UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

SUMMER PROJECT REPORT ON

Employer Branding

SUBMITTED BY
NEHA P. JOSHI
SPECIALISATION: HUMAN RESOURCES
MASTER OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES (SEMESTER-III)

PROJECT GUIDE
PROF. ARUN SEKHRI

MAHATMA GANDHI MISSION’S

INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES AND RESEARCH
KAMOTHE, NAVI MUMBAI- 410 209

2008 - 2010

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It gives me a great pleasure while submitting this project on the topic “EMPLOYER
BRANDING.”

I thank Mr. ARUN SEKHRI for guiding me throughout this project work. And also I thank him for
motivating me in different ways. He has been the tremendous helping hand in completing this
difficult task had an easy or any time access to such knowledgeable and guiding spirit. I also
thank to Mr. Manas Masurkar and Mr. Vinod Kumar for sparing their precious time and providing
the necessary information.

I feel there is ample scope of improvement upon the work of this nature and shall be thankful if
any suggestion is offered for its improvement.

I am also thankful to all those seen and unseen hands, which have been of direct or indirect
help in completion of this project work.

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 CERTIFICATE FROM THE GUIDE

This is to certify that the Project work titled Employer Branding is a bonafide
work carried out by Neha Joshi Admission No.(DPGD/JL07/0886) a candidate for
the /Post Graduate Diploma examination of the Welingkar Institute of Management under my
guidance and direction.

NAME : Mr. Dheeraj Malhotra

DESIGNATION : Director

ADDRESS : Amron Consulting Pvt Ltd.

B-208, Nerul Railway station Complex,

Nerul (East)

DATE:

PLACE:

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CONTENTS
Sr.No Topic Page

1 Introduction

• Employer Branding: Definition. 5

• The Employer brand experience. 6-09
• A corporate understanding of employer branding 10-11
concept across the Globe.
• Why important for HR? 12-13

2 The Psychological Contract 14-18

3 Employer Brand Management 17-18

4 Employer branding process

• Developing Employer Brand. EB2
• Employer Brand Excellence Framework. 19- 25
• Implementing employer branding concept in 26
organization.
27
• HR Challenges.
5 Benefits of Employer Branding 28
• Employee Exp EB 3

6 Employer Branding – A Practical Study

• Trinity Computer Processing (India) Pvt Ltd. 29-30

• Structwel Designers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd. 31-32
• Web18 Software Services. 33-34

7 HR Practices followed in best workplaces of India. 35-38

Practices to be avoided. 38-39

8 Best Employer Brands in India 40

9 Employer Brand Case Studies:

• Reuters Case Study. 41-43

• Tesco Case Study. 44-46

10 Conclusion 47

11 Bibliography 48

12 Annexure I 49-53

13 Annexure II 54-68

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 Employer branding

“Employer branding” is an emerging discipline with its roots in classical marketing and HR
principles. Its aim is to develop an image of the organisation as an “employer of choice” in the
minds of existing and potential employees, as well as other stakeholders including customers
and recruiters. The objective is not only to offer these tangible benefits, but to also develop an
emotional link with them. A strong employer brand should connect an organization’s values,
people strategy and HR policies and be linked to the company brand.

Definitions:
Sartain and Schumann (2006) defined employer brand as: "how a business builds and
packages its identity, from its origins and values, what it promises to deliver to emotionally
connect employees so that they in turn deliver what a business promises to customers."

Brett Minchington (2005) defines employer branding 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).”
Sullivan (2004) defines employer branding as "a targeted, long-term strategy to manage
the awareness and perceptions of employees, potential employees, and related stakeholders
with regards to a particular firm."

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 Ambler and Barrow (1996) define employer brand in terms of the benefits it conveys on
employees.

The Employer Brand Experience

An employer brand is the full physical, intellectual, and emotional experience of people who
work there, and the anticipated experience of candidates who might work there. It is both the
vision and the reality of what it means to be employed there. It is both the promise and the
fulfillment of that promise. The employer brand radiating out of our organization’s name inspires
loyalty, productivity, and a sense of pride.

In marketing terms, a brand’s image is grounded in three dimensions:

• Functional benefits. What the product does, for example: “this Canon digital camera
takes good pictures” and “this particular model is great for portraits, video, and long-
distance shots.”

• Emotional benefits. How a product makes the customer feel, for example: “I feel happy
when I see this beautiful shot of my kids” and “I feel loving and fun when I e-mail these
pictures to their grandparents.”

• Reasons to believe. Validation of the product’s claims, for example: “Canon means
reliability and ease of use” and “reviewers on CNET.com rate the Canon digital camera
as excellent.”

A solid employer brand is grounded in the same dimensions:

• Functional benefits. Tangible rewards of working at the employer: salary, health care, a
clean, safe workplace, and a convenient location; for example: “XYZ Co. has great
compensation and has a beautiful office near my home.”

• Emotional benefits. Intangible rewards: mission, pride, status, job satisfaction,

companionship/collegiality, belonging to a “winning team,” and so on; for example: “I’m
proud to work for XYZ Co.—my pals and I make the best widgets in the world.”

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 • Reasons to believe. Validation of the employer’s claims; for example: “my friend says
XYZ Co. is a great place to work” and “the local news station calls XYZ Co. a hot
company for talented people.”

The functional and emotional benefits are used for “positioning,” which means defining the
unique combination of attributes that define the product (or employer). XYZ Co.’s positioning
says that it has a winning culture combined with strong tangible rewards, which in combination
with other attributes creates a unique identity. XYZ’s competitors will have different cultures,
locations, compensation packages, and so on.

Branding includes deliberate messages about the company. For example, PepsiCo, which
employs 153,000 employees worldwide, promotes the tag line “PepsiCo—Taste the Success!”
to candidates to convey the excitement of working at this global company. On its corporate
recruiting Web site, PepsiCo says its workplace experience is a combination of “Powerful
Brands, Passion for Growth, Culture of Shared Principles, Commitment to Results, Ability to
Make an Impact and Quality People.” Employees absorbed those qualities in ones behavior.

Candidates form powerful impressions of employers based on what one sees and hear. “I work
for PepsiCo” means something different from “I work for Microsoft,” “I work for Fox News,” and “I
work for the city council.” The employer brands at these organizations are crafted to attract
certain kinds of talent, temperament, and values in candidates. Their positioning is unique and
distinctive.

Every organization big or small has an employer brand whether they know it or not. It touches
all moments of the candidate and employee experience, from the first time a candidate hears
the name until the day he or she retires from the company. It’s the reputation outside and inside
the organization. It’s there for the organization to neglect or manage. And it’s the cornerstone of
finding, hiring, and holding keepers up and down the organization. In other words, it’s
fundamental to the all stages of the Engagement Cycle.

The idea of an employer brand has gained currency in the last few years among business
leaders, but the average manager doesn’t have a developed view of what it is and its
importance to the organization. The Economist magazine found that executives defined an
employer brand as the expression of a company’s distinctive employment experience. More
than 70 percent of respondents in the United States and United Kingdom expected that

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developing a strong employer brand leads to employees recommending organization to others
as an attractive place to work, and also to higher employee retention

The employer brand is an authentic description of an experience, similar to a consumer brand. It

includes pay, working conditions, culture, job title, intangible rewards, and the emotional
connection employees have with the organization and manager. It tells candidates who you are,
what you want, and what you stand for. As a marketer attracts customers with a compelling
product brand, a company attracts candidates with a compelling employer brand.

Think an employer brand is more than a one-way description of “what it’s like to work there.” It’s
a multidimensional conversation among the company’s leadership, its employees, candidates in
the marketplace, alumni, and even outsiders such as the press, bloggers, and anyone else who
has an opinion. The employer brand includes:

The Company’s professional reputation

• A description of company culture.

• News reports about the company, both good and bad.
• Word-of-mouth statements about the company.
• A description of the company’s future.
• How the employer’s brand compares to the competition.

Beyond conversation, it’s also a set of subjective candidate experiences, such as

• Applying for a job on your Web site or via e-mail.

• Interviewing for a position.
• Talking to employees and walking through the workplace sites.
• Using products, services, or customer help.
• The company’s impact in the candidate’s community.

What emerges in the candidate’s imagination is a fuller story than any recruiting slogan can
capture: it’s an experience. Candidates pay attention to an organization’s reputation and
compare it to other reputations. Employees are asked what it’s like to work there. In the quest
for quality, employer branding is the foundation of attracting the right people. This is where the
thought is given to the new candidate comes together with the urgent need to bring great talent

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into the organization. The new candidate, as noted, is empowered to compare the organization
to others, and start with the employer brand.

A typical hiring situation in which the employer brand makes a difference: -

A mortgage broker, already employed at a bank, gets a call from a recruiter. “Come work for this
leading financial services firm and make a lot of money,” says the recruiter. Instantly the
mortgage broker begins to weigh the reputation of the firm against current employer. Are they
prestigious or unknown? Are they thought of as a sweatshop or a fun place to work? Will one be
proud to approach customers with that name on his business card? Does he know people at the
firm, and are they happy to work there? Also might even think of their advertising, charity
affiliations, and location — all relevant factors in trying to judge the experience of working there.
If the answers aren’t right, one might not even be receptive to the recruiter’s pitch.

