HR Branding : As one of the Latest Trend In Strategic Management in the New Era Dr. Sebastian T.

Joseph1
Sr. Assistant Professor, Joseph School of Business Studies, SHIATS Allahabad Email : sebastiantj2004@yahoo.co.in Mobile: 9415351868

Lekh Ram Dagar2

Research Scholar, Joseph School of Business Studies, SHIATS, Allahabad Email: dagarlr@gmail.com Contact Nos: 09215839201, 09034965640

Abstract

The paper presented summarizes the study one of these new & fresh strategic trends in the New Era of 2012 to sustain the competitive advantage in the field of HR. Every day, thousands of companies spend millions of dollars to build external brand identity and customer loyalty. The HR brand attaches meaning, the lifestyle, the transformation, the potential, the joy, and the fulfillment to the product. Today, competing for employees is as difficult as competing for customers; building employee loyalty is as important as building customer loyalty; and treating employees right is the key to treating shareholders right. It is difficult to nd a contemporary business text that has not in some way referred to the importance of corporate brands. The knowledge gained through research in this area is vital to firms and human resource practitioners since favourable employer brand attributes affect recruiting outcomes-job pursuit intentions, organizational attraction, acceptance intention, and job choice. This paper summarizes current research on those companies that has in one means or the other has managed its HR Capital with adding a brand value to enhance its competitive advantage. In this paper we have also tried to explore the potential for HR professionals to draw on the branding literature as a new performance discourse, which increasingly is believed by world class organizations to be a key area of interest for their members. This research work reects the

prevalence of branding activities in modern day organizations and the centrality of brands in the eld of HR Management.

Keywords: Human Resources; HR Branding; HR performance; Corporate Reputation Strategy; Strategic Management; Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Introduction

Everyday thousands of companies are experiencing a fast paced growth in the corporate sector, and accordingly do the amount and type of HR Policies are generated. The success of an organization relies upon excellence in execution. Many of the new trends of Human Resources are developed by the individual corporate giants from time to time to enhance its productivity and also to make its employees feel happy. Research into new and innovative ideas for the HR branding are generated as days, weeks, months and years pass. Branding in HR has traditionally been limited to the employment function. The HR branding has become a topic of great interest. The importance of mastering the concepts and skills behind branding has greater implications for HR professionals in the "new economy". Design/methodology/approach Personal interviews and a two-way e-mail survey was administered to business heads and HR Professionals and some seminars were also arranged to find out the latest trends from the participants. Various reputed world class business journals are also consulted to look for the latest findings and also taken as references. Later the results and outcomes were analyzed to better understand the perceived involvement of human resource (HR) in internal branding efforts and the relationship between HR involvement and the incorporation of the brand message into work activities and attitude toward the brand

HR Management is the organizational function that deals with issues related to people such as hiring, administration, compensation, performance management, training, employee motivation, safety, wellness, benefits, communication, and organization development. HRM is also a strategic and comprehensive approach to managing people and the workplace culture and environment. Effective HRM enables employees to contribute effectively and productively to the overall company direction and the accomplishment of the organization's goals and objectives.

Definitions: William R. Tracey, in The Human Resources Glossary defines Human Resources as: The people and staff that operate an organization as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an organization. The organizational function that deals with the people ... Long a term used sarcastically by individuals in the line organization, because it relegates humans to the same category as financial and material resources, human resources will be replaced by more customer-friendly terms in the future.

Branding is all about a product. Branding HR is the new concept. Branding HR to the employees is one of the important tasks done by good companies to flourish and this is what an organization has to take that they need to brand HR right in the beginning. This new culture welcomes the new employees and handholds to get them accustom with the organization, its work culture, and induct him/her into the organization and into their respective departments. HR initiatives for their employees, right from the date of joining till the time they separate from the organization is all part of HR branding.

Branding creates a positive image of the subject in the minds of the people, thus drawing them towards it. HR branding which has a similar intention like the normal branding is a new development that has sprung up as a result of the need to survive and flourish in the business. The term HR brand denotes what people currently associate with an organisation, HR branding has been defined as the sum of a companys efforts to communicate to existing and

prospective staff what makes it a desirable place to work, and the active management of a companys image as seen through the eyes of its associates and potential hires.

HR Branding is sometimes used as Employer Brand also. The term employer brand was first used in the early 1990s to denote an organizations reputation as an employer. Since then, it has become widely adopted by the global management community. Minchington (2005) defines employer brand as the image of your organization as a great place to work in the mind of current employees and key stakeholders in the external market (active and passive candidates, clients, customers and other key stakeholders). The art and science of employer branding is therefore concerned with the attraction, engagement and retention of initiatives targeted at enhancing your company's employer brand."

Trends of Today:

Today three important trends are gaining more importance: the importance of corporate and global branding, the development of the services-based economy in all advanced economies, and the growing importance of intangible assets and intellectual capital as sources of strategic advantage. Simultaneously one more trend is also considered as important and that is known as Culture which is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. But some scholars denies its importance as Professor Geert Hofstede, a Dutch social psychologist quotes, Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster. When it comes to our country it is somehow contradictory and latest research shows that a myriad thing goes into creating a company where people enjoy working and would like to stay on. They need competitive salaries, timely promotions and learning opportunities. And then there are the intangibles. To answer some questions such as what is a good dish without care and love lavished on its preparation, or the right ambience in which it is served? So, does a company make a culture of belongingness to the company? Does it care for diversity? How does it downsize? For the answers, Business Today, in its 11th issue listing of the Best Companies to work for, brings the results of an Indicus Analytics Survey spanning 6,176 employees-12 % of them women across 4,436 companies in 323 towns and cities. Predictably, money & growth prospects are critically key considerations for the lower staff. However, the CEOs & Heads(HR)

would do well to pay attention to a third dimension: for, the culture of a place is increasingly vying with compensation and growth in defining the appeal of an employer to make it a best HR Brand. Limitations & Complexity: The complexity of HR Branding is somewhat can be understood from an episode some 50 years ago. A news reporter was covering the Mercury space program in the early 60s and was on a press tour of the Cape Canaveral complex. Looking for an angle not covered by the other media, he asked a lone man near the group who he was and what he did. The man gave his name, said he was a janitor at the complex, and then added, Im helping to put a man on the moon. Many have heard this attributed to President John F. Kennedy, but there is no confirmation of that. The take-away, however, is that the janitor came to embody the ultimate engaged employee. Even though he never flipped a switch or wrote a line of code, he still saw his job as contributing to the overall mission and was determined to do the best he could to ensure the organizations success.

