Your employer branding efforts clash with company culture. How will you navigate this HR Consulting dilemma?
Employer branding is crucial in attracting and retaining top talent, but what if your branding efforts don't align with the actual company culture? This mismatch can lead to dissatisfaction and turnover, as employees' expectations aren't met. As an HR consultant, navigating this delicate situation involves assessing the discrepancy, realigning strategies, and ensuring transparency to build a cohesive brand that accurately reflects the company's values and work environment.
To address the clash between employer branding and company culture, start by conducting a thorough assessment of the current culture. Engage with employees at all levels through surveys, interviews, and focus groups to understand their perceptions and experiences. This reality check will highlight the gaps between the external image presented and the internal reality. Acknowledging these gaps is the first step towards realignment, ensuring that your branding efforts are rooted in authenticity.
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The aim of the employer brand is to attract employees and improve productivity. Employer branding is an important investment for companies that can have a huge impact on their success. A strong employer brand can reduce your company's resignation and employee turnover rates by 28% and cut your hiring costs in half. In addition, if an employer actively manages its brand, up to 75% of job seekers are likely to show interest and apply for a job at their company. Let's say a job seeker wants to start using Google. When searching, he might use these phrases in the search field: "top companies to work for" or "best company to hire". Obviously, job seekers want to work for a company that has a good reputation and treats employees well.
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Diagnose the Issue Conduct Internal Surveys: Gather employee feedback to understand their perception of company culture versus employer branding. Review Employer Branding: Analyze current branding materials to identify key messages. Evaluate Company Culture: Observe daily operations and gather insights through interviews and focus groups. Identify Discrepancies: Compare survey and culture findings with branding messages. 2. Analyze Root Causes Historical Context: Understand the evolution of branding and culture. Internal vs. External Perception: Assess differences in internal and external views of the company. Communication Gaps: Identify internal communication issues contributing to the discrepancy.
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Podemos realizar diagnósticos de la cultura actual mediante encuestas, entrevistas, focus grupos. Así identificamos perfecto las discrepancias que hay realmente y podemos hacer un plan de trabajo adecuado a las necesidades de la empresa y el colaborador.
Once you've identified the disconnects, it's time to realign your employer branding strategies with the actual company culture. This may involve revising your messaging to reflect the true work environment, values, and employee experience. It's essential to involve leadership in this process to ensure that any changes to the branding strategy are supported and enacted throughout the organization. A consistent and honest message is key to building trust with both current and prospective employees.
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Set Clear Objectives Define Desired Culture: Clearly articulate the values, behaviors, and practices that constitute the desired company culture. Align Branding Goals: Ensure that employer branding goals reflect and promote the defined culture. 2. Engage Leadership Leadership Commitment: Secure commitment from senior leaders to support and drive the alignment process. Leadership Training: Provide training for leaders on the importance of aligning culture and branding and how to model desired behaviors. 3. Revise Branding and Messaging Authentic Messaging: Update branding materials to accurately reflect the company’s true culture. Ensure all messaging is consistent and authentic. Storytelling
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Debemos ajustar lqs iniciativas de enployer branding para reflejar los valores y comportamientos observados. Aunque tengamos que ir de a poco debemos asegurar que las acciones y comunicaciones externas coincidan con la experiencia interna.
Leadership buy-in is critical when reconciling employer branding with company culture. As an HR consultant, advise leaders on the importance of their role in embodying the brand and culture. Encourage them to lead by example and be transparent about the company's values and practices. When leadership actively participates in promoting a genuine culture, it reinforces the brand's authenticity and helps to attract candidates who align with the company's true identity.
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1. Gain Commitment Executive Buy-In: Ensure top executives understand the importance of alignment. Present Data: Use data to show the impact of misalignment. 2. Establish a Vision Define the Vision: Clearly outline the desired company culture. Cultural Blueprint: Create a blueprint of key values and behaviors. 3. Develop a Strategic Plan Leadership Workshops: Conduct workshops to develop an actionable plan. Actionable Steps: Ensure each leader knows their role and responsibilities. 4. Model Desired Behaviors Lead by Example: Encourage leaders to embody the desired culture. Visible Commitment: Leaders should actively participate in alignment efforts.
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Podemos facilitar sesiones de trabajo con los líderes, y alinearlos con nuestras estrategias. Su propio ejemplo y compromiso son cruciales para impulsar un cambio significativo
Effective communication is vital when implementing changes to your employer branding. Clearly articulate the revised brand message to all stakeholders, explaining why these changes are necessary and how they reflect the true company culture. This transparency will help manage expectations and foster an environment of trust. Remember, change can be unsettling, so provide ample support and resources to help employees adjust to the new brand direction.
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Los planea de comunicación deben informar a todos los empleados las iniciativas y el propósito de las mismas. Podemos utilizar múltiples canales de comunicación siempre y cuando sean claras y consistentes.
After adjusting your employer branding, it's important to monitor progress and gather feedback. Implement mechanisms to regularly check the pulse of company culture and how it aligns with your branding efforts. This could include periodic surveys or establishing a feedback loop where employees can share their thoughts on the brand's authenticity. Use this information to make continuous improvements, ensuring that your employer branding remains an accurate representation of the company.
Transparency is the cornerstone of resolving any discrepancies between employer branding and company culture. Make sure that all communications about the brand are clear, honest, and reflect the actual experiences of employees. When potential hires see that your branding is a true reflection of life within the company, it builds trust and sets the stage for a positive relationship from the outset. Transparency not only attracts the right talent but also contributes to employee satisfaction and retention.
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Podemos mantener una comunicación continua sobre los logros y retos, donde fomentemos un ambiente donde los empleados puedan expresar sus opiniones y sugerencias abiertamente
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To determine the employer brand strategy, the first step is to be an employer with positive characteristics! The second step is to promote what you do as an employer outside the organization. In general, to become a good employer, you need to think about how you treat those who interact with your company, whether you hire them or not.
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One thing I’ve find is helpful is to collaborate closely with the marketing department to get a joined up message across the organisation . Employee surveys are useful as long as they are followed up and the employees can see the benefit of completing them . Glassdoor can provide external validation in the perception of the organisation as well .
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