From the course: Employer Branding to Attract Talent

What is an employer brand

From the course: Employer Branding to Attract Talent

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What is an employer brand

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- Imagine you've just run into a friend you haven't seen since college. The first thing you ask is hey, where are you working these days? She tells you LinkedIn. If you're like most people, your immediate reaction would be something like wow, that must be a really cool place to work. Can you get me a job there? Now, imagine if instead, she said she was working at Kinnet Energy, a company that you know nothing about. You'd probably say that's cool, and then quickly change the subject. That conversation, or lack of one, is based on what we call a company's employer brand. Let me explain what employer brand is and why you might want to start paying more attention to this topic. An employer brand is the market perception of what it's like to work for an organization. In other words, it's the image that your perspective, current, and past employees have in their minds about the employment experience at your company. It's based on a number of factors, including your company culture, work environment, and employee benefits. Every company has an employer brand. Some are more well-known than others. Now, some of you may be thinking, we don't really need to spend much time focusing on our employment brand, because we don't have that many job openings. Well, strong employer brands don't happen overnight. The fact that no one is leaving your company could change in the not so distant future. So, you need to be ready to attract new people in a tight market. Start working on your brand today, and you'll be well positioned should you find yourself with unexpected job openings. Another reason to focus on your employer brand has to do with your company's reputation in the overall industry. Let's say a potential client is looking to purchase capital equipment from your company, and the equipment will require periodic maintenance. The client logs onto Glassdoor, an online site where current and former employees can anonymously post about what it's like to work for your company. And the client discovers you have high levels of employee turnover in your maintenance staff. As a result, they choose to take their business elsewhere. Before you know it, you've gone from market leader to market follower. Remember, every company has an employer brand. The key is to manage your employer brand so that your reputation with perspective, current, and past employees, all of whom may become future customers, is one that you're proud to call your own.

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