Employer branding A no-nonsense approach - CIPD

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Figure 8: The key attributes of the Prison Service employer brand HUMAN INSIGHT HUMOUR OUGHTFULNESS COMPETENC REALISM COURAGE You have to be clear what each attribute actually means. And you need to build the inference that each attribute leads to a specific behaviour – like this: REALISM usly optimistic Taking people as you find them Sceptical not cynical Nobody’s fool Happy to change a small part of the world HUMAN INSIGHT deal in when they express their values. You’ll know the words I mean – and, in any case, the depth and detail of the picture of your brand that the research yields will open many more verbal choices to you. At the heart of it all: the value proposition You’re now ready to write the few words that are right at the core of the new brand – its overall value proposition. A brand proposition isn’t the same as a campaign strapline, although some people seem to confuse the two. A proposition doesn’t have to be clever or snappy (but it should never be turgid or predictable); it probably will never appear in recruitment or other brand-based communications. But it’s a form of words that describes, in essence, what makes working for your organisation different and special. It therefore needs to be around and to work for a long time, so it’s worth taking the time to get it exactly right, and to check that everyone who’s close to the development of the brand is happy with its final form. Empathy Understanding Bridge-building ‘People not place’ Maturity Fairness COURAGE Moral as much as physical Sense of justice Don’t ‘go with the flow’ Loyal to team, not to tribe Looking at that Prison Service example… that set of brand attributes led us to the initial proposition we proposed: ‘If you’re fascinated by people and can relate to them effectively, you’ll find long-term interest and satisfaction in a career with the Prison Service.’ For a major retail chain, we developed a quartet of brand attributes: • champions • commercial • committed • credible. Why just four? Because we wanted them to be easily remembered and acted on in an organisation where most employees are hard at it in busy stores, trying to respond to customers and react to the latest machinations of the competition. Employer branding
A proposition that grows naturally out of these attributes is: ‘Be the best, beat your best as you earn the trust of customers and the respect of colleagues.’ It defines how it would feel to work for this organisation. It’s aimed at attracting people who get a buzz from the cut and thrust of modern retailing. But it indicates some of what the organisation expects of you, and in this aspect, it relates closely to some of the behaviours associated with the specific attributes, for example: Champions We love to beat our best, including our personal best. We’re passionate advocates of new ideas. The competition’s out there, not in here. Today’s successes are tomorrow’s challenges. From attributes to arguments Once you’ve established the brand attributes, you can then build specific examples of ‘what this means in practice’ for each one. You can identify and articulate the behaviours that you want everyone to associate with each attribute; you can even use them as the basis for specific arguments you can deploy in future employment marketing initiatives. Because, together with the proposition, you now have a complete, distinctive, accurate, compelling description of what it means and feels like to work for your organisation. Flexing the brand muscles One of the questions people often ask about employer brands is: ‘How can I make sure the brand works for different categories of staff – for senior managers as much as call centre workers?’ The answer’s simple: you emphasise those brand attributes that will have most resonance and significance for the particular audience you’re talking to at any one time. A former colleague, now a highly successful employer brand manager, describes this as ‘flexing different brand muscles’ (see Figure 9). Another analogy is a mixer desk. Your attributes are the different tracks; you can fade them up or fade them down depending on the audience you’re playing for. You’re not sacrificing consistency or compromising the brand. The music remains the same; it’s just that different audiences will hear it slightly differently. You have the inputs. You’ve established your baseline metrics against which you will confidently demonstrate future improvement. You’ve identified the attributes that define your brand’s individuality. You’ve developed an overall value proposition, the one overarching answer to the ever-present ‘what’s in it for me?’ questions lurking in the minds of current and prospective employees. It’s time for some action. Ready? Figure 9: Different audiences, different emphasis – flexing the brand muscles For potential Prison Officers... ...and for professional staff Human insight Human insight Courage Employer branding Thoughtfulness Realism Humour Courage Competence Humour Thoughtfulness Realism Competence
Page 1 and 2: Guide Employer branding A no-nonsen
Page 3 and 4: Acknowledgements Thank you to those
Page 5 and 6: Part 1: Introduction ‘The power o
Page 7 and 8: Part 3: How did we get here? Backgr
Page 9 and 10: Figure 3: Employer branding objecti
Page 11 and 12: Part 4: What is a brand? ‘I’m p
Page 13 and 14: work, showing more of that ‘discr
Page 15 and 16: e worth it since it shows the true
Page 17 and 18: For your last big recruitment drive
Page 19 and 20: that organisation’s vision and va
Page 21 and 22: ScottishPower (continued) Who had o
Page 23 and 24: Part 6: Making the case, getting th
Page 25 and 26: Project management will involve dis
Page 27 and 28: King’s College NHS Trust: clear d
Page 29 and 30: Case study learning points ‘We es
Page 31 and 32: Part 7: Overcoming objections ‘Th
Page 33 and 34: British Library: step by step, gets
Page 35 and 36: Part 8: Choosing your partner ‘We
Page 37 and 38: Building internal partnerships and
Page 39 and 40: The list of actions and activities
Page 41 and 42: Telephone depth interviews What are
Page 43: Figure 7: Brand development process
Page 47 and 48: gives you the means to plug them. I
Page 49 and 50: Diesel (continued) Applicants were
Page 51 and 52: The tools for the job In many organ
Page 53 and 54: Orange (continued) Who had ownershi
Page 55 and 56: Part 11: Building brand loyalty, cr
Page 57 and 58: approach their work. ‘Your M&S’
Page 59 and 60: Paperchase: where product creates b
Page 61 and 62: Second, they’ll realise that they
Page 63 and 64: Thirty things you need to remember
Page 65 and 66: Find out more... Employer Branding:

Employer branding A no-nonsense approach - CIPD

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?