Employer Brand Equity
Employer Brand Equity explained
Two similar roles, two different employers: what expectations does each name create? This makes the concept useful in practice. Awareness, specific associations and trust may inform a choice. They do not replace suitable work and employment conditions.
Separate the groups in your research. Existing employees assess experienced conditions. Potential applicants may know only communication or other people’s accounts. Positive internal perceptions with low external awareness create a different task from an attractive public image followed by disappointed expectations.
Disclose what an index measures. A platform rating, an attractiveness survey and acceptance of a contract are different types of information. Combining them without justification can conceal problems. Interpret changes over time alongside the mix of vacancies and the labour market.
Communication should make supported strengths visible. When the employer promise conflicts with experience, leadership and work organisation also have a role in the solution. A campaign alone cannot reliably close that gap.
Examples
Hypothetical application
Employees value a company’s learning opportunities, but awareness is low among a sought-after occupational group. The team documents concrete development routes and presents them in relevant formats. It then assesses awareness and understanding, while analysing application and hiring data separately.
Key Points
- Employer brand strength is not an automatically calculated monetary amount.
- Distinguish internal experience from external expectation.
- Disclose measurement models and data sources.
- Hiring cost and timing have multiple influences.
Practical application
Define the occupational group you want to and what it associates with you as an employer. Compare expectations with documented experiences. Use this to identify a communication task and, where needed, improvements to the employment offer.
Useful measures
Employer awareness
Awareness within the specific occupational group studied.
Credibility of relevant strengths
How plausible supported employer advantages appear to that group.
Expectation gaps
Differences between expectations before joining and reported experience afterwards.
Common mistakes
- Presenting a self-defined attractiveness index as a standardised brand value.
- Automatically extrapolating internal approval to external audiences.
- Attributing lower recruitment costs to the employer brand without a comparison basis.
Sources and context
- CIPD: Employer brand
Foundation on employer brand and employee value proposition. The example and assessment recommendations are editorially developed.
Frequently Asked Questions about Employer Brand Equity
Employer branding is the work of developing the employer brand. Employer brand equity concerns its strength or attributed value in relevant people’s eyes. Distinguish activity from the state it is intended to influence.
It is a signal from a particular user group. Reviewers do not automatically represent all employees or potential applicants. Examine topics, volume and context and add appropriate other data.
That cannot be promised generally. Role difficulty, pay, location, selection and the labour market also contribute. Examine the relationship under comparable conditions.
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