Employer branding at Keells : Strategic implications for staff recruitment

 

Brands and Employees

A brand is “essentially a seller’s promise to consistently deliver a specific set of features, benefits, and services to the buyers [and …] is intended to identify the goods and services of one seller […] and differentiate them from those of competitors (Kotler 1997, p. 443)”. However, in the context of employer marketing, the employer brand is to be understood as the set of distinctive images of a prospective employer which are manifest in the minds of the target groups- potential employees (Meffert, Burmann & Koers 2002; Petkovic 2004). The difficult task for any organization is to manage the multiple brands it presents to its various stakeholders (e.g. consumer brands, company brand, employer brand). Important in this context is the link between the human resource management function and marketing (Martin et al. 2005). Both marketers and HR specialists need to be aware of the impact of their actions on each other’s branding objectives, and as much as possible, need to align their efforts. The employer brand is affected by and may affect, all of the other brands of the firm, and aligning internal beliefs about the firm and external brand messages is paramount. Companies with product brands with low consumer awareness may find it harder to attract highly skilled human capital, as potential recruits are less aware of the employer. Similarly, if product brands are seen as unattractive in consumer markets, potential recruits may have negative associations with the company and so may be reluctant to consider employment with the organization (Wilden et al, 2010).

Brand Equity and Signalling

Tsao (2002) suggests two means of measuring brand equity;

1. Cognitive psychology - buyer-based brand equity is a consequence of the performance and personality of the brand and is reflected in the perceptions of buyers.

2.Information economics - the individual has access to information about the brand.

In employment markets, asymmetric information motivates the information seeker to search for information in order to overcome the perceived information gap; consequently, information costs may be incurred. This theory suggests that in order to avoid adverse selection, information seekers use signals such as warranties, price, and brands to formulate their quality judgments. Information asymmetry and signaling theory have potential applications in employment markets as would-be employees rarely have perfect information about a prospective employer. Employment with a particular firm will have long-term implications for employees (and employers) and these consequences motivate potential employees to invest effort into gaining information about prospective employers. Sending appropriate signals, via employer branding, is one means that prospective employers can reduce potential employees’ information costs associated with this search (Wilden et al, 2010).

 “The employer brand establishes the identity of the firm as an employer. It encompasses the firm’s values, systems, policies, and behaviors toward the objectives of attracting, motivating, and retaining the firm’s current and potential employees” (Dell et al, 2001)

The Job Market Mechanism

Employer branding efforts aim to communicate the expected utility that a potential employee should anticipate from joining a company, and so build employee-based brand equity. This can also be described as employer attractiveness (Berthon, Ewing & Hah 2005). If potential employees have to commit high levels of resources in order to gain insights into a company, they may associate higher risk with joining the company and perceive the company as a less attractive prospective employer. If the information gained via signals is promising, perceived risk is reduced and the anticipated quality of a job enhanced. Consequently, potential employees will perceive the employer as more attractive (Aaker 1991).

References:

Aaker, D. (1991), Managing Brand Equity, New York: The Free Press.

Berthon, P., Ewing, M. & Hah, L.L. (2005), "Captivating company: dimensions of attractiveness in employer branding", International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 151-172.

Kotler, P. (1997), Marketing Management, Upper Saddle Hill: Prentice Hall.

Martin, G., Beaumont, P., Doig, R. & Pate, J. (2005), "Branding: A New Performance Discourse for HR?" European Management Journal, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 76–88.

Meffert, H., Burmann, C. & Koers, M. (2002), Markenmanagement – Grundfragen der identitätsorientierten Markenführung, Wiesbaden: Gabler.

Tsao, L. (2002), Using Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research, Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.