A thought of how hard it is for organizations in crisis to attract talent (except for turnaround
specialists) conveys about the power of employer branding. A reputation as “a lousy place to
work” is part of the death spiral that afflicts failing companies. It’s a grim but true reminder that
reputation matters. People have affinities for brands. Those who use Apple computers, iPods,
and other devices respond to the brand’s hip image. People feel different driving a BMW than a
Hyundai in part because they associate themselves with the brand and that colors their
experience.

An employer brand is a standard against which one can judge whether all the tasks around
attracting, acquiring, and advancing talent are working together. If an organization’s efforts are
unified by the right employer brand, the company will look for the right people, create the right
employment advertising, do the right networking and other outreach programs, and explain the
advantages of working for the company versus competition. One will capture the candidates
who share values and will succeed, and take a pass on candidates (even talented ones) who
won’t work out. Furthermore, an authentic employment brand is a challenge to the
organization’s management to walk the talk; to manage daily work according to a set of values
and standards that identify the company. This means employees know who they’re joining, what
they’re expected to do, and how they will be judged.

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The employment brand is in fact the heart and soul of the company. It’s really an articulation of
why you exist, why you work, and why you work here and not some place else. It’s that
important.

A Corporate Understanding of Employer Branding Concept across the Globe

American Express, Cisco Systems, Amgen, Starbucks, and Intel, all of which have received
recognition on The List of 100 Best Companies to Work for in America are leaders in Employer
Branding as well. "They all share the common trait of treating employees better than their peers
in industries, and all invest heavily in employee training and development," states Hornung.

Companies who don't invest in developing an effective Employer Brand will, in the long run, be
less financially successful than those who are. As stated by States Woltzen, "They will not be
able to recruit or retain the high-performing "

2002 Gallup survey reported that less than a quarter of American workers are fully "engaged"
in their work, costing the US economy $300bn (and £50bn in the UK) per year. Gallup surveys
in Great Britain, France and Singapore revealed similar findings in 2003.
The surveys revealed that more than 80% of British workers lack any real commitment to their
jobs, with a quarter of those being "actively disengaged," or truly disaffected with their
workplaces. Gallup estimates that actively disengaged workers cost the British economy
between £37.2 billion ($64.8 billion U.S.) and £38.9 billion ($66.1 billion U.S.) per year due to
low employee retention, high absentee levels, and low productivity.

Gallup survey results in 2003 also showed that only 12% of French workers are engaged in their
work, with approximately 2.5 times as many workers (31%) being actively disengaged, or
disconnected from their jobs. In Singapore's workforce, the percentage of actively disengaged
employees is on the rise. At 17%, this figure is up five percentage points from 2002. Gallup
estimates that the lower productivity of actively disengaged workers penalizes Singapore's
economic performance, costing between $4.9 and $6.7 billion annually.

Recruiters in IT/ITES sectors are increasingly advising companies to hire expert help for
employer branding. "If you are not a first-mover like Infy or Wipro, then where is your USP?"

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asks Mr Gautam Sinha, CEO, TVA Infotech, one of the largest IT recruitment firms in the
country.

Mr. Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, calls this a cusp activity between HR and
marketing. "Internal branding is all about activation of solutions that can be seen, touched, felt
and literally smelt by the employee every single day. Branding from the external perspective is
all about top-down branding. Internal branding is a very bottom-up process."

Brand matters for beginners

In an employee-driven job market where companies vie with one another to offer the 'biggest
and the best' to the prospective candidate, employer branding has shot up in priority, sometimes
even surpassing critical factors such as compensation and job role.

Brand name is what makes companies employers of choice at campuses, emphasizes Prof S.
Murali, Chairperson, Placements, at the ICFAI Business School. Companies now send
students of previous batches as brand ambassadors to talk about the work atmosphere, growth
opportunity, salary and other attractions that companies offer. Rishi Das, CareerNet
Consulting, a consulting firm that has been connecting engineering colleges with corporate, has
had a different experience with entry-level employees. "We have seen that in the top 20
colleges, it's the salary and the job role that matters. Brand name only comes third, but in
colleges that are ranked below the top 20, salary and brand name are top priorities. Thus
employer branding includes all such tangible and non-tangible factors that create satisfaction.

Gautam Sinha, CEO, TVA Infotech, a Bangalore-based IT recruitment firm, says the brand
name is the most important factor at entry level. On a scale of 1-10, he says, most students
would place brand name on top. An opinion that is also influenced by parental views, he says.
"At campus placements, parental consent plays a critical role. Most candidates choose big
brands because of this, unless of course they have specialized in niche subjects like robotics
which big brands may not offer. Thus as per the organization requirements employer brand or
the Trust generating factors should be culminated in the system.

One reason all employees look for big brands is not only because of
their current status, but also for reasons of future employability. K. Sudarshan, Managing
Partner, EMA Partners, a global search firm for top-level talent, says senior people do look for
companies reputed for processes and systems. "A brand is essential to candidates when they

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attend the interview and in the pre-screening process." He says compensation is important, but
they may rationalize on this but not on ob role if a brand is important. Companies also realize
that the better known it is, the lesser the premium it has to pay for talent.
The importance of brand never fades throughout one's career though it may come down by a
notch or two, says Nirupama V G, Director, Ad Astra, a recruitment consultant. "It's always the
companies that make a song and dance that win talent," she sums up.

Why Employer Branding important for HR?

In Research Insight Employer branding: fad or the future of HR? Dr Shirley Jenner and Stephen
Taylor of Manchester Metropolitan University Business School suggest there are four main
reasons why the concept of employer branding has become prominent in recent years. They
identify these as:

• Brand power
• HR’s search for credibility
• Employee engagement
• Prevailing labour market conditions.

Jenner and Taylor explain their importance in the following extracts from the Research Insight.

Brand power

The past 20 years have seen the rise of the brand as a central concept in organizational and
social life. Branding underpins a growing, influential and profitable reputation management, PR,
consultancy and recruitment advertising industry. The past decade has seen unprecedented
growth in the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for investors, employees and
other stakeholders.

HR search for credibility

HR professionals continue in the search for credibility and strategic influence. Embracing the
language and conceptual tools of brand power seems an obvious choice. This direction reflects
continuity with earlier iterations of HR, for example with organizational development and culture
change.

Employee engagement

Recent years have seen an increased interest in promoting employee engagement. This
includes attempts to recruit, socialize and retain a committed workforce. From a branding
perspective, the recruitment proposition forms the basis for workplace satisfaction and
identification with organizational goals and values.

Labour market conditions

The final driver identified by Jenner and Taylor was prevailing labour market conditions. At the

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time of writing (2007) they pointed out that for an extended period of time unemployment
remained low and skills shortages continued. Tight labour market conditions were combined
with a tough trading environment. Employers were thus obliged to compete more fiercely with
one another to recruit and retain effective staff, while also being severely constrained in the
extent to which they could pay higher salaries in order to do so. A strong employer brand was
being promoted as the key to winning this ‘war for talent’ by establishing organizations’ unique
selling point in employment terms.

Since the time of writing, there has been a change in labour market conditions with the
economic downturn and rising unemployment. However, in uncertain economic times, employer
brand appears still appears to be a relevant concept as organisations seek to motivate and
engage existing employees and need to tempt candidates for key positions away from roles
they perceive as ‘safe’ in their current organisations. Businesses making employees redundant
will need to consider how they minimize damage to their reputation as an employer and
consider the impact on ‘survivors’ still with the company.

How can organisations benefit from developing an employer brand?

An employer brand can be used to help organisations compete effectively in the labour market
and drive employee loyalty through effective recruitment, engagement and retention practices.

All organisations have an employer brand, regardless of whether they have consciously sought
to develop one. Their brand will be based on the way they are perceived as a ‘place to work’, for
example by would-be recruits, current employees and those leaving the organisation.

To be effective, the brand should not only be evident to candidates at the recruitment stage, but
should inform the approach to people management in the organisation. For example, the brand
can inform how the business tackles:

• induction
• performance management and reward
• managing internal communications
• promoting effective management behaviors
• exits from the organisation.

To deliver benefits, it is important that the employer brand is not merely rhetoric espousing the
organisation’s values, but is reflective of the actual experience of employees. As our Guide on
employer branding points out ‘People who like the job they do and the place they work become
advocates for it’.

The potential that can be unlocked from this advocacy is evident from findings from our
research report working life: employee attitudes and engagement 2006. The survey on which
the report was based reveals that half of respondents would encourage friends and family to do
business with their organisation and just over half would recommend it as a place to work, with
only 19% prepared to do so without being asked.

An employer brand approach involves research with employees to understand their attitudes
and behaviour, for example, through a staff attitude survey. This employee insight data can

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inform metrics on ‘people performance’ in the organisation, providing an opportunity to
demonstrate links to organisation performance.

