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Branding Aligns Employees With
Organizational Goals

Updated October 6 2008 - The treatment of employees and the quality of products and services rate highest in job-searchers' perceptions of organizations they want to work for even though recent big-name collapses and layoffs might be attributable to financial health and market conditions. The effects and implications of 'employer branding' have interested both HR theorists and corporate branding experts for some time.

In Taking Brand Initiative: How Companies Can Align Strategy, Culture, and Identity Through Corporate Branding, Mary Jo Hatch and Majken Schultz (p.33) state:

"... BMW, Apple and Google have all created brands that make it easier for these companies to recruit talented workers and to motivate their employees. These effects get into territory that is highly subjective, such as the emotional attractions of a workplace or a brand's motivational implications. This territory lies beyond the reach of ordinary economic analysis."

For example, in surveys, conducted in 2001 and 2002 by the Cherenson Group, 78% of respondents said they would rather work for a company with an excellent reputation than for a company with a poor reputation - even if they were offered a higher salary.

"Our first study indicated that people would actually accept a lower paying job, in order to work for a company with an excellent reputation," said Michael Cherenson, vice president, The Cherenson Group. "This study indicates once again that nearly 8 in 10 people think with their hearts and not just their wallets."

Employer branding

According to Alan Price (p. 231) in a chapter on Commitment and Employer Branding in Human Resource Management in a Business Context, 3rd edition:

"The basis of employer branding is the application of the same marketing and branding practices to a company's human resource activities (specifically, recruitment and retention) as it uses for consumer-targeted marketing and branding efforts. In other words, the business markets its brand image to its staff. And just as customers will cease buying a company's products or services when a promise is unfulfilled, its employees will also leave if the company fails to live up to its employer brand promises."

Some businesses use separate, dedicated employer branding efforts aimed at aligning employees with their organizations' vision and values whereas others pursue this goal as one element of broader corporate branding strategies.

Corporate branding and employer branding

Hatch and Schulz (p. 142) argue that employment relationships should not be regarded as a standalone brand. Rather, 'HR should focus on customizing its practices to align them with the corporate brand.' The advocate a seamless relationship between employer and corporate branding with all branding efforts doing a 'double duty (that is, serving employees and building a strong brand).'

When employees have accepted the sincerity and accuracy of the employer brand they will carry it forward, actively promoting the brand to colleagues and customers. But note those words: sincerity and accuracy. Employer branding that is inherently untruthful will not work and is likely to be counter-productive.