All of us should look at leadership as being a mindset that’s about being the leader of your own life, and we all have the choice to be able to do that. Can your business afford to be making headlines simply because your employer brand is constantly under fire?
In their book Employer Brand: Bringing the Best of Brand Management to People at Work, Simon Barrow and Richard Mosely talk about employer brand in terms of an organization’s reputation as an employer and its value proposition to its employees as opposed to its more general corporate brand reputation and value proposition to customers.
For your talent management strategy to succeed, your focus on your employer brand is as significant as your focus on workplace culture. Sought-after talent is constantly evaluating your brand’s reputation. This is especially true of the millennials. The millennials are going to comprise of 75% of your workforce by 2025. That’s not very far away.
Gone are the days when scrutinizing an employee’s resume was the sole domain of the employer. The tables have turned. Candidates are doing their own research, paying close attention to the status of your brand in the global marketplace. Information is easily available, and it’s almost impossible to erase a negative brand experience.
Some of you may remember Canada’s formerly most-loved coffee franchise became, as the Toronto Star reported, a brand in crisis. Many months later, the company is still reeling from the impact of their chosen reaction to the then-Ontario provincial government’s increase to the minimum wage.
By cutting out pay breaks, changing incentive programs and certain benefits to employees in an effort to counter the wage increase, news via word of mouth spread like wildfire.
The point is that not only is your customer evaluating your brand reputation. Your potential talent is doing the same. So in summary, remember, perception is reality. Your employer brand matters. Prospective talent is watching how you manage your brand’s reputation.
Are you being honest and transparent with your customers and your employees? And developing an employee-centric vision needs to be part of your overall talent management strategy.
This article is a transcript from Talent Management Ep.4 – Talent Management and your Brand on YouTube.
Michelle Ray (Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com