The Psychological Contract

The ability of the business to add value rests on its front-line employees, or 'human capital'.
Organizations that wish to succeed have to get the most out of this resource. In order to do this,
employers have to know what employees expect from the work. The psychological contract
offers a framework for monitoring employee attitudes and priorities on those dimensions that
can be shown to influence performance. The employer brand can be seen as an attempt by the
employer to define the psychological contract with employees so as to help in recruiting and
retaining talent.

What Is A Psychological Contract?

The term “psychological contract’ was first used in the early 1960s, but became more popular in
early 1990s. It has been defined as “The perceptions of both parties to the employment
relationship, organization and individual, of the reciprocal promises and obligations implied in
that relationship”.

In the above, the inferred deal is the psychological contract. The psychological contract comes
into action as soon as the employment contract or the employment offer, which is a commonly
used term, is signed. Where the obligations under the employment contract are formal, precise
and physically signed, the obligations under the psychological contract are informal, imprecise
and unsigned. These obligations may be seen as 'promises' through the employment contract,
such as employer’s promise to pay commensurate with performance, On the other hand the
employee’s promise to deliver the work as stated in the JD.

The others as 'expectations' through the psychological contract, such as employer’s expectation
of above average performance, a reasonably longer tenure, reporting on time, uphold
companies reputation, be courteous to clients and colleagues, be honest and show loyalty to the

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organization, etc. and employee’s expectation of opportunities for training and development,
opportunities for promotions, recognition for innovation, feedback, interesting tasks, respectful
treatment, reasonable job security and a reasonably pleasant and safe environment.

The most important thing in above is that the expectations are believed by the employee to be
part of the relationship with the employer and vice-versa.

Psychological contract – Its relation to the Expectancy Theory

This can also be related to the Expectancy Theory by Victor Vroom on employee motivation.
The theory focuses on three relationships, namely, Effort performance relationship,
Performance-reward relationship and Rewards-personal goals relationship.

As per the theory an employee will be motivated to exert a high level of effort when the effort will
lead to a good performance appraisal; that a good performance appraisal will lead to
organizational rewards such as bonus, salary increase, or a promotion; and that the reward will
satisfy the employee’s personal goals.

Based on above it can be said that a psychological contract looks at the reality of the situation
as perceived by the parties, and may be more influential than the formal contract in affecting
how employees behave from day to day. It is the psychological contract (expectation) that
effectively tells employees what they are required to do in order to meet their side of the
bargain, and what they can expect from their job. It may not - indeed be generally applicable
and is influenced by a view of the underlying relationship between employer and employee.

What has persuaded people to take the psychological contract seriously?

Changes currently affecting the workplace which has persuaded people to take it seriously.
These include:

• The nature of jobs: more employees are on part time and temporary contracts, more
jobs are being outsourced, tight job definitions are out, and functional flexibility is in.
• Organizations have downsized and delayered: 'leanness' means doing more with
less, so individual employees have to carry more weight.

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 • Markets, technology and products are constantly changing: customers are
becoming ever more demanding, quality and service standards are constantly going up.
• Technology and finance are less important as sources of competitive advantage:
'human capital' is becoming more critical to business performance in the knowledge-
based economy.
• Traditional organizational structures are becoming more fluid: teams are often the
basic building block, new methods of managing are required

Some inferences that can be drawn from the model of psychological contract are:

1. The model of the psychological contract suggests that by adopting 'bundles' of HR practices,
employers are likely to improve business performance. Many employees have substantial
discretion as to how to do jobs: it is more likely that they will use their discretion positively if they
feel that they are being fairly treated.
2. Simply adopting positive HR polices is not enough: policies need to be translated into practice
if the same are to influence employee’s behaviour. The way in which it is implemented by line
managers is critical to the way in which employees respond.
3. Employees in large organizations do not identify any single person as the 'employer'. The line
manager is important in making decisions about day-to-day working. Another important task
with the line manager is to manage the growing expectation of the employee.
4. In order to display commitment, employees have to feel the treatment of fairness and respect.

The Causes of Violations and It’s Effects

Violations can take many forms: Violation of a psychological contract may put into 3 basic
categories namely

i. Inadvertent violation - Inadvertent violation occurs when both parties are willing and able to
keep the part of the bargain, but conflicting interpretations lead one party to act in a manner at
odds with the understanding of the other. An example of such a violation would be two people
who misconstrue the time of a meeting and therefore fail the commitment to attend.

ii. Circumstantial violation - Disruption to the contract occurs when circumstances make it
impossible for one or both parties to satisfy the part of the contract, despite the fact that they are

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willing to do so. For example, unexpected heavy traffic could prevent an employee from arriving
at work on time.

iii. Willful Breach - Breach of contract occurs when one individual, who is capable of
implementing the contract, refuses to do so and thereby intentionally creates a violation.

It is the interpretation of the cause or source of these types of violation which influences how the
violation is experienced and consequently how the victims behave in response.

There are four main courses of action an individual may take in response to a perceived
violation which can be divided into two dimensions: active-constructive, passive-constructive,
active-destructive and passive - destructive.

Reactions to Violation

i. Active constructive course - Under this usually an employee will approach the line manager or
a manager will call upon an explanation to the employee and verbalize so far the unwritten and
unspoken expectation. It is an active, constructive effort to change the objectionable features in
a situation and compensate for the violation while remaining in the relationship.

ii. Passive constructive course - Silence is a form of non-response and reflects a willingness to
endure or accept unfavorable circumstances in the hope that they may improve. As a passive,
constructive response it serves to perpetuate the existing relationship.

iii. Active destructive course – This is most common when voice channels do not exist or if there
is a history of conflict. It can involve neglect of one's duties to the detriment of the interests of
the other party or involve more active examples of counterproductive behaviours. Vandalism,
theft and work slowdowns are all examples of this type of response.

iv. Passive destructive course - Under this either party is not willing to verbalize the unspoken
expectation, probably they believe there is no point in it. For e.g. employers can terminate
employees whose performance does not meet standards, and employees can quit an
untrustworthy or unreliable employer.

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Avoiding a Breach

Employment relationships may deteriorate despite management’s best efforts: nevertheless it is

managers’ job to take responsibility for maintaining them. Preventing breach in the first place is
better than trying to repair the damage afterwards. But where breach cannot be avoided it may
be better to spend time negotiating or renegotiating the deal, rather than focusing too much on
delivery.

The most important tool for avoiding a breach is communication. By experience the immediate
manager/s know what an employee expects of the organization. Its only by communicating to
the employee’s the manager/s can covert those unsaid, imprecise expectation into verbal
statement. Once it is converted into a verbal statement, the role then manager/s has to play is of
a negotiator. Managers need to manage expectations, for example through systems of
performance management which provide for regular employee appraisals. HR practices also
communicate important messages about what the organization seeks to offer its employers. But
employee commitment and 'buy-in' come primarily not from telling but from listening.
HR also can play crucial role by initiating programs like “Hot Seat” as was being done by GE’s
BPO at Gurgaon. In this the immediate reporting of the employees is thrown questions and
encourages employees to speak their minds.

This can be an effective tool for exploring how employees think and feel on a range of issues
affecting the workplace. In times of rapid change, managers and employees frequently hold
contrasting opinions about what is going on. Two-way communication, both formal and informal,
is essential as a form of reality check and a basis for building mutual trust.

The psychological contract thus provides a convincing rationale for 'soft HRM', or behaving as a
good employer. It offers a perspective based on insights from psychology and organizational
behaviour rather than economics. It emphasizes that employment is a relationship in which the
mutual obligations of employer and employees may be imprecise but have nevertheless to be
respected. The price of failing to fulfill expectations may be serious damage to the relationship
and to the organization.

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 EMPLOYER BRAND MANAGEMENT

Employer brand experience framework

The inherent weakness of IM, internal branding and, more recently, employer branding has
been the over-emphasis placed on communicating brand promises at the expense of longer
term management of the employee experience. This is now being addressed through an
adoption of the same thinking that has driven recent developments in management of the
customer brand experience, namely if we want to deliver a consistent on-brand service
experience, it is not just a question of managing our communication channels, we need to
manage every significant operational and interpersonal 'touch-point' with the customer.

While the employee experience is far more complex than any service experience, there is a
recognition that organizations would benefit from adopting a similar approach. People

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management involves a wide range of ritualized processes and HR 'products' that can be
described as employee touch-points. The term 'customer corridor' used to describe a relatively
predictable sequence of 'touch-points' can equally be applied to the recruitment process,
orientation, employee communication, shared services (including HR and facilities
management), reward, measurement (eg employee engagement surveys), performance
management and employee development. Likewise, core values and competencies can be
seen as a framework for governing the everyday experience of employees through the
communication and behaviour of their immediate line managers and corporate leaders.

As for the customer experience, being consistent is good, but being both consistent and
distinctive is even better. If we want to deliver a distinctive customer brand experience, and that
experience depends heavily on interpersonal interactions, then we need to ensure our employer
brand attracts the right kind of people and our employer brand management reinforces the right
kind of culture (from the customer-facing frontline to the deepest recesses of every support
function).

