Employer Branding !!!

What defines an employer brand? First publicly introduced to a management audience in 1990, the term has come to be associated with a favorable perception that an organization succeeds in creating for its existing as well as potential employees. It has been defined as “the package of functional Economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the employing company.”


Employer branding- creating an image of the organization
Every organization has to create something unique to attract and retain their main capital- the employees. It essentially constitutes what the employee gets out of the organization over and above the monetary compensation for providing his services.

Employer Branding- why is it necessary?
Every company needs to compete in today’s world to get the best manpower possible. It is not only about the job-seeker who needs the job, it is also about the organization capturing and retaining the right talent at the right time. Shortage of skilled manpower post-recession and rising costs have made employer branding a necessity among the HR personnel the world over. Building up a brand for your company and fulfilling the promises keeps the current employee happy and attracts new, talented ones.

Cost Cutting: Creating a brand gives the organization an edge over its competitors to bargain for lesser compensation packages. Employees want to work for a brand, irrespective of salary levels.

Hiring the right talent: People are the primary asset of a company and hiring and retaining top performers will only contribute to the organization’s growth and profitability.

Brand association: Professionals want to work for a company which has been able to create an image for itself in the market, as a responsible and honest employer. The employer brand intertwines with the consumer brand, as job-seekers increasingly try to associate themselves with a brand.

The key to business success: Creating a brand image separates an organization from the clutter of competition. Employees remain ever loyal to a power brand employer compared to its lesser counterparts.

How to become the employer of choice through effective branding?
The first step calls for research within and without the company amidst the target group. Research needs to be done on the following parameters:

• Know how the target group perceives the employer

• Learn what the target group wants and needs from the employer

• Discover where the employer is positioned in relation to its competition

• Ensure that the research is updated regularly

The next step is to zero in on a unique offer or the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). This helps the organization to differentiate itself from its competition. Every company should have something to offer which its competition doesn’t. This will help employers attract a premium talent pool and increase employee engagement, besides decreasing salary costs.

Communication channels are the next most important deciding factor in building up an effective employer brand. An effective medium of communication needs to be set up. Various media can be used; it could be the corporate website of the channel, a seminar in a college, a newspaper advertisement or taking part in an event- the medium needs to be determined in tune with the target group.

Existing employees are also an important medium for advertising one’s brand. An organization conscious of building its brand in the perspective of its employees needs to works on two parameters where it comes to the existing employees:

• What an employee knows about the organization and

• What he/she feels about it

Positivism on these parameters brings on an emotive engagement towards the organization, which makes the employees ambassadors of the employer brand. The organization thus succeeds in creating an impression of itself, when the top management is transparent in its ideas and actions.

The most important resource for a company is its employees, and if the company takes care of the employee, the employee will in turn take care of the company. Like Bill Marriott of Marriott Hotels says, "Take care of the associates, and they'll take good care of the guests, and the guests will come back."

Succession Planning !!!

The show must go on. Handing over the baton at the right time to the right person is a tightrope walk. India Inc. understands the importance of running the show without interruptions; hence companies like Tata Sons, HCL, Godrej group and RPG enterprises have succession plans in place and are in the process of working out names of successors who will take over the respective companies once the currents chiefs retire.

Succession Planning is essentially a process for identifying and developing internal people with the potential to fill key leadership positions in the company. Planning a replacement for a key role in an organization is the crux of succession planning. Needless to say then that the entire process requires that employees be recruited keeping a long term plan in mind and also adequate training provided for the future handling of responsibilities.

Besides providing a platform for the smooth running of the business, succession planning has some other advantages as well. They are as follows:

• It helps employees understand the long term goals and objectives of the organization
• A plan helps identify the developmental and training needs of future leaders
• It is beneficial for employees too, as it helps them understand what qualities the company is looking for in a person to fill in the leader’s shoes. It gives them an idea of what skills and talents are highly valued and what they need to work on to qualify themselves for future roles.

Succession Planning in family held businesses traditionally targeted only key leadership positions. But with the evolution of business and decentralization of departments in organizations, it has become imperative that top positions in all categories of jobs be considered for succession planning.

It is important to keep the motivation levels high and focus on retention of high-potential employees in an organization; especially so if the company is looking at a succession plan. A well placed retention plan creates a highly motivated workforce and a more productive work environment. This in turn enables the company to put in place a well-thought out succession plan for the future.

There are a few steps to creating an effective succession plan. Since this kind of strategy has to be thought out well in advance, it is important that the organization has a loyal workforce and can stem attrition, at least from the middle level up.

Identification of leadership qualities is the most important factor in a succession plan. Certain skills and managerial qualities need to be identified in employees to determine the competencies required for success at key positions.

An organization also needs to identify whether or not it has a pool of competent and qualified candidates ready to assume leadership positions when the need arises. Managers play a big role at this stage of a succession plan. They might have to identify top-performers on their teams, who can pick up the reins when required.

Training is important, as it enables employees to learn more and handle additional responsibilities which prepare them for future roles as leaders. Retention and hiring of high potential employees is also important in the etching of a succession plan.

The overall business plan of the organization needs to be kept in mind while designing a succession plan. A strong development program needs to be put in place that will ensure that the right people with the right qualifications are able to take up responsibilities at the right time.