Even top employer-branding companies like TATA, Infosys, IBM, Google, Adidas, and Deloitte are constantly seeking innovative ways to source, develop, and retain talent. If thats what is happening with the market leaders, we can consider the millions of other companies around the world who have similar challenges. At a global level the problem is magnified to unthinkable proportions and the solutions are going to need a mix of short- and long-term initiatives including collaboration between companies, industries, universities, and governments. There is no benefit to global corporations if leadership talent is in high supply in Scandinavia when manufacturing operations are in India and there is a dearth of leaders with the right skills. Hence it becomes necessary to think beyond the horizon to cultivate some new & innovative ideas to retain the talent drag. HR branding can be seen as a special & most sought after trend in the field of Human Resource.

Source: BT-Indicus-PeopleStrong BestCompanies to work for in India 2011 Survey Courtesy: Business Today, Vol.21, No.5, March 04, 2012, pp.70

Many international seminars are also organized worldwide to enhance HR branding and globally known as Employer Branding. Employer Brand International (EBI) hosted Employer Branding Summit and Masterclass events in 6 cities beginning in Auckland on 10 May and then in Copenhagen, Belgium, Moscow, Madrid and Milan. These events were part of Brett Minchington's 2011 Employer Branding Global Tour.

Only 15% of activities carried out by HR departments across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) are related to pure strategic interventions, according to 500 Human Resource Directors (HRDs) surveyed by Mercer. Its report also highlighted that, in spite of this, 65% of HR departments perceive themselves as a strategic partner to their business. While respondents sought to increase their future strategic input to more than 25%, the difference in perception and reality highlighted that HR departments still have far to go in their effort to transform themselves into more accountable and more measurable strategic business partners.

Suggestions:

Employees should be differentiated. It is to be figured out the most favourable and profitable group to influence other employees. Figure out how to develop for, advertise to, or reward the group. We should replace the word workers in our organization to members to make them feel esteemed and attached emotionally to the organization. 1) Obtaining public recognition (great-place-to-work lists). Theres no doubt that the increased interest in employment branding during the past decade has been a direct result of the increased number of organizations and magazines that create lists of great places to work. 2) A culture of sharing and continuous improvement. No employment branding effort can succeed in an organization that is afraid to expose or brag about its best management practices.

3) Getting talked about. The number of agencies that make up the business press has grown so large and become so segmented and influential that being talked about in specific publications has become an essential element in building a strong employment brand.

4) A balance between good management and high productivity. Having unique benefits and doing great community work both have some impact on a firms external employment image. 5) Employees proactively telling stories. One of the prime attributes of a great employment brand is that employees go out of their way to tell stories about the firms management, business practices, and impact on their life.

6) Becoming a benchmark firm. The best managed firms are those also known as benchmark firms. These are the firms that have best practices that everyone else wants to learn about and emulate.

7) Branding assessment metrics. Building a product brand requires intense effort over time.

8) Increasing candidate awareness of your best practices. There are many companies that are well known because of their product brand but that have not developed awareness for their management practices.

Conclusion

Findings In spite of well-documented internal branding initiatives, there appears to be room for improvement among HR departments in terms of successfully delivering the corporate branding message. It was found that money and growth prospects draw employees to an organization, but work culture is the true glue that makes them stay in their organizations and make them loyal to their prospective employers. In short, employment branding can address many of the issues facing corporation today. Ignoring the concept and the elements that empower it is a sure way to help your firm ensure a spot in the corporate graveyard. However, there does appear to be a strong personal attitude toward the brand among HR professionals, and a strong relationship exists between HR involvement in internal branding and the incorporation of the brand into work activities. Practical implications Employees seem to have a more positive attitude toward the brand and are more likely to incorporate this image into their work activities when there is some degree of HR involvement in the internal branding process. Originality/value The successful promotion of the internal branding doctrine may be as dependent on HR initiatives as on those developed in the marketing department. By involving HR in internal branding projects, firms can better use internal communications to give employees a deeper understanding of the brand and the role that they play in enhancing the brand promise.

References

1. Business Today, Vol.21, No. 5, for the fortnight February 20- March 4, 2012, Pages 62156

2. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Science..., Volume 5, Issue 9, September 2011, Pages 1088-1092

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4. Mosley, R (2007) Customer experience, organisational culture and the employer brand, Journal of Brand Management, Vol 15, October Issue pp123-134.

5. The Economist (2003), Employer Branding Survey. 6. Barrow, S. and Mosley, R. The Employer Brand, Bringing the Best of Brand Management to People at Work, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester. 7. Barrow, S. (1990), Turning recruitment advertising into a competitive weapon, Paper delivered at the CIPD Annual Conference, Harrogate, UK.

8. Lloyd, S (2002), Branding from the inside out, Business Review Weekly, Vol 24 No 10, pp64-66

9. Baid, P and Rao, A.R. (2006) Employer Branding, Concepts and Cases, ICFAI University Press, Hyderabad.