Employer Brand Value - agree or disagree?

There are many questions running inside my head right now. A lot of turbulence I must say. This happens very often, and some people who know me must not even expect a big thought to come along halfway down this article… but to me, what I want to write about is important and I need a lot of clarifications. Maybe you can help!

I have been reading about ‘a management thing’ called Employer Brand Value and have been attempting to come up with my understanding of this whole concept! The more I read about it the more I realized how much of a victim I was of stuff that marketers do to your brain. Ok… simply put, Employment Branding is basically selling the experience of working in a certain company. Do not mistake the brand value of the product they sell for the Employment brand they carry. The two can be linked, but not equated.

Now for handling the mental turbulence: The two big questions that I want to ask here are, firstly, whose job is it? An advertising agency or the CEO [who does not care too much for an HR person and that’s why many boards do not care to have Human Resource representation] Or is it the HR department’s responsibility to work on Employment Brand Value?

And, does it stop at targeting people within… hiring and retain, is that it?

With regard to the second question, one thing I don’t understand is why these ‘management gurus’ who sit and make these theories which managements all over the whole wide world use as a lean-on! Half the objectives they are aimed at are unreal. How can you have books of theories telling someone how to maintain Employer Brand Value so that your employee does not leave? In the modern-day scenario very few people stick around in one organization. Most people want to experience different industries and organizations. In my opinion, employment branding exercises should impact even people who leave… the ‘strategy’ must work even after an employee leaves the organization. What this guy will carry is a word-of-mouthable idea, like Sumit Roy of Univbrands might call it! Of course, the branding that has been done should really reflect the way things are. Also, not every one leaves with a bitter after taste.

I have so many instances, few from my personal life, where I see that the whole point of Employer Brand Value is lost because of the wrong approach these management writers have taken. If you want to understand my idea better, just think of it like how your parents [you’ll know if you’re from India esp a madhwa from Bengalooru!] brand their family and kids. Think of how children are branded because of the family they come from. Think of how the branding exercise starts and ends with someone outside the family buying into the brand concept, it’s certainly not to invite people into the family.

I am not saying this should be the only objective, but one that’s kept in mind throughout.

People who leave… need not always be employees. Interns are smart enough to spread the word around especially when they have wicked content for that scrap on Orkut! Employers need to revise the list of target audience they have in mind, I personally think.

And as for the first question I asked: I think it involves every person in the organization! Not just the CEO or the HR department or an ad agency to make fancy posters and suggest reward programs. The idea should trickle down from the top management to the last employee there is. The HR should make people friendly policies and see them through to implementation - affecting every person. The agency can only help in making things more catchy and memorable or louder.
How do you think McKinsey is so strong on 'we have the best talent' tag? And, Google on 'young people with creative freedom and expression'!?

Unless a culture is internalized and is manifested in the way people are made to work, Employment Brand Value as a concept will only remain an overrated, management-book-selling gimmick. Thank you!

- Deepika