Professional of the Year 2007: Employer Branding

Employer branding can be seen as a trademark, symbolising a company’s core values and serves as a crucial factor in recruitment and retention of talent. It can be approached at various levels, from the image a company projects to the total value it holds for shareholders, affecting all areas of the organisation.

Essentially, employer branding represents the total value proposition a company communicates, setting apart one from another. It is also built across time and has to be consistent across all platforms for it to leave its mark. Charles Chee, HR director of Agilent Technologies Singapore and Thailand says, “It takes years of consistent
messaging in all recruitment communications” to build an employer brand. It is also seen as equivalent of an identity, embodying certain values individuals identify with, such as a company’s approach to the environment or its policy towards gender  equality.

Each employer brand has its voice and it is this unique voice that attracts varying skill sets in the workplace, contributing to the diversity of business. Following the fall of some of America’s largest employer brands, it has become even more critical
for companies to maintain their reputation, with corporate governance and transparency becoming buzzwords in business.

Managing all these elements is increasingly challenging, particularly with business becoming global and the blurring of identities in the process. While uniformity across
the corporate world cannot be avoided, employer branding could earmark some companies for greatness.

Some of the world’s largest employer brands are in the top 10 list of Human Resources's HR Professional of the Year survey. They include HP, Singapore
Airlines, IBM, Microsoft, Citibank, Ritz -Carlton, Shell, McDonald’s, SinTel and Agilent Technologies.

Once again, HP wins more of the local business vote, 22 votes or 12.14% as opposed to the foreign business vote, (5.67%). In comparison, Singapore Airlines receives more of the foreign business vote than it does the local, 8.96% as opposed to 7.24%.

Like HP, IBM, which is in the third place, garners more of the local business vote, but the margins are very slight here, 10 votes (6.20%) as opposed to 9 (6.87%). While Microsoft may not be amongst the top three nominated firms, it wins  strong votes from foreign companies, faring better than IBM, with 11
votes (8.36%).

Moving to industry vote by sector, one observes certain trends reflected in other categories. HP’s employer brand once again wins majority votes of 13.74% from business & personal services.

First runner-up Singapore Airlines wins maximum votes from the retail & hospitality
industry, 21.13%, while HP receives 5.63% of the ndustry’s vote. IBM gets no votes at all from this industry. On the other hand, IBM wins 10.17%, from financial services whereas Singapore Airlines receives no votes from this industry. HP fares
reasonably well, with 8.47% of the financial services vote.

It may come as no surprise that IBM wins the majority vote of the IT & telecommunications industry (15.60%) yet again, as opposed to HP with 7.34% and Singapore Airlines with just 2.75%.

The expatriate vote doesn’t throw up any surprises except that companies with no expatriates vote equally for HP, Singapore Airlines and IBM,with all winning four votes each (6.43%). HP wins most votes from companies with 1-10 expatriates, nine
votes or 9.33%. Both Singapore Airlines and IBM win six votes each from companies with 1-10 expatriates.

Singapore Airlines wins the majority of votes from companies with 21-50 expatriates, six votes or 11.51% versus HP with 10.07% and IBM with 2.16%. HP
and IBM win an equal share (12.77%) of the vote of companies with 11-20 expatriates, whereas Singapore Airlines wins just 6.38%.

IBM receives no votes from companies with 51- 100 expatriates, with HP winning three votes and Singapore Airlines winning two. In comparison, Singapore Airlines receives no votes from companies with 101-200 expatriates, with HP and IBM receiving a vote each. HP does least well, with just 2.94% of the vote from companies with 201-500 expatriates, whereas Singapore Airlines does better than HP and IBM with 13.24% in this category.

When it comes to company size, HP is a clear winner from companies with a headcount of over 500, with 12.86%. This is somewhat consistent with the other categories of the survey. IBM also has its best showing here, with 7.47% of the vote. Singapore Airlines does most well from companies with a headcount of 201-500, winning 14.53%. HP tops the list of those with local responsibility, winning 9.31%
and also wins the majority vote of those with regional or international responsibility (9.07%).

So what does an employer brand do for the business? HP views its employer brand “like any other strategic and financial asset”, believing it to contribute to the promise it holds for customers, partners and employees. Foo Chiew Eng, HR director, Southeast Asia, HP says, “Our brand is one of the most valuable assets we have as a company.”

While HP’s brand promise is “We can help you do that”, working for McDonald’s could mean “endless career opportunities.” Eunice Lee, director HR and development, McDonald’s Restaurants says the priority is to provide “every McDonald’s employee with important experiences that develop their skills and competencies” in order to empower them.

Chee defines Agilent’s employer brand as visionary, people oriented and amazing technology. Each of these companies sees its individual employer brand as an indispensable tool in the talent war that businesses are facing today. It is
about perception and can draw both employees and drive sales, working across the organisation to impact revenue.

As one of HP’s spin-offs, Chee says Agilent had to break away from the strong HP brand name it was associated with and come up with its own one. To do that, the company created a consistent brand message across all areas of communication, with branding seen as more than mere advertising. Every aspect of communication such as email messages, speeches, customer meetings and campus visits contributed to building its employer brand.

Su-Yen Wong, managing director of Mercer ASEAN sees a major challenge in giving employees the experience that “embodies the same values and commitments as expressed externally in the organisation’s identity, products and services.”

Employer branding needs to stay true to its promise as dissatisfied employees can prove a powerful voice.

McDonald’s i-stories employer branding campaign draws on its most powerful spokesperson, the employee. Focusing on real people and real careers, the top 10 winner of the employer branding category highlights the story of different employees and the path they’ve taken within the company.

“Indeed, it reinforced what we have always believed – that our employees are our brand ambassadors, our true stars in employee branding”, McDonald’s
Lee says.

On the other hand, HP has also regular branding initiatives in place. New employees
are shown the “Origins” video, a documentary that encapsulates the beginnings of HP and the value and spirit of the brand. Another internal initiative is “Demo Days”, where existing employees are given a run-through of a retail store that sells HP products.To reinforce its brand in the marketplace, HP also places emphasis on corporate citizenship programmes.

Taking into account the various aspects that make up an employer brand, one can conclude that it is indeed a living organism. Employer branding is fuelled by the quality of a company’s products in the marketplace and its values and more importantly, by the people who “walk the talk”, thus reinforcing the argument that a brand is more than just an entity but a voice.