The importance of your employer brand
VIEW “It’s the image of your organisation as an employer and place to work”
“It’s what people say about you when you’ve left the room” “It’s a way of thinking about why people choose to work for you” Our clients across the third sector are experiencing common challenges in the current environment, whether it is difficulty in attracting specialist talent, rising turnover rates as they struggle to develop and retain talent, or fighting the increasing perception that “you’ll have to take a pay cut to work in this sector”. We believe your employer brand is key to redressing the balance in all of these areas. Your employer brand is what makes your organisation unique – it is why people want to join but also why they want to come to work every morning. Just like your company brand, it’s about how you come across and how you make people feel. Today’s “war for talent” is being won by talent. It now increasingly revolves around not just what a candidate can offer you, but what you can offer them. A strong and articulate employer brand allows you to recruit, retain and engage your people for the right reasons, and in turn strengthen every aspect of your organisation, from its culture, values through to its service to the public.
Key elements to an employer brand It is important to realise that you already have an employer brand – whether you are aware of it or not. Your Employer brand is how you communicate the key elements of what you offer your employees, which is commonly referred to as an employee value proposition. - Your employee value proposition may include, the benefits you offer what your culture is like, and the development opportunities available for your employees for example - Your employee value proposition should be reflected in all aspects of your organisation; - It should be relevant to your workforce – increasingly our clients are starting to develop more tailored employee value propositions which focus on different segments of their employees - It must be an honest reflection of what you offer your people Typically your employee value proposition will include elements of all aspects within the diagram to the left.
What are the benefits of a great employer brand? Recruit and retain the best talent in all of your functions
Reduce cost of HR (in particular internal recruitment & onboarding)
Increase alignment to your strategy, vision and culture
Increase productivity and impact with continuity and stability
Improve employee engagement and satisfaction
Strengthen your broader organisation brand and stand out in your ever-increasingly competitive sector
HEAR FROM SOME OF OUR CLIENTS: “Q5 has been instrumental in helping us to transform the way we do things at the Guardian. I trust them: they are challenging but also sensitive to the creative culture of our organisation. I would not hesitate in recommending them”. Editor-In-Chief, The Guardian
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“What I really like about them is that they achieve a result that we are seeking to achieve in whatever program it is by really, effectively engaging with the people within the business MD, British Gas
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Some Q5 tips on where to start Employer brand development should be logical and based upon common sense. Here are a few steps that Q5 would recommend to start with
Decide on ownership of your employer brand
Agree within your organisation who owns the responsibility of your employer brand – be it the Senior Leadership Team, HR, Marketing or anyone else.
Be clear on your differentiators
Start by considering your organisation as a whole and identify what makes it different to anywhere else. You can then more easily assess whether your employer brand is reflected through each of your employee touchpoints (e.g. your website, interview experience, first day) Don’t be afraid to ask – but stay in control Engage everyone across your organisation and ask what it is they love about working there – the strength of your employer brand will live by how much it is driven by authenticity. Ensure you have ways of absorbing feedback and controlling your key message. Make sure that your organisation’s purpose and values, and employer brand align Your employee brand and organisation brand form a virtuous circle which complement each other: the more aligned and engaged your workforce, the better your service will be to the public.
How We Can Help We have vast experience across both the public and third sector and we have helped a number of our clients evaluate and define their employer brand and employee value proposition. We bring: • • • • •
Deep employer brand, employee value proposition and strategy cascade expertise Experience in mapping end-to-end recruitment strategies Creativity, drive, challenge and energy in a highly supportive way First hand experience; some of our people have worked in house at leading charities and government organisations Sustainable consulting ... tools and models that you can re-use in years to come as you continue to grow and evolve your future By combining this knowledge with our understanding of the pressures and demands that the public sector faces we are able to provide invaluable support to our clients as they go through changes. Our agile and personable approach means we work closely with our clients to create bespoke solutions that work while we are with our clients and more importantly after we have gone.
About Q5 Q5 is an innovative, award-winning global consulting firm that specialises in organisational change and works with clients in a unique, collaborative way. We have a team of around 100 consultants based in our three offices around the world – New York, London and Sydney. Our range of clients shows our breadth of knowledge and expertise. We have a clear approach that focuses on: •
Collaborative working – joint teams, clear outcomes, agreed benefits and shared success
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Breadth and depth of knowledge – the right talent with the right experience
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Pace of work – getting results quickly with clear approaches and defined objectives
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Clarity – helping clients make the right decisions for their organisation and their situation.
If you would like to find out more about Q5 and how we can help, please get in contact:
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PETER HORNE
CLAIRE HAMLIN
Head of Public Sector
Head of Change Enablement
peter.horne@q5partners.com
claire.hamlin@q5partners.com