To ensure our culture is aligned with the desired customer brand experience, it clearly helps to
have a distinctive 'brand of leadership', but it is equally important to ensure that our people
processes are also distinctively in tune with our brand ethos. These 'signature' employer brand
experiences will help to engender a distinctive brand attitude, generate distinctive brand
behaviours and ultimately reinforce the kind of distinctive customer service style that will add
value to the customer experience and differentiate an organization from its competitors.

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 Employer Branding Process

Developing an employer brand

Our employer branding Guide gives some more detailed advice and suggestions for developing
an employer brand: an edited summary is provided below. We have also developed a practical
interactive tool for CIPD members Employer branding: your online companion for the journey to
help in developing and implementing an employer brand.

Discovery

This stage involves research to understand how the employer brand is perceived by top
management, other employees and your external talent. You will need to develop relationships
with other disciplines (for example, marketing and internal communications) and prepare your
business case.

Typical actions:

• Senior management workshop.

• Internal and external focus group.
• Employee survey.
• Candidate journey audit.
• Building rapport with marketing/PR/communications teams ensuring top-level
buy-in.
• Select external partners.
• Apply baseline metrics.

Analysis, interpretation and creation

This stage involves using your research to help you build a clear picture of what your
organisation stands for, offers and requires as an employer – its distinctive ‘value proposition’.

Typical actions:

• Define brand attributes.

• Define overall ‘employment value proposition’.
• Associate specific behaviours with each attribute.
• Initial creative expression of the brand.

Implementation and communication

This stage sees the brand being applied for the first time in the organisation. Its important to
ensure you can deliver what the brand promises, that the value proposition is one that current
employees can recognise and believe in, and that candidates experience alignment between
what they expect and what they experience.

Typical actions:

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 • Apply brand to recruitment and induction process and materials, launch brand
internally.
• Apply brand to talent-attracting programmes/materials including website.

Measurement, maintenance and optimisation

This stage is concerned with checking progress and maintaining momentum.

Typical actions:

• Probe internal response to the brand.

• Probe external perception.
• Measure improvements in recruitment and retention metrics.
• Complete application of brand to the candidate journey.
• Measure uptake of ‘living the brand’.

The value proposition and employee segmentation

As highlighted in the previous section, the value proposition describes what an organisation
stands for, requires and offers as a employer. There is evidence of the influence of the concept
of the ‘psychological contract’ in the sense the proposition represents the ‘deal’ between
employer and employee.

Rather than focussing on a single value proposition for the whole organisation, some
organisations are beginning to take a more segmented approach. Employee segmentation is
driven by the recognition that employees, like customers, are not a homogenous group. It can
be beneficial to tailor the ‘deal’ or value proposition to the needs of a diverse workforce – and
this can mean emphasizing different elements of the value proposition to different groups of
employees or creating subsets of the overall value proposition.

It is possible to segment an organisation’s workforce in many different ways. Where previously

organisations might have analysed employee satisfaction or engagement data in terms of
location and job type, valuable insights can be gained from looking to segment your workforce
based on categories such as age, lifestyle and attitudes to communication in the organisation.
Organisations have used such approaches, for example, to help them communicate and
promote ‘flexible benefits’ packages reflecting the different interests and needs of different parts
of the workforce. Some are now moving on to using segmented reward approaches for different
segments of an organisations workforce, for example, sales, executives, call centre, technical
support, etc, in terms of base, variable pay, benefits and non-financial reward polices.

Whether to promote a single employer brand (and value proposition) is also a consideration for
international organisations. For example, while they may wish to create global brand values,
there might need to be to be some local interpretation of these to cater for the diversity of
cultural needs locally.

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The employment brand architecture as suggested by Ryan Estis the chief talent strategist for
NAS Recruitment Communications, an agency of the McCann World Group for becoming an
employer of choice includes the following steps -

1) Understand your business objectives.

2) Identify your talent needs.
3) Determine the employment brand attributes.
4) Look for synergy with the corporate brand.
5) Develop a communications plan.
6) Develop the messaging and creative content.
7) Establish metrics.
8) Execute and evaluate.

Employer Brand Excellence Framework

International employer brand strategist Brett Minchington, who has developed an Employer
Brand Excellence Framework, breaks the process down into four phases:

Step 1: Concept Phase

Employees are the ultimate location of the employer brand so understanding their perceptions
of the company through research is a vital stage in the process. A company’s employer brand is
very different from any other organization so the best place to start the research process is with
qualitative interviews with own employees.

The Concept Phase involves a 360 employer brand audit to determine the strength of your
current employer brand and to determine its level of synergy with your corporate brand and
business objectives. Survey tools such as the Minchington/Thorne Employer Brand Global
Index™ which benchmarks employer brand activities against world’s best practice can be used
in the audit. Results from employee surveys (e.g. engagement, commitment or satisfaction
surveys) and candidate/stakeholder surveys can also be used to gauge the perception of the
company’s employer brand amongst internal and external audiences. Existing employee
measurement research data and HR data should also be compiled and analyzed during this
phase. Research conducted during the concept phase can result in significant savings further
along the process continuum.

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Penny Lovett, General Manager Human Resources at BUPA Australia, refers to their employer
brand as an “organizational fingerprint”. She explains: “Each company has one that is unique. If
you don’t know your own ‘fingerprint’, you won’t be able to develop actions that make best use
of your company’s specific strengths and weaknesses”.

Step 2: DESIGN PHASE

The Design Phase is the process to formulate your employer brand strategy. The following
Employer Brand Excellence Framework™ provides a strategic tool to guide your firm’s employer
brand program and acts as a platform from which all employer brand actions flow. The
components of the framework include:

(i) Defining your Employer Value Propositions (EVP's)

Once all the research is complete the real challenge begins. The lesson from consumer
marketing is that no brand can be built without a proposition. The proposition captures the true
essence of a brand and is used to drive every marketing activity from pricing to promotions. In
employer branding the EVP plays exactly the same role. It represents the essence of the
employer brand. Too many organizations lazily compile the usual pointless series of words to
define their organization. When companies get their EVP right they use research to create a
different and more authentic brand proposition. The key to a good EVP is using research to
inform the process.

To create successful EVP, companies must understand following things:

1. Image – Potential employee’s values and preferences in careers, brands and

employers as well as their perceptions of your organization.
2. Identity – the internal truths of working life in your organization.
3. Profile – the image your organization is trying to portray, including corporate
brand and CEO messages.

A good example of this is when the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)
required 60 Part-time Quarantine Officers to start in June 2006. AQIS’s recruiting partner,
Select Australasia’s (now Vedior Asia Pacific) strategy was to attract a high volume of
applicants that ‘best fit’ the AQIS’s employer value proposition - diverse, female friendly and

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flexible work patterns. Various print and television advertisements were designed around this
theme.

Select Australasia collaborated with recruitment advertising specialists, Advertising Energy to

design an advertising campaign to run in both print and internet media. The objectives were to
attract return to work parents whose lifestyles might suit the part time hours on offer. The
campaign resulted in over 6,000 applications. – An outstanding result that demonstrates the
value of clearly defining your EVP.

(ii) Defining your EBI

The EBI is made up of two components – the Employer Brand Employee Platform™ and The
Employer Brand Strategic Platform™.

In collaboration with managers across all strategic business units, the custodians of the
employer brand program must determine the objectives, strategies, targets, measures,
timeframes and responsible persons for managing the employer brand touch points across
these platforms. Adequate resources should be allocated to ensure the plan is achievable.

Employer Brand Employee Platform:

The Employer Brand Employee Platform™ consists of the employer brand elements that are
closest to your employees and impact on the ability of your company to attract, engage and
retain employees with the 'right talent/culture' for your organization. These include

• Recruitment & induction

• Compensation and benefits
• Career development
• Employee research
• Reward and recognition
• Communication systems
• Work environment

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Employer Brand Strategic Platform:

On completion of the assessment on the Employer Brand Employee Platform™ elements, the
next step is to consider the performance of the firm against the Employer Brand Strategic
Platform™. These elements include:

• Your firm's mission, vision & values

• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
• Leadership
• Corporate reputation and culture
• People management policies and practices
• Performance management
• Innovation

iii) The Corporate brand-

The employer branding process and procedures should be aimed towards corporate branding
so that betterment could be created not only among internal customers but also among external
customers and all stakeholders. While employer brand and corporate brand are distinct, they
must also be consistent with each other. So, having an Employer Brand which aligns to our
customer brand allows us to attract and retain the right people for our business”. This alignment
process means that marketing and HR must work together (and not against each other) on the
EVP. Both have so much to gain from the experience. For marketing there is a chance to
ensure that employees will support the corporate brand values. For HR there is the opportunity
to ensure that the external perception of the company, which is usually driven by the corporate
brand, will be linked to the internal employer brand.

