STAR

I
n today's image-obsessed world, branding
plays a part in almost every decision tbat
an individual makes, Tbe role of branding
has been extended way beyond simple
product marketing into the arena of recruit-
ment. Having a strong employer brand is
increasingly important in attracting the
cream of the crop particularly when it comes
Burgeoning choice and higher to recruiting graduates who are likely to have
little experience on which to base their choice
staff expectations have made of future employer
Faced with an array of potential
the huntfortop talent ever employers they know little about, graduates
may well be swayed by an organisation that
harder, as branding acquires has worked bard to boost its brand by offering
an attractive reward package, solid training
a vital recruitment role, says and career opportunities.
Carl Gilleard, chief executive of tbe Asso-
Debbie Lovewell ciation of Graduate Recruiters, explains: "In
a fairly buoyant economy, it's important for
organisations competing for the best talent

STAR BRAND
Government intelligence agency GCHQ relies heavily on its employer brand to
attract top recruits because it cannot compete with private sector salary packages.

Alan Thompson, press and
public affairs officer,
explains: "As a public service,
the salary side of it is not
enough so there must be
other things that appeal as
well. In terms of the private
sector, we can't compete
with some salaries. There's a
lot of other things that go
into it. The variety of the
work that we're able to offer
is certainly one of the things.
Also, our flexibility and
diversity in terms of flexible
working is quite a big
benefit."
As well as GCHQ's flexible
working options, its reward
package also includes entry
to the civil service pension
scheme, up to 25 days'
holiday during an employee's
first ten years with the
organisation and a childcare
scheme for parents during
school holidays. Through the
Civil Service Sports
Association, employees can
also take advantage of a
wide range of sporting
facilities and clubs as welt as
joining groups such as the
theatre group and amateur
dramatics club.
When marketing the
brand to graduates,
Thompson adds that actively
meeting and speaking with
potential employees is
important because the
organisation requires many
staff to have specialist skills.
"Our recruitment team
visits a number of schools
and universities, and we go
to a lot of job fairs so we're
quite active when trying to
recruit. Of course with some
of the more specialist skills
[such as maths and
languages] then obviously
we focus on those," explains
Thompson.

38 December 2005 www.einoloyeelienems.co.iA

 In depth COVER
STAR BRAND
Penguin's image as an
organisation is reflected
In its employer brand.
As its commercial and
employer brands are closely
linked, most graduates will
have some knowledge of the
organisation through its wide
range of products.
Susan Taylor, human
resources director, explains:
"It's a very well-known brand
and it has an image of being
modern in its thinking and
independent, both of which
are things that appeal to
young people. What we
market is really the overall
image of the company. That
it's a fun place to work, it's a
place where we care about
our employees, it's a place
where we want to employ
the brightest and the best,
and help them develop their
careers in an incredibly
positive way."
Penguin's reward strategy
forms a key part of this. Its
approach to charity, for
example, reflects its desire to
be viewed as a caring
employer and is increasingly
popular among graduates.
The company's charity-related
benefits include: matched
funding of up to £500 for
fund raising events, matched
giving and up to three days
paid leave a year for
supporting charity events.
"A lot of graduates are
motivated by our approach to
charity. I think it gives people
a sense of contributing
something to the community
STORY
they are a part of whiie also
being at work. Doing
something for a charity at
work also gives you a sense
of being part of a team
because you can do it with a
group of people that you
might not necessarily work
with but who you know at
work," adds Taylor.
Winning awards from
organisations such as
Working Families, has also
helped to raise Penguin's
profile as a top employer
brand. "When you win
awards like that, it gives
people a sense of reassurance
that you really are delivering
on what you say you aspire
to," adds Taylor.
However, she warns
against becoming complacent
and advises employers to take
note of what employees
really want from an
employer's brand. "You know
what's working best with
your employees by listening
to them and we are in a
world that's rapidly changing.
If you keep developing the
package as you go forward
according to what is
happening in the marketplace
and what is most or least
popular, that's quite
important," she says.
 n d e p t h COVER STORY

to ensure that their brand is positively
viewed by graduates."
A strong employer brand can also make a
lasting impression on that individual.
Martin Edwards, lecturer in human
resource management and organisational
psychology at King's College London, says:
"What's interesting about graduates is that
they have no experience of working for an
organisation. How they perceive employers
[can often be Influenced] from then on."
Defining just what makes a successful
employer brand is no easy task. Alex Tullett,
head of benefit communications at Jardine
Lloyd Thompson, says branding an organi-
sation can end up being two different things,
if you are selling yourself to potential
employees it is a very different thing to
trading yourself business to business."
However, there can be a very fine line
between an organisation's commercial and
employment branding. Andy Milligan, exec-
utive director of branding consultancy
Interbrand. believes that it can be misleading
to view the two separately "There is often an
artificial distinction between employer
"To be a good employer brand, you've got to
have a strong reputation in a market anyway."
brands and customer-facing brands. A lot of
people who are attracted to work for a brand
want to do so because of what they know
about it as a brand ratber tban as an
employer brand. To be a good employer
brand, you've got to have a strong reputation
in a market anyway" Having a strong com-
mercial presence can help to initially attract
potential staff to an employer, but the way
employees perceive the organisation from the
inside also counts. "Tbe bottom line is bow
you value your workforce," says Gilleard. Ele-
ments such as culture, career development,
organisational behaviour and reward are all
vital in building up a good employer brand.
When it comes to reward, ensuring tbat the
offering appeals to potential recruits is key.
Flexible working arrangements, good holiday
entitlement and options such as childcare
vouchers can belp an employer to become syn-
onymous with work-life balance, while ad-boc

