. What ideas do you have for sparking a discussion? This next year, 2014, is the time to stand out from the crowd. Begin the discussions and start thinking outside the box. Imagine the Brand, Create the Brand, Be the Brand.