All the elements of your brand - the name, logo, tagline, and design - combine to form a
message about what it is like to work at your company. The messages become synonymous
with your company in the mind of existing and prospective employees. The message articulated
by your corporate brand should closely align with those communicated by your employer brand.

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iv) Market forces - An analysis of the external environment using a PESTEL analysis should
be completed. The PESTEL analysis will scan the political, economical, social, technological,
environmental and legal environments to identify the key issues that impact on the firm’s
employer brand.

Employer branding process and techniques should be aimed towards building a positive image
of the organization in external and internal environment equally.

(v) Customers - The most successful brands are built on an intimate knowledge of their
customers. In much the same way, successful employer brands are built on an intimate
knowledge of employees. The attitudes and actions of employee’s impact on the promise
delivered to customers. Research shows that engaged and satisfied employees deliver higher
levels of service to customers, and the expression of customer satisfaction has a motivational
effect on employees, inspiring them to voluntarily give even more of themselves for the purpose
of increasing customer satisfaction.

(vii) Prospective employees - The attitudes that individuals hold about employers are informed
by their 'affective responses' to situations, people or things. Attitudes are affected by their own
employment experiences or those of their family, friends, and colleagues. If the employment
experience with an employer in a particular industry is a negative one (e.g. call centre), then that
may impact on the attractiveness of the industry as a future employment prospect for the
candidate.

(viii) Stakeholders - As part of employer brand research efforts it is recommended that a

survey of includes a sample of company stakeholders be undertaken to determine how they
perceive your employer brand. Consider how stakeholders perceive your company's work
practices. How do they rate the service delivered by your employees? Chances are that if the
service level is poor, the employee is likely to be disengaged in their work.

STEP 3: INTEGRATION PHASE

The Integration Phase involves communicating and cascading the firms EVP(s) to you internal
and external audiences. The communication must be relevant, consistent and measurable
across all communication touch points using a variety of communication media and integrated
IT recruitment and talent management systems.

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These may include:

• Career website
• Company intranet
• Careers fair brochures
• Company newsletters
• Policy and procedures templates
• Recruitment advertising
• Sponsorship

The recruitment and induction periods are critical times for a new employee. It is a time when
they are forming views of the organization’s values, leadership, and culture. Careful
consideration should be made during this period to ensure the actions of the organizations and
its partners (e.g. recruitment agencies) during recruitment and induction activities are aligned
with the EVP’s that the organization is trying to communicate about “what it is like to work
here.” Failure to do so will result in a disconnect between the candidates expectations and what
they actually experience.

Organizations who do not deliver on the employer brand promise and EVP’s will experience
higher turnover of talent and a negative impact on corporate culture.

Activities which need to be monitored for EVP alignment include:

• the application and screening process, including the functionality and usability of the
careers website and the online application process;
• interview (phone and in person) and initial contact with the company;
• hiring manager interview and attitude;
• quality and content of corporate communications material detailing the employment
experience
• reference checking process;
• offer/negotiation/rejection process; and
• induction activities including understanding of strategic direction, business objectives,
corporate culture, etc (beyond OHS & transactional activities)

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STEP 4: EVALUATION PHASE

The Evaluation Phase involves measuring the impact of the Employer Brand program against
the company’s financial and operational indicators using robust evaluation techniques.

There is no set standard of measurements (or dashboard) that fits every organization, nor
should there be – all organizations are different. Cost per hire, turn over rates, absenteeism,
head count, engagement levels, time to fill, retention rates, time to productivity, total costs of
labour to revenue, and candidate satisfaction rates are all examples of metrics that will assist
managers to measure their ROI on employer brand programs. Other less traditional measures
include promotion readiness rating, external vs. internal hire ratio, quality-hire ratio, performance
ratings of newly promoted managers, manager/executive failure rate, cost-per-hire by channel
and offer-to-acceptance ratio among candidates by channel.

In the increasingly difficult labour market for attracting and retaining talent, organizations need
to apply brand management thinking and techniques to this issue of creating meaning and
relevance to current and future employees. Employer branding is one such strategy that
ensures the organization is able to attract, engage and retain the building blocks of what is
rapidly becoming a firm’s source of greatest competitive advantage – its human capital.

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 Implementing Employer Branding Concept in Organization

Following steps help in fruitful implementation of employer branding process

• Set measurable and attainable target for employer branding which should be
development oriented.
• Hire professional services if needed for better and result oriented
activities
• Identify the needs of employees and design program as per the
requirements.
• Undergo survey either attitudinal for gathering information of employees
satisfaction and
needs.
• Design a full proof need based support oriented and growth focused
strategy which will
help both employee and employer for development and promotion.
• Validate the strategy with key constituencies.

Supportive factors in employer branding

• Active employee involvement.

• Clear understanding of what employees of choice want in an employer.

• A clear, honest, ongoing feedback loop with employees that will enable
to continuously
gather information about organizational strengths and weaknesses.
• A clear understanding of what needs to be address well, and what ones
don't.
• A list of organizational practices and policies that weaken employer
brand and
those that strengthen it.
• A list of moment of truth experiences that help shape employees' overall
work
experience and a clear picture of how well it’s done in each area.

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HR Challenges

The biggest challenge in employer branding is ownership. As it is often not clear who should
sponsor it, the responsibility can fall down the middle between marketing, corporate
communications, and HR. "To succeed, it needs an integrated process linking all departments
and with endorsement from the highest level within the organization," explains Minchington.

"The biggest obstacles HR often faces when trying to implement changes include clarity,
resources and capability. Employer brand projects can be very complex, and more so if a
company has a globally dispersed workforce that operates across diverse cultures. Having the
appropriate resources - including both personnel and funding available - is going to require a
greater understanding at Board and shareholder level for companies to accept that the labour
market is only going to get tougher, and that an increased level of investment must be allocated
towards employer branding initiatives," Minchington says.

It is also noted that HR often plays a key role in helping frame the employer brand - via
developing the EVP- it sometimes falls short in terms of publicizing the employer brand.

Hence we need to make sure our HR programs are actually supporting the employer brand, but
we also need some PR to get the message out. Our website, brochures, and advertising
program must reinforce the message. For example, on our website, we could have employees
talking about what it means to work in the organization: Is it a fun place to work? Are there
opportunities for advancement?"

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HR department must be consistent in its approach and continuously remind employees to keep
the company's culture and values alive, "through activities, training, our news letters, or simple
e-mail."

Hence HR must also lead by setting a good example.

Benefits Of Employer Branding

The major benefits of employer branding include:-

• Increased Productivity and Profitability.

• Increased Employee Retention.
• Highly ranked for Employer Attractiveness.
• Increased level of staff engagement.
• Lower Recruitment Costs.

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 • Minimized loss of talented employees.
• Employees recommending organization as a “preferred “place to work.

• Maintenance of core competencies.

• Employees committed to organizational goals.
• Shorter Recruitment time.
• Ensured long term competitiveness.
• Improved employee relations.
• Decreased time from hire to productivity.

The Importance of the Employee Experience

The bigger the consumer brand, the more likely it is that an organization will attract top
candidates, at least in the initial recruiting stages. However, company brand is only as good as
the employee's experience of that brand promise. If the consumer brand is strong but the
employer brand is weak, an employee may feel deceived or undervalued and think, "This
company is not what they portray to the public," or "they are not committed to their people."
Neither is a good message to send to potential or existing talent.

The employee experience starts with an employee's first interaction with an organization. That
first impression may extend far beyond company offerings in position, salary and benefits.
Today's workforce is equally concerned with opportunities for career advancement, rewards and
recognition, management style and company culture. Together these blend to make up the
employer value proposition and employer brand that impact the employee experience and,
ultimately, the hire's decision to join and remain with an organization.

Connect Employer and Company Brand

One leading high technology organization has a mission to foster highly customer-centric
employees. Its mission to deliver superior customer service and satisfaction is reinforced
throughout the recruiting process. This mission drives the branding and messaging for all its
online recruiting campaigns. Resulting candidates are deemed as a good fit for position if
demonstrated a proven customer-centric knowledge and skills. By ensuring new hires' skills and
prior experience match core company culture, the organization is setting a strong framework for
success. But the importance of brand doesn't stop at the recruiting process.

Financial services firms are known to support formal career tracks for talent in order to create
the right kind of employee experience. Many have received the "Best Company to Work For"
label that aids brand building because employees like to know that an organization is committed
to employees' long-term growth and development. Companies that incorporate this commitment
into employer brand and message will have an advantage because the employer brand
validates why top candidates came to the organization in the first place. "A thoughtful employer
brand can be just as valuable as a well-executed consumer brand," said Gordon Rudow, CEO

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of San Francisco-based Bonfire Communications, an agency that specializes in building
company brands. "Just as a good consumer brand inspires trust and loyalty, so does a strong
employer brand help attract, engage and retain the best people and harness their performance."

Many talent managers partner with the marketing department to help build an effective employer
brand. It makes sense to leverage the expertise of marketers that spend days building brands
and running programs to attract and retain customers. Knowing that a customer today is not
necessarily a customer tomorrow, and HR and business leaders can apply marketing concepts
to recruiting and branding efforts to build a competitive edge.

