The shortage of good talent is increasingly a talked about subject, moving beyond HR circles, and keeping senior executives up at night. Attracting top talent for any level in the organization is a strategic imperative. Without the right talent, no organization can confidently meet their strategic and tactical objectives and keep growing. As employers vie for top talent, reputation and brand are factors deserving a strategic outlook. A blend of employer brand as well as talent brand is required to reinforce your organization’s perception as a preferred employer. You are probably wondering about the difference between the two.
Employer Brand
In simple terms employer brand is the identity of an organization or the way it wants to be positioned as an employer to its potential and current talent. It is the message the organization disseminates in order to portray and bring alive the experience of working with them.
Talent Brand
Talent brand comprises the social testimonials from the talent of a particular organization. It includes what an organization’s current leaders and employees have to say regarding the organization’s culture and work environment. The emergence of this concept can be largely attributed to the social media revolution.
A strong employer brand helps organizations reduce their talent turn over and helps reduce the cost for hiring new talent. A lot has been spoken about using employer brand to attract and retain talent. However, while working on employer brand do not make the mistake of ignoring talent brand. Your employees are spokespersons of your organization. HR executives cannot afford to under estimate the power of talent branding!
75% of global talent acquisition leaders say talent brand has a significant impact on their ability to hire great talent. Global recruiting leaders agree that talent brand is a priority that impacts their ability to hire top talent. Their actions are now beginning to catch up. Companies can get ahead of the competition by creating a proactive strategy for, investing in, and measuring their talent brand. – LinkedIn 2015 Global Recruiting Trends
Adopting a Strategic Approach
Organizations need to build a strong foundation in order to be able to execute a comprehensive talent branding strategy. Building a talent brand can contribute to improving an organization’s performance. If permeated as a part of the larger human capital strategy, it can help align workforce on larger corporate objectives. Organizations need to reinforce their brands by using a combination of external mediums (job boards, social media etc) with their strongest asset – their workforce.
A report on Innovating the Talent Brand by Deloitte outlines 4 action steps that you should consider:
Engage in a crucial conversation with your Chief Marketing Officer today. What do your key talent segments perceive about your brand? What is the nature of their experience? What do they value? How quickly can you apply your organization’s customer marketing and research skills to the talent marketplace?
Adjust workforce practices so critical talent get to contribute, develop, and grow every day.Study after study identifies personal development as one of the top needs across all generations, so it’s an easy target for early action. Many leading firms are expanding the concept of “development” to extend outside the classroom, incorporating on-the-job learning and access to just-in-time knowledge sharing.
Communicate, communicate, communicate—and listen. Monitoring social media and career sites is essential to capture what people are saying about your organization and engage with them to clarify, correct, or accept responsibility.
Extend your talent brand to those who reside outside your organization. Educate recruiting partners such as search firms, job boards and university faculty so they understand your talent brand and can communicate effectively.
But before adopting an aggressive talent brand strategy, remember it’s a two way street. Your talent brand is linked to your track record harnessing talent – the way you cultivate your employees and the career paths they have access to within the organization. Ultimately, it’s your brand and employee experience that will help attract as well as retain stronger talent.
