Employer Branding: Review & an Agenda for future research COSMAR 2014 Employer Branding: Review & an Agenda for future research Neetha Azeez Doctoral candidate Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode

Significance of Employer Branding The last two decades have brought about significant changes in the work environment (Burke, 2005; Ewing, Pitt, de Bussy & Berthon, 2002; Joo & Mclean, 2006; Srivastava & Bhatnager, 2010) Need to retain and attract talented and flexible workforce Prospective employees were found to be as particular about choosing the right organization as they were about choosing the right job (Srivastava & Bhatnager, 2010). Organizations try to differentiate themselves from others

How did the concept of Employer Branding come about?? 1990- The notion of employer branding was created 1996- Conceptualised and formally defined ‘the package of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the employing company’. 2001- “War for Talent” 2004- Seminal paper by Bachaus & Tickoo (2004) “the process of building an identifiable and unique employer identity” Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

Employer Branding-Definitions Definition of Employer Branding Respective Literature The package of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the employing company Ambler & barrow (1996) Building an image in the minds of the potential labour market, that the company above all others, is a great place to work. Ewing et al. (2002) (as cited in Srivastava & Bhatnagar (2010)) The sum of a company's efforts to communicate in to existing and prospective staff that it is a desirable place to work. Lloyd (2002) (as cited in Srivastava&Bhatnagar (2010)) Managing a company’s image as seen through the eyes of its associates and potential hires Martin &Beaumount (2003) The process of building an identifiable and unique employer identity   Backhaus and Tikoo (2004) A targeted, long-term strategy to manage the awareness and perceptions of employees, potential employees, and related stakeholders with regards to a particular firm Sullivan (2004) Logical process through which companies reach one main goal: to have a strong appeal on their current and future ideal employees Van Dam (2006) Overemphasis which is placed on communicating brand promises at the expense of longer term management of the employee experience. Mosley (2007) Image projected by the employer through their policies, procedures and actions Mandhanya & Shah (2010) A strategy of internal and external communication of the unique attributes that establishes the identity of the firm as an employer and what differentiates it from others, with the aim of attracting and retaining potential and current employees. Jonze&Öster (2012)

Employer Brand -Definitions Definition of Employer brand Respective literature Set of distinctive associations made by employees (actual or potential) with the corporate name Davies (2008) A set of attributes and qualities-often intangible-that makes an organization distinctive, promises a particular kind of employment experience, and appeals to those people who will thrive and perform best in its culture CIPD (2009) ( as cited in Jiang &Llies (2011). An organization's image as seen through the eyes of its actual and potential employees Kimpakom and Tocquer(2009) A generalized recognition for being known among key stakeholders for providing a high-quality employment experience, and a distinctive organizational identity which employees value, engage with and feel confident and happy to promote to others. Martin et al. (2011)

Recent views of Employer Branding EB as providing an employment experience (Edwards,2010; Mosley, 2007) Source: Mosley (2007) Source: Edwards (2010)

Recent views of Employer Branding Characteristics are: Anchoring in & providing support for overall corporate strategy Continuously renegotiating values with stakeholders according to their stakes and expectations Establishing sustainable employer-employee relationships which are oriented towards a continuous reflection on mutual needs as well as current and future expectations EB as a strategic process Source: Aggerholm, Andersen & Thomsen (2011)

Attributes of Employer Branding Lievens, Van Hoye & Anseel (2007) Instrumental-objective, concrete, and factual attributes that organization possess Symbolic- subjective, abstract, and intangible attributes that convey symbolic company information What the Organization is as an employer What the Organization has for its employees Credible and fair Flexible and ethical Product and service brand image Positive employer image   Caring organization Enabling organization Career growth Global exposure Adapted from Srivastava & Bhatnagar (2010)

Attributes of Employer Branding Four categories (Kucherov & Zavylova, 2012) Economic Material/monetary remuneration; including high salary, fair system of rewards and bonuses Psychological Those which influence the feeling of recognition and membership of employees in the organization Functional Those concerning the specific workplace, content of work, growth aspects etc Organizational Perception of the company in the external market

Process of Employer branding Source: Moroko & Uncles (2005)

Measuring Employer brand Image E.B.I. = Employer Brand Image ; Vi = Valence of attribute i - which i is the anticipated satisfaction from an outcome; Ii = Instrumentality for attribute i- which indicates the degree to which an individual perceives a given employer to be instrumental in attaining an outcome. Source: Knox & Freeman (2006)

Proposed three level outcome model of Employer Branding

Agenda for future research Explore how employer brand perceptions are formed Whether they differ on the basis of age and gender Whether they differ among potential and existing employees Impact of country of origin on perceptions of employer brand How the internal and external marketing techniques vary with the country of origin Impact of different culture and nationalities on perception of brand image Further studies to identify outcomes of employer branding. Explore further the role of marketing techniques in maintaining employer brand image

Agenda for future research Focus on employer branding process 7) Impact of EB on customer outcomes 8) Focus on existing employees 9) Focus on other sources to develop EB 10) Focus on process- related issues of EB

Reference Aggerholm, H. K., Andersen, S. E., & Thomsen, C. (2011).Conceptualising employer branding in sustainable organisations. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 16(2), 105-123. Ambler, T., & Barrow, S. (1996). The employer brand. Journal of Brand Management, 4, 185-206. Backhaus, K., &Tikoo, S. (2004). Conceptualizing and researching employer branding. Career development international, 9(5), 501-517. Berthon, P., Ewing, M., and Hah, L.L.(2001), Captivating Company; Dimensions of Attractiveness in Employer Branding, International Journal of Advertising, 24(2), 151-172. Ewing, M.J., Pitt, L.F., de Bussy, N.M. and Berthon, P. (2002), Employment Branding in the Knowledge Economy, International Journal of Advertising, 21, 3-22 Joo, B. K. B., & Mclean, G. N. (2006). Best employer studies: a conceptual model from a literature review and a case study. Human resource development review, 5(2), 228-257. Knox, S., & Freeman, C. (2006). Measuring and managing employer brand image in the service industry. Journal of Marketing Management, 22(7-8), 695-716.

Reference Kucherov, D., &Zavyalova, E. (2012). HRD practices and talent management in the companies with the employer brand. European Journal of Training and Development, 36(1), 86-104. Lievens, F., Van Hoye, G., &Anseel, F. (2007). Organizational identity and employer image: towards a unifying framework. British Journal of Management, 18(1), 45-59. Moroko, L., & Uncles, M. (2005). Employer Branding–The Case For A Multidisciplinary Process Related Empirical Investigation. Paper presented at ANZMAC Conference, New Zealand. Mosley, R.W. (2007): Customer Experience, Organizational Culture and the Employer Brand. Brand Management, 15 (2), 123-134. Srivastava, P., &Bhatnagar, J. (2010). Employer brand for talent acquisition: an exploration towards its measurement. Vision: The Journal of Business Perspective, 14(1-2), 25-3