Articol de: Elena Badea, Managing Partner, Valoria Business Solutions
What is now different in some companies?
Multinational companies first gave a good example of employer branding. Even if they were doing so to meet headquarter’s requirements, and for that they were allocating extremely small budgets, good practices began to appear in Romania in the early 2000s. The issue encountered (even today) is that of the huge differences between the content of employer brand communication and reality within such companies (hence the jokes on this subject). Of course, not all multinationals are misalingned, but the challenge of maintaining a people-centered organizational culture and a good employer brand in an environment with little local decision-making power has often been a hinderance.
At the opposite end, entrepreneurial companies have the limitation of the understanding and attention given by the founder to the employer brand of the company. Unfortunately, for many years, this was not the focal point for entrepreneurs, but the continue struggle with the instability of the economic environment, the challenges of business scalability and the achievement of results for the development of the company. Entrepreneurs who have succeeded in building the employer brand are those who are innate communicators, but especially those who have this as a personal value.
How is the employer brand built and how long does it take?
From zero to hero, it takes at least 2-3 years. The starting point is the understanding by all the members of the management team of the concept, the construction mechanisms and the maintenance of the employer brand. As in many other situations, we start from awareness and know-how.
The second step is to carry out, with the help of a consultant, the analysis of the company’s internal and external environment to accurately diagnose the employer branding development status. The items to be included in the diagnose are the following:
- In the internal environment: company policies, working conditions, key positions, supervising staff practices, recruitment practices, reward and retention, elements affecting / assisting the employer brand, etc.
- In the external environment: the current perception of the employer brand (the non-existent), the landscape created by the competition on the subject, the good practices in other industries that may be relevant, the most effective communication channels, etc.
The third step is to develop the employer value proposition, a 3-year strategy and the tactics for the first year, to start building the employer brand. Obviously, theimplementation is the most important and most challenging stage. To be noted that the construction of the employer brand never ends for a company.