STAR BRAND
ICI's dominance of its
industry has declined
over the past
generation and, as a
consequence, it has had
to reiy on the high
recognition of several of
its well-known
consumer-facing brands,
such as Dulux paint, in
order to attract
graduate recruits.
Lynsey Stevens, European
graduate recruitment
manager, explains: 'The
brands we have that touch
the end consumer are much
more effective in initially
attracting [staff] than those
that don't. New graduates
tend to know the [ICI] brand
a lot less than earlier
generations. What they do
know is the Dulux brand
because the advertising that
we do Is much more
customer marketing. But
the other businesses that
are part of ICI such as
National Starch and
Chemical are iess associated
with the ICI brand with
graduates. Those firms
work more on a business-
to-business basis so the ads
don't reach homes and thus
have less impact."
But ICI is changing its
approach to marketing the
organisation to graduates.
Stevens says that it is now
trying to push the overall
ICI brand in order to raise
the profile of the company
as a whole. "What we're
trying to do is get
individuals to understand
what iCI means and what it
entails. We are pushing ICI
because ICI is the only
brand that covers all the
businesses, but we're aiso
trying to move its image on
from a heavy-end to a
speciality light chemical
producer."
Despite this, however, ICI
is still seen as a top
employer among graduates.
Although it frequently
benchmarks its reward
package against rivals in
order to remain
competitive, Stevens
believes this is not the most
important element of the
brand. "[A certain package]
is associated with these
blue chip companies, but I
think there's less
differentiation among blue
chips in terms of the actual
package."
She believes graduates
are initially attracted by the
potential career
development offered by the
organisation. "There is a
real feeling that if you are
keen to do well, and do
well, then you are rewarded
for that in terms of the
opportunities that are given
to you. It's the full package:
it's the development that
we offer to individuals
coupled with the fact we've
tried to sell that much more
and been out in the
marketplace a lot more than
we have in the past to try
and change our image and
make ICI more meaningful
to graduates. Where people
understand what we're
trying to do then they have
found the benefits package
and development quite
attractive."

www.eniDiovee&ei)ents.co.ia December 2005 41

 i n d e p t h COVER S T O R Y

personal benefits and social events can bill
an organisation as a fun place to work.
At graduate level, employees' demands
and needs are likely to be wide-ranging and
pay may not always be a motivating factor.
Wbat is important is that benefits packages
are tailored to suit particular audiences.
"The more different the brand and the more
different the organisation, the more it is
going to stand out," says Edwards.
But even organisations that tick all the
hoxes wiil not build up a reputation as a good
employer brand if they do not market what
is on offer to staff. Real brand promotion
stems from how existing employees feel about
working for an organisation. "If people are
consistently moaning about their lot. it
doesn't do the brand any favours. If your
people are pleased to be part of tbe company.
it does matter," adds Gilleard.
Wben employers fail to deliver on tbeir
promises or meet expectations of new
recruits they can be assured that next year's
potential graduate intake will hear about
these negative experiences, as well as the
friends of new employees. Vanessa Robinson,
adviser, organisation and resourcing at the
Chartered Institute of Personnel and Devel-
"If people are consistently moaning about their
lot it doesn't do the brand any favours"
opment, says that the internet and text
messages have made it easier for people to
compare their experiences with those of
their mates. On the other hand, positive
employee perception can also help an organ-
isation gain external accolades. Both the
views of employees and graduates are often
taken into account when compiling annual
lists of top employer brands to work for.
So ensuring that employees feel valued at
work is an organisation's key to establishing
itself as a strong employer brand in the grad-
uate market. And anything that employers
can do to help their brand attract attention
will not go unnoticed. As Edwards concludes:
"The more different the brand and the more
different the organisation, the more it is
going to stand out."
The organisations profiled have done just
that, having heen identified by graduates as
some of the top employer brands to work for
this year •

STAR BRAND
The merger of British
Steel and Koninklijke
Hoogovens in 1999 to
form Corus provided
the organisation with
thechailengeof
effectively building a
new employer brand.
The long struggle has ted to
the organisation being
recognised by graduates as
one of the country's top
employers. Louisa Porter,
manager, graduate
resourcing, explains that its
branding now enables it to
attract the right kind of
employees to the
organisation: "[Employer
branding] is very important.
When Corus was first
established, we were
playing on our old brand
names. In the first two
years, 90% of graduates
hadn't heard of us at all and
that was particularly
difficult. We now find that
the people we are talking to
are more likely to fit in with
our culture. They
understand what we are
trying to do, what we are
trying to achieve and how
they can fit in with that."
Its final salary pension
scheme has helped the
company to become a
strong employer brand,
which is attractive to new
recruits. Porter adds that this
is valued even by staff who
may not be planning to stay
with the organisation long
term or who may not view
retirement planning as a
priority. "We pride ourselves
on our pension scheme in
that we're still offering
graduates a final salary
pension. Although there are
some that aren't thinking
about it, for those that are
thinking that far ahead it's a
good selling point. We have
an opt-out process rather
than opt in. That has been
particularly good because
you'll have graduates who
won't be quite sure who
they want to be with. So,
whoever they join they only
want to be there for two-to-
three years and then ten
years on [you find] they're
still with you and are glad
they joined the pension
scheme."
The organisation deploys
employee experience of the
brand as a key element of its
marketing outside of the
organisation and much of its
reputation among graduates
is built through word of
mouth. Undergraduates on
work placements are often
invited to meetings of
Magnate, a social group for
graduates at Corus, to hear
lectures on different jobs
within the firm. When back
at college tbey pass on their
experiences to others.
Porter believes that such
open lines of communication
are vital. "We've found that
the only way to get our
brand known is to talk to
people and come up with
something that will stick in
their minds."

42 December 2005
www.eflipioyeebenems.co.uk