A key step to developing improved effective recruitment (and retention) is to develop a strong employer brand. Think of employers that we would consider having a reputation for excellence in terms of its people? Those starting on the career ladder are becoming increasingly attuned to the strength of a great employer brand, seeking out the star employers in the formative years of their careers.
Blue Chip companies such as Shell, Proctor and Gamble or HSBC can expect to be prominent in any ranking of graduate preferences for example, as can the Civil Service and the BBC. ASDA was recently rated Britain's number one place to work by the Sunday Times. Organisations such as Tesco and Sainsbury, Virgin, Barclays and JP Morgan in the local community, the list goes on.
But is it possible for all of us to compete with such giants through the creation of our own employer brand? A strong employer brand encompasses your organisation's values, systems, policies and behaviours with a view to attracting, motivating and retaining current and potential employees. It also tries to convey the personality and character of the organisation so potential external candidates develop a sense of what working there might be like.
Don't underestimate the qualities of your own team in developing your employer brand. Actively canvass opinion from your own staff as to what it is they like about your organisation. Have you or indeed they lost sight of what it was that attracted them to the business and vice versa in the first place?
Really understanding your existing employees, their motivations, personalities and how this feeds in to your business culture can be an excellent source of information in order to enhance your recruitment process, your induction process and indeed as a way of understanding the drivers that attract people to your business.
Strengthening your employer brand involves presenting positive messages about life inside your organisation. These messages need to be consistent, whether they appear in job adverts, recruitment presentations, brochures and application literature, during interviews or anywhere else within the recruitment process. If your firm claims to be a dynamic place, your recruitment process must reflect that - it must be efficient, slick and involve interviewers and assessors who present a suitably dynamic image of style and working.