Employer Brand, On-Boarding and Company Performance

On the first day of work, an employee is exposed to a company's values, mission, culture and
attitudes. This usually happens during the employee on-boarding process. The new employee
soaks in the company atmosphere via provided materials, messages from colleagues and
communications from HR and business leaders.

Imagine an employee who has a negative first impression because the company mission is
unclear, on-boarding instructions or product materials are inconsistent or colleagues are
complaining. Given those mixed messages, that person may wonder about the viability of the
company and may not commit fully to the organization or his or her new role. Then imagine an
employee arrives for the first day of employment and finds a solid company message on the
organizational culture and mission. Colleagues are upbeat, and company product and service
information is clearly and consistently presented. This employee likely would be more excited to
be part of that team than the former. Further, the employee presented with positive, consistent
employer brand message is more likely to refer a skilled peer to the organization.

"A new hire's on-boarding is only the beginning of the overall employee experience," Rudow
said. "That initial interaction is reinforced by a series of touch points around the company's
mission, vision and values, learned through the attitudes and behaviors of colleagues and
executives. Those touch points become the foundation of an employer brand." On-boarding
programs are a perfect opportunity to reinforce the employer brand and generate a positive
employee experience. For example, a leading media organization has a comprehensive way to
help new hires get acclimated quickly and get them excited about the company and its brand.
Each employee goes through a formal online on-boarding program in which they hear the
company mission from the CEO, learn about the company culture and history, and learn about
its core products and value propositions. They receive buddies or mentors to guide them on
career paths.

The company's focus on the employee experience via a formal on-boarding program has had a
high impact on engagement and performance. Employees who know how to do jobs, are clear
on company values and messaging, and feel part of a greater purpose. Activities and messages
are delivered through a Web-based on-boarding application that standardizes how the
information is delivered and also manages activities such as shadowing a manager or attending
a specific course or seminar to help them grow in their roles. On-boarding programs also are an
opportunity to set expectations around performance and establish employee guidelines for a
successful working relationship with the organization. Astadia connects company strategic
objectives to employee actions immediately. During the first day of employee orientation, an
Astadia executive reviews the company's strategic objectives and outlines the importance of
aligning them with individual objectives and tasks. Then the annual employee review process
measures individual objectives success and how that success impacts the company's strategic
objectives. A company's strategic objectives and mission should be clearly communicated early

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and on a continual basis throughout the employee life cycle because they make up the core
components that drive the employer brand.

Happy Employees Can Be Great Brand Ambassadors

Imagine a happy new hire has been working for the organization for a couple of months. Now
imagine this employee in front of a potential customer, partner or other influencer. If this
individual shares the vision, mission and can clearly articulate the value of the organization's
products or services, he or she is a strong ambassador for the company brand. "All too often,
companies overlook the role people can play as frontline champions of the brand," Rudow said.
"But the more these companies develop their external brand, the more they realize the value of
starting from the inside out."

Companies need to continually align employee knowledge, the corporate mission and brand
messaging. If an organization is launching a new product or service, make sure employees are
appropriately trained to speak about that product or service.
"Our client's perception of our brand is based on the actions, statements and successes of our
team," Wolff said. "With consultants deployed globally, we work constantly to increase the
consistency and impact of our internal messaging to drive positive external branding. Mentoring
during an employee's first few months at Astadia has not only positively affected performance,
but also has significantly helped in getting employee buy-in and engagement in regards to
employer brand."

Solicit employee input regularly to see if the organization fulfills the employee brand promise.
This can be done through annual employee engagement surveys, or through more frequent,
informal surveys. Feedback received will help the company ensure it is investing in the
programs that matter most to its talent.

Further, company brand and experience can and should extend out to an organization's network
of partners, resellers and distributors. Just as internal employees are brand and company
advocates, a company's trusted network of indirect sales channels should be, too. Many
organizations use extended enterprise training solutions to share best practices, vision, mission
and brand with their partners.

For remote partners, Web-based systems can facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration of
brand and related materials. Many organizations also request partners be certified on their
ability to deliver consistent brand messaging.

Beyond Employer Brand

Companies spend billions every year on their consumer brands to attract new customers and
open new markets. These vast sums are meant to entice the consumer to buy and continue
buying throughout the product and company life cycle.

Leading organizations may suffer if the employees itself don't understand or can't articulate
company value to the marketplace. Formal employer brand programs will help attract, retain and
motivate top talent in a market in which the talent pool is shrinking and recruiting costs are
growing.

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Employer Branding – A New HR Arena
This is a market oriented era. If a company has a good brand value in market, it will get good
response if not; it’s very difficult to convince people. From an HR point of view branding is very
important. If the organization has a good brand image in the market, it will help in getting right
workforce at right time and at the same time will have a control
over the employee cost. An organization with no brand name has to shell out lots of
money to attract and retain the right candidate.
Branding can be done in two ways: (1) External Branding and (2) Internal Branding.
Lots of factors may influence the branding strategy of an organization,

Branding Strategy

A) Nature of Business – Branding should be based on the nature of business. Like if

an IT company goes for a fashion show, it may not yield the same results as it would have got by
going to IT Fair or something similar. A real estate company may go for some road show on
property market.

B) Nature of Market – It is always recommended to gauge the market before going

for any project which involves market risk like if one is targeting to explore a financial market
or banking and at the same time it is marred by some other factors like Inflation, one need to
design your strategy which could help a company in overcoming the negative trend.

C) Reception Target – It’s always good to define the reception target or the audiences. If a
company is planning to sell Villas and targeting the middle class, probability is very high that
one will end up spending time and resources in wrong direction.

D) Budget Flexibility – Budget always plays an important role in deciding the strategies. If
budget does not allow to spend a lot, its always recommended to partner in any event where
other participants are not of field and it has got at least one participant who has got a good
market value so that one can attract the crowd.

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E) Long Term Mission of Organization – Also the long term as well as short term goals of the
organization should be kept in mind. If the organization does not have any long term goals in the
target market or location, it’s always recommendable not to go for branding or it is very much
required go for a small, low budgeted branding event.

F) Organizational Structure – Organizational structure is also very vital part for deciding any
strategy. Organizational structure is the strength of any organization and any event or branding
can be done based on that.

External Branding – External branding refers to branding which is done by using external
sources and which may (or may not) require some investment in monetary or
other forms. The different means of doing external branding area as follows;

(a) Use of Job Sites – As HR the first thing which comes to the mind is recruitment,
so Job sites also offer good branding opportunities through different means like Pop ups, pop ins
etc. It’s always better to go for pop ins as most of web browsers come with pop-up blockers.

(b) Banners – Banners are also a good mean for branding. Banners can be of both types’ means
Online Banner and Street banners. By Online banner, an organization name will be flashed on
different web pages as per choice and price. Street banners are good for bigger requirements.

(c) Road Shows – Road shows are also an important mean for creating brand awareness. One
can organize talks, presentations, seminars etc. for attracting people towards ones organization.

(d) Corporate Social Responsibility – Corporate social responsibility refers to corporate getting
associated with society for some noble cause. The association can be in any mode either getting
associated with a Charitable Trust or a NGO or some other public venture. Corporate can align
and attach with any of these and share the stage. Always keep in mind that choose as per
organization status.

(e) Public Events – Public events are one of the major ways of creating a brand image. An
organization can participate in any of the public event and assuring that it does not get
disappeared in the crowd of many brands or big names.

(f) Newspapers – Branding can be done through newspapers as well. If one targets the local
public, and go for advertisements considering the individual day circulation, target readers,
rapport of newspaper, type of newspaper etc. Targets can also be to employ people for workforce
requirement, one can place job Ads which may seem expensive at the first glance but in terms of
attracting the correct workforce, it can do magic.

(g) Email – For mail ids related to job portals, one can create an auto reply which can contain
brief description of the key aspects of candidate’s and public interest and at the same time
introducing company to the public. It should be informative as well as crispy so that the audience
reads it and just does not do Shift Delete.

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(h) Tagline – Create a nice, attractive tagline or a punch line for ones brand and give it a
significant visibility in all branding efforts. The tag line should be in accordance with your
organization values, goals, work etc. so that it reflects an overall image of the brand everywhere.

(i) Align with celebrity – Aligning with a celebrity is also a good way of creating a brand
image. But this may cost big bucks and ultimately increasing cost dramatically. This is an
expensive method of branding.

Internal Branding – Internal Branding is comparatively a cheaper way of branding. An

organization can use it for internal organizational staff for this purpose.
(a) Front Office – Always pay attention to front office because first impression is last
impression. It should be kept neat and clean with a pleasant receptionist who always maintains
freshness and welcomes the guests with courtesy.

(b) Stays Interview - HR can always conduct stay interviews in which they can interact with the
employee and ask them regarding their career prospects, there alignment with the company, there
feedback regarding their concerned departments, etc. These feedbacks can be analyzed and used
for different purposes by which one can create an internal brand image of the company.

