All aboard the Employer brandwagon

Employer branding as a concept dates back to 1990, when Simon Barrow first came up with his now famous definition of what an employer brand is all about. Despite this, the real push by organisations to define, implement and monitor their own brand seems to have gained momentum only in the last few years. Whether that's to do with the HR profession only belatedly gaining an understanding of its real benefits or it's the agencies being slow at getting their act together, employer branding continues to be a hot topic.

So what's at stake here? There's no doubt that no-one should undertake a branding project lightly. Getting it wrong is going to adversely affect the perceptions of not only prospective employees, but also the current workforce.

Here are nine tips for getting it right.

Think it through

Ask yourself: What are my objectives?  Does my organisation have an employer brand already? (The answer will always be yes.) What does success look like? Do I have a budget? A timeframe? These are just some of the things you need to consider.

Get top level buy-in

Without commitment from the very top, it's never going to work. You're going to need to gain senior acceptance of the value of the project and their view of the organisation's vision and values. Make sure you involve all the final decision makers - without their buy-in right from the start you're going to encounter problems. They will have to give their time on at least three occasions - for initial fact-finding and research, to give feedback on any concepts created and to okay final go-ahead and participate in the roll-out process.

Get marketing involved

Within most organisations, brand responsibility doesn't fall within HR's remit and an employer brand may be an alien concept for some marketing departments. Reassure them that this branding will not have a detrimental effect on the consumer brand. Indeed, remind them that recruitment communications are an important part of any organisation's marketing and PR mix.

Get the brief right

This is the critical bit, and you need to provide comprehensive information about your organisation, its aims and objectives, the challenges you face, any relevant research information you may already have, your target audiences (both internal and external), your decision criteria and a clear pitch timetable. As well as written documentation, face-to-face access at the briefing stage is always welcomed by the agencies and the opportunity to undertake site visits and meet key people will ultimately lead to better quality pitches.

Invite the right agencies to pitch

All too often, organisations hedge their bets when it comes to inviting agencies. How often do you see a pitch list that includes a big one, a medium sized one and a small one, plus possibly the agency that currently places your recruitment ads? Only invite agencies to pitch if you would actually appoint them. For example, if you have no intention of appointing your incumbent agency, don't put them through the process. Research the market - http://www.recruitment-marketing.co.uk/ and http://www.ri5.co.uk/ are good starting points. And hold exploratory meetings with agencies you identify as potential partners. From there, invite the three or four agencies you feel would best meet your needs.

Make your decision for the right reasons

Cultural and organisational fit is all-important. Pretty pictures and slick presentations are all very well, but you need to be sure your agency knows you and your market, has a track record of success on similar projects and ultimately has people you would feel comfortable working with. This isn't going to be a quick process (and you're going to be spending a lot of time with the agency), so personal chemistry is going to be important. Also, give some thought as to how important your project is going to be for the agency. Are they going to give your project the time and resources it needs for ultimate success? Once you've made the decision, let the unsuccessful agencies know as soon as possible, with constructive feedback, and set up the first planning meeting with your chosen partner.

Understand the process and the costs

The agencies will have given you their views on the process and ballpark costs at the pitch. Once you've selected your agency, that's when you really need to thrash out timelines, deliverables and actual costs. It's worth bearing in mind that costs can change, and you should expect your agency to talk you through any such changes rather than receive an unexpected bill.

Each stage of the process should be planned and it will be up to you to keep your side of the bargain - most agencies would argue that slippage occurs because clients haven't kept to the timeframes they have agreed. 

How will you roll it out?

Dependent on the size of your organisation, rolling out your new brand could take the form of events such as road shows or team briefings. Will you produce any collateral to accompany the launch - screensavers, a microsite, desk drops etc.? The important thing is to make sure the launch is seen as having senior stakeholder endorsement. 

How will you measure success?

At the very least your employees should be able to recognise the employer brand as reflective of the organisation they currently work for. A brand can be, and probably should be, aspirational, but if it's totally at odds with the current reality, it's not going to be credible. During the course of the project you would expect the agency to have tested concepts with representative focus groups so this shouldn't happen. An ongoing research programme will be required to assess the success of the work, particularly with external audiences. Are prospective employees more aware of you as an organisation? Are they more familiar with your vision and values? Are you seen as a destination employer? Good employer branding means the answer should be yes.

So there it is, then. My view of some of the things to consider. Let's get that brandwagon rolling.