Don’t let the economic slowdown bring your brand down

It is only the third month of 2012 and already the hiring outlook in Singapore is bleak. Organizations are looking to cut back on spending to stay afloat – too often this means layoffs and salary freezes, with the recruitment process either stopping completely or taking place at a much more selective and slower rate.

Although organizations may see changes in recruitment processes as necessary strategies to achieve short-term cost-cutting goals, this type of action carries many risks.

When an organisation slashes staff levels and fails to manage the situation correctly, the brand equity of that organisation is quickly diminished. A strong brand is obviously crucial to retaining an organisation’s customers but a brand doesn’t only influence customers - current and potential employees are also a key constituency with strong opinions of the organisation. A company once seen as a superior place to work can quickly become the last pick for top performing individuals looking to move.

It can be argued that in years such as this even more needs to be done to proactively manage your brand. If an organisation is to successfully emerge from the economic downturn, it must hire and retain the top employees in the marketplace. To do this, they must empower the potential employee with the confidence that the move is the right one to make. They do this by strengthening their employer brand.

Employer branding
Employer branding is a relatively recent addition to the HR and recruitment arsenal. There isn’t a set definition, as employer branding can mean different things to different people, but in essence an employer brand establishes the identity of the organisation as an employer. It encompasses the organisation’s values, systems, policies and behaviours towards the objectives of attracting, motivating and retaining the organisation’s current and potential employees.

Naturally, employer branding shares strong links with consumer branding as the employer brand usually reflects a significant element of the consumer brand.

Any well-managed and well-communicated consumer brand will provide a boost to the recruitment efforts of an organisation. But it’s when companies begin to bring consumer marketing techniques into the world of HR that employer branding gets really interesting.

Building the business case
Consumer marketing has long been forced to justify its existence by proving that marketing activity works, demonstrating the impact to the bottom line of the business.

Effective employer branding programmes draw upon this core principle, generating demonstrable business cases and highlighting dollars saved - or generated - through investment in best practice.

A good place to start is identifying savings at the recruitment end of the employee lifecycle, during the recruitment experience. Results from a consumer research survey conducted by AMS indicates that more than 52 per cent of respondents across the world said a negative interview experience would likely impact on their buying products or services from that organization in the future. Only 10 per cent said it would not, with the remainder undecided.

There's particularly alarming news for any business wishing to retain control of its reputation and Brand. Given the thousands, or tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of applications made each year, a poorly-managed employer brand and recruitment process results in the loss of many potential sales.

The converse is true – a great employer brand and engaging recruitment process can realise revenues. Should exposure to the employer brand through the recruitment process have such a positive influence that an applicant becomes a customer, the organisation can realise additional revenues.

If an organisation that transacts 10,000 applications per year can convert just 5% of these candidates into customers, it gains 500 customers. Multiply the number of new customers by average customer spends – and that’s HR’s contribution to revenue.

So, how do we measure this? The answer is straightforward – incorporate special offers into candidate management, and track them at point of sale.

For instance, an organisation in the FMCG sector could consider offering promotional or discount coupons to unsuccessful applicants, and track uptake of offers through the normal promotion management channels. Other sectors could offer similar benefits; discounts, promotional offers, and loyalty programmes.

Additional savings can be realised simply by raising the profile of the business, and the employer brand. Every candidate who approaches the company directly - rather than through a recruitment or search agency - saves the agent’s fee. A successfully executed employer brand drives significantly higher volumes of direct applications, reducing the annual recruitment bill.

It’s not all about recruitment
Despite the extensive recruitment-related gains, employer branding is not solely recruitment-focussed - there are many benefits to applying the employer brand throughout the employee lifecycle. A strong employer brand reduces attrition, ensuring that the organisation’s best and brightest talent remains in place, creating competitive advantage. There is a monetary saving as well – reduced attrition means lower recruitment costs, and hiring manager, HR and recruiter time savings.

Perhaps the most important part of consumer branding to be brought to employer branding, and to HR as a whole, is being able to demonstrate the benefits of these programmes in real dollar savings or dollar revenues. By speaking the language of the decision-makers – money – HR stands a far greater chance of having these initiatives accepted and signed off.

The benefits of a strong employer brand
Essentially, the benefits of a strong employer brand are seen through recruitment, retention and productivity. With brand appeal that is consistent across the organisation you’ll be able to attract and retain high performing employees.

Organisations that continually communicate with their employees will produce a motivated and confident workforce, well equipped to take advantage of opportunities when the economy picks up. It is also these companies that will have the best access to the top performers so are much better placed to win the ‘war for talent’. Strong candidates seek out strong brands. 

Martin Cerullo, Managing Director, Development, Asia Pacific and Global Director, Resourcing Communications & Innovation, Alexander Mann Solutions (outsourcing and consulting services company)