(c) Exit Interview – An exit always carries a fair chance of initiating the chain reaction among
the employees so always be very careful in analyzing the exiting reasons so that organization can
overcome the justified ones in the future.

(d) Employee Satisfaction – Employee satisfaction is always very important for any
organization to grow. A satisfied employee is a productive employee. If an employee is satisfied,
one can relax because it will create a good and positive rapport for the company in the market
outside.

(e) Policy Information – Always design policies very strategically. A policy should be designed
in such a way that it holds good even after a long period of time. A frequent internal policy
change sends a message to the outer world that the company is not consistent and knowledgeable
and reliable.

(f) Customer Orientation – Customers are always the most important factors. Always keep
workforce motivated towards delivery of customer oriented services. Customers can be of either
type, internal or external.

(g) Employee Participation – Always try to ensure the maximum participation from the
employee side, either in terms of internal events participation or external events.

(h) Trained Employees – Always ensure proper training of employees before they are engaged
in work. The training should be in all the aspects like policies, vision, mission, organization. This
will project a good picture of organization on the new employee. These are few to count with but
based on the requirement and strategy, the list may increase or shorten.

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 Employer Branding – A Practical Study

Inorder to understand how the organization proceed to build Employer Brand, here are some
examples in questionnaire format of different type of industry.

Name of the Company: Web 18

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Name of the Company: Trinity Computer Processing (India) Pvt Ltd
About the company : It is a BPO Company providing services in the field of Insurance Claims /
Premiums / Treaty Processing, Insurance Accounting and Data Processing located at Vikhroli
(West), Mumbai.

Name of the Person: Ruby Philip

Designation: Service Manager

Q. How important employer branding is for your company?

Employer Branding is very important, though it may not very necessarily be displayed explicitly
in every organization. Most organizations, especially in the service industry, are now waking up
to the realization that their business sustenance comes through their workforce. In this scenario,
attracting and retaining good talent is crucial and therefore projecting the employer brand is an
essential to this goal.

Q. How does your organization approach employer branding?

Our organization prefers to work inside out. We have a strong commitment to our employees
which is depicted as a part of our Vision and Values. Our employees carry the brand forward
and more than willing to invite friends and family to share the experience as the part of the
organization.

Q. What is the role of HR in sustaining an employer brand in your organization?

Every aspect of an organization contributes to sustaining the employer brand. HR has a more
pivotal and front end role, especially when it comes to recruitment and selection.

40
Any employee who joins the organization needs to understand the brand that he/ she is going to
be a part of and it is the responsibility of HR to convey this to the candidate. Also, the employer
brand is reflected in the approach to handling day- to –day activities of the organization.

Q. What are the various kinds of innovative methods/modes for selection of candidates to attract
talent?
There are no shortcuts to success and therefore there are no quick steps to attracting talent. It
takes years of building an image and sustaining it to create a niche employer brand. Prospective
employees are becoming more conscious of the brand they commit to. It’s important to ensure
while selection that the candidate being recruited will enhance the employer brand and not
undermine it.

Q. What are the most serious obstacles to success when it comes to employer branding efforts?
The employer branding success is sustaining the brand especially in the eyes of the existing
employees. If the employee’s image of the employer brand is the same as that of the
management then the organization has no cause for worry.

Q. What makes your company different from other competitive employer brands?
Our company has a great work culture. There is a lot of stress on employee development and
growth; this differentiates us from our competitors. We have a very engaged and loyal workforce
who are trained and nurtured by their line managers and leaders.

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Name of the Company: Structwel Designers & Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
About the Company: Are into Engineering Consultancy for the past four decades in
Mumbai, outstation and overseas.

Name of the Person: Rubina Basu

Designation: HR HOD

Q. What do you understand by Employer Branding?

• Your employer brand as “the image of your organization as a ‘great place to work’ in the
mind of current employees.
• Employer branding is therefore concerned with the attraction, engagement and retention
initiatives targeted at enhancing a company's employer brand.

Q. Do you have this concept of employer branding ‘in place’ in your organization?
• Yes

Q. How does your organization approach employer branding / what efforts your company
initiates in creating your company as a BRAND?
• Well to market any company, the main focus should be employees of the organization.
As the good name spreads faster from the employees within the organization.
• If the employees are satisfied and happy working for the company, it becomes a brand
name in itself.

Q. What is the role of HR in sustaining an employer brand in your organization?

• HR plays a vital role in employer branding, to have the required talented people in the
organization, to keep EMPLOYEES motivated, to have training programmes for
employees on a frequent basis and make the employees updated on present scenario
• Benefits are given to the employees to make them happy thus in turn spread the
company’s name in good words.

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Q. What are the various kinds of innovative methods/modes for selection of candidates to attract
talent?
• To make them aware of the benefits provided by the company to them
• To make them feel they are needed in the company by offering them the best package
• Treat them with respect.

Q. What are the most serious obstacles to success when it comes to employer branding efforts?
• Well you cannot trust completely on Word of Mouth, at times it could be harmful for the
company.

Q. What makes your company different from other competitive employer brands?
• Our Customer service
• Our Brand awareness in the market
• And the fact that it is STABLE even during recession time.

Q. How important employer branding is for your company?

• Employer brand is the image of an organization as a great place to work in, thus
Employer Branding is essential for any company.

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 Practices To Be Avoided

Listed below are few mistakes the organizations make which mess up the relationship with the
people they employ. Organizations should try to avoid these mistakes if they want to be an
employer of choice in the next decade.

• Add another level of hierarchy because people aren’t doing what you want them to do.
• Appraise the performance of individuals and provide bonuses for the performance of
individuals and complain that you cannot get your staff working as a team.
• Add inspectors and multiple audits because you don’t trust people’s work to meet
standards.
• Fail to create standards and give people clear expectations so they know what they are
supposed to do, and wonder why they fail.
• Create hierarchical, permission steps and other roadblocks that teach people quickly
their ideas are subject to veto and wonder why no one has any suggestions for
improvement. (Make people beg for money!)
• Ask people for their opinions, ideas, and continuous improvement suggestions, and fail
to implement their suggestions or empower them to do so. Better? Don’t even provide
feedback about whether the idea was considered.
• Make a decision and then ask people for their input as if their feedback mattered.
• Find a few people breaking rules and company policies and chide everybody at
company meetings rather than dealing directly with the rule breakers. Better? Make
everyone wonder "who" the bad guy is.
• Make up new rules for everyone to follow as a means to address the failings of a few.

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• Provide recognition in expected patterns so that what started as a great idea quickly
becomes entitlement. (As an example, buy Friday lunch when production goals are met.
Wait until people start asking you for the money if they cannot attend the lunch!)
• Treat people as if they are untrustworthy - watch them, track them, admonish them for
every slight failing - because a few people are untrustworthy.
• Fail to address behavior and actions of people that are inconsistent with stated and
published organizational expectations and policies. (Better yet, let non-conformance go on
until you are out of patience; then ambush the next offender with a disciplinary action!)
• When managers complain they cannot get to all of their reviews because they have too
many directly reporting staff members, hire more supervisors to do reviews. (Fail to
recognize that an hour per quarter per person invested in development is the manager’s
most important job.)
• Create policies for every contingency, thus allowing very little management latitude in
addressing individual employee needs.
• Conversely, have so few policies, that employees feel as if they reside in a free-for-all
environment of favoritism and unfair treatment.
• Make every task a priority. People will soon believe there are no priorities. More
importantly, they will never feel as if they have accomplished a complete task or goal.
• Schedule daily emergencies that prove to be false. This will ensure employees don't
know what to do, or are, minimally, jaded about responding when you have a true customer
emergency.
• Ask employees to change the way they are doing something without providing a picture
of what you are attempting to accomplish with the change. Label them "resisters" and send
them to change management training when they don't immediately hop on the train.
• Expect that people learn by doing everything perfectly the first time rather than
recognizing that learning occurs most frequently in failure.
• Letting a person fail when you had information that he did not, which he might have used
to make a different decision.

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Best Employer Brands In India (2008-09)

Following is the list of winners of 3rd employer branding awards 2008-09 conducted in
India:

EMPLOYER BRAND OF THE YEAR 2008 - 2009

1. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd.

EMPLOYER BRAND OF THE YEAR 2008 - 2009 (1st Runner up)

• LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd.

EMPLOYER BRAND OF THE YEAR 2008 - 2009 (2nd Runner up)

• Essar Group

EMPLOYER BRAND OF THE YEAR 2008 - 2009 (3rd Runner up)

• Alstom Projects India Ltd.

• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

EMPLOYER BRAND OF THE YEAR 2008 - 2009 (4th Runner up)

• Reliance BIG Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

• HCL Technologies Ltd.

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 Reuters Case Study.

The Reuters Fast Forward programme demonstrates how internal values can be used to
provide an effective focus for business and cultural transformation.

Reuters is best known as the world's largest international multimedia news agency, but
more than 90% of its revenue comes from its financial services business. Nearly half a
million people in the financial markets worldwide use information and analytical and
trading tools supplied by Reuters.

