MOST Australian businesses misguidedly believe they are perceived as a good employer with a positive workplace environment, according to a national study of more than 8,000 Australian employers
MOST Australian businesses mistakenly believe they are perceived as a good employer with a positive workplace environment, according to a national study of more than 8,000 Australian employers.
Furthermore, significant disconnects between many Australian companies’‘employment brand’ and the actual employment experience could cost Australian businesses millions in staff turnover at a time of severe skills shortages.
A company’s employment brand is the way it is thought of as a workplace by current and prospective employees –that is, its reputation as an employer.
According to the Hudson report, 80 per cent of Australian managers consider their employment brand to be proactively managed, clearly understood, and aligned with employee expectations.
However, only half of these employers actually have a systematic approach to evaluating their reputation as a workplace.
Another Hudson survey of more than 2,500 jobseekers revealed that 63 per cent of them feel their current employer is not delivering theemployment experience that was promised to them. The employment brand promise marketed by their employer was inconsistent with the actual employment experience.
“We are increasingly aware of the significant forces placing pressure on organisations and on their ability to attract and retain talent – their most valuable asset,”said Matt Dale, Hudson’s national practice manager for talent management.
“Disillusioned employees will simply leave if they feel the organisation has not delivered on the employment experience that was promised to them.
“In a market where skills shortages are rife and candidates are calling the shots, companies just cannot afford for this to happen at the moment,” Dale said.
Many businesses invest heavily in communicating an employment brand promise but fail to align this with actual employment experience.
“In many cases, a company’s employment brand may work extremely well in attracting employees, but fails miserably when it comes to retaining them in the long-term,” he said.
“In order to get an employment brand right, it means understanding what current and prospective employees want and defining a clear and compelling value proposition.
“Most critically, all of the organisation’s current human resources programs, policies and practices must be aligned with the brand so that it has substance and integrity with employees across the whole organisation,” Dale said.
Australian businesses could improve their employment branding efforts in a number of ways, including:
•Focusing the employment brand on retention not just attraction.
•Systematically measuring workplace reputation
•Developing a clear and sustainable brand promise and aligning it with the employment experience
•Leveraging the power of the company’s existing market brand
•Ensuring close interaction between the HR function and the company’s marketing team