Reuters had experienced significant growth through the 1980's and 1990's on the back of stock
market deregulation around the world. While stock markets boomed, there was an apparently
insatiable appetite for Reuters' trading systems and information products. But in 2001 Reuters
was hit by the global economic downturn. Subscriptions to its information services fell 4% in
2002 and the Group posted a record loss of £493m for the year.

Over the last two years Reuters has undergone a dramatic process of internal change, which
has taken it back into profit, sharpened its competitiveness and created a more robust platform
for future growth.

Fast Forward
The 2002 results prompted Reuters to accelerate its business transformation by launching a
three-year change programme called ‘Fast Forward'.

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Tom Glocer described the aims of ‘Fast Forward': “I believe that we need to become a much
more competitive company, a more efficient company, a more service-oriented company, and a
more aggressive company. However, it is much more than just changing our products or
changing the architecture: it means changing the Reuters culture as well.”

In addition to simplifying its organizational structure and product offering, Reuters also
addressed the attitudes and behaviors of employees which it recognized would be key to
achieving lasting change.

Living FAST
Early on in the process, CEO Tom Glocer, led a two-day workshop of 20 key managers to
identify the values that would underpin ‘Living FAST', the desired characteristics of the new
organization.

FAST stands for:

Fast (working with passion, urgency, discipline and focus);
Accountable (being clear on performance, responsibilities, rewards and consequences);
Service-driven (understanding customer needs and then exceeding expectations through
personal commitment);
Team (sharing, challenging and trusting).

But what would these values mean in practice? A “Living FAST Framework” brought together
the key drivers of change into a single coherent plan covering internal communication, reward,
recognition, learning and development, talent and performance management.

Communication
Revitalized internal communications, with increased participation by employees, has been vital
to the success of the Fast Forward programme. Living Fast was launched on June 11th, 2003,
via a global, 24 hour event involving staff in all of the 92 countries in which Reuters operates.
Prior to and during this event, employees were invited to log issues they felt needed to be
addressed, and Tom Glocer committed managers to respond to all of the 3400 feedback
messages within the following three weeks.

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The website established for the event of June 2003 has been maintained as the home for all
communications about Living FAST. In addition, “Daily Briefing”, the company's daily electronic
newsletter for employee’s features examples of best practice, and “Talkback” allows employees
to raise issues with managers on-line.

Performance development, reward and recognition

Tom Glocer is firmly on record as wanting a performance culture. FAST values have been
integrated into performance review. Reviews are still held formally once a year, but there is now
much more emphasis on informal performance feedback quarterly, or even monthly.

Fast Forward targets have been incorporated into bonus awards, and into a formal recognition
scheme, which publicly rewards exemplary performance according to FAST values.
Reuters has also incorporated FAST principles into its managers' training programmes.

Environment
Most of Reuters' London-based staff, scattered across the city in a number of sites, will come
together in a new headquarters building in Canary Wharf during 2005. The working environment
is being created with the new values firmly in mind. For example, in contrast to Reuters'
traditional preference for corridors and offices, open-plan will be the norm to encourage greater
collaboration and teamwork.

Measuring success
In a survey carried out in November 2003, over 80% of employees said they understood and
supported Reuters' core values, and significantly greater numbers than six months before
expressed confidence that Reuters would change for the better in the year to come. This
confidence in the Fast Forward programme has been borne out by recent results. The reported
figures for 2003 have seen the Group back into profit, and the outlook for 2004 is currently
looking very positive.

Culture change of the scale being enacted at Reuters is not for the faint-hearted. Events have
dictated that it act decisively. Its coherent, integrated approach gives it the best chance possible
to meet its targets for recovery in the short term, and create an enterprise highly responsive to
market challenges and opportunities into the future.

49
 CONCLUSION

There is not only the need of creating a satisfaction in minds of employees, but also an urgent need
of creating this positivism in the minds of external customers and stakeholders. The created image
has to be monitored and sustained in such a way so that it will help in increasing profits as well as
would create belongingness, pride, self actualization and true commitment in true words and spirit.

The project says about the prevailing condition and to learn about the needs of employee and an
employer. The research shows the challenges faced by many organizations and the strategies
adopted. It was also observed that many organizations are still not very much aware of thes
concept, though are unknowingly working on employer branding because every one wants
organization to be the best.

It will be comparatively easier to welcome the new world of employment brands. Employer
branding is a useful tool to help organisations differentiate what they have to offer in the labour
market, and recruit, retain and engage the people they need to succeed. Just as marketers seek to
understand their customers, HR people will benefit from gaining ‘employee insight’ through
methods such as employee attitude surveys and focus groups. This insight should inform the HR
strategy, influence how internal communications are handled and help in the design of effective
people management initiatives.

Employer branding presents HR people with an opportunity to learn from some of the techniques
of marketing and apply them to people management. New roles have started to emerge in some
organisations which draw on skill sets from both disciplines. It is important that HR works
collaboratively, for example with colleagues in marketing and in internal communications, to share
expertise and reap maximum benefits from developing an employer brand.

Building an Employer Brand

In the present job markets, where companies compete for attracting the best of the talent,
employer brand, sometimes, becomes more relevant when compared to various critical factors
like job profile and the compensation package.

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Employer brand is the image of an organization as a great place to work in the minds of its
current employees and key stakeholders. It is the development of such an organizational culture
which fosters a sense of belongingness with the company and encourages the employees to share
organization’s goals for success. In short, it is the value of the company in external marketplace.
The goal of employer branding is to create loyal customers; the customers here being the
employees. An employer brand represents the core values of an organization. Companies that are
considered good employers have a strong identity and an image in the minds of its employees
and customers. Building a brand of oneself in the market is not a one day process. It requires a
track record in business leadership, delivering quality services to clients, creating a corporate
culture of trust and providing ample growth opportunities for the employees. It involves
answering the basic question “how do we live up to the expectations of our stakeholders?”

What makes an employer a brand?

Simon Barrow, who is president of a successful consulting firm in London that specializes in
employer branding services describes four elements that work together to make an employer
brand. The first element is the Employment Package which is the offer that an employee gets
including job responsibilities, financial compensation, work/life balance, the employee’s role in
organization and professional development. Next comes the Culture and Environment which
includes the physical working environment, the size of the organization, and the organization’s
approach to work. Then there is Integrity. Delivering what has been initially committed always
counts. The consequence of a lack of integrity is seen in the form of high attrition rates. And
finally Management Performance that plays as a vital role in the Employer Branding process.

Building a brand is typically a twofold process. One is for prospective employees and the other
for the current set of employees. While building brand for prospective employees, initiatives are
targeted at building a repute in potential candidates who would be willing to join the company in
future. Here, the aim is to communicate about the company as a dream company to work with.
On the other hand, while building brand internally, the company has to live up to its standards
and incorporate a culture of respect and trust for employees.

Growing Significance
Employer branding reflects the work culture in an organization. While making a choice of
joining a company, recruits often base their decisions on the basis of the brand name of the
company. Recruits look for a stable and long term relationship with the company. Research
shows that employees of industrial brands feel a much greater sense of pride, attachment and
trust towards their employer. It helps in building trust and reliability. The employees of a brand
company boast about the company culture and policies, thereby, reinforcing the other candidates
to join the company. A good employer brand makes it easy to attract good talent and curb
attrition. The strength of an organization’s brand has a significant impact on the performance of
its employees. Working with one of the largest or most innovative companies in a specific
industry acts as a motivator too.

But as one moves higher in his career, brand name becomes of little significance as job role takes
over. Brand name acts as an important factor only at entry level. When one is a fresher and
embarks on one’s career, the brand of a company matters. It helps in reflecting a stronger

51
resume. With career growth, one places importance on things that are more meaningful like
stability with the job, job responsibilities, and designation.

It is also being argued that in most cases, companies treat employer branding as a mere short-cut
for attracting the talent. Instead of self-analysis, the HR departments tie up with ad agencies to
build an image that may be look attractive to their target market. While some argue that
organizations like Google with strong employer brand hardly spend money in building the brand;
instead they focus on living the brand. Sasken, for example, has a stated ‘People First’ policy to
emphasize that employees are the focus. Such organizations reveal a high degree of trust in the
management of the organization. Managements must understand that the core value offering of
the organization is to engage employees towards being productive and responsive to customers.
In the end, it is believed that if the company takes care of people, people will take care of the
company.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employer_branding

http://www.employerbrand.com

http://humanresources.about.com/

http://www.greatplacetowork.in.

http://www.hrmguide.net/buscon1.html

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http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/corpstrtgy/empbrand/employerbrand.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_contract

http://www.12manage.com/methods_porter_competitive_advantage.html

ANNEXURE

Employee Satisfaction Survey Template

Note:-The data filled by an employee will be confidential, kindly do not write your name
on the form

Date: ________________

Ratings for attributes

1. Disagree Strongly
2. Disagree Somewhat
3. Neutral
4. Agree Somewhat
5. Agree Strongly

Overall, how satisfied are you with XYZ as an employer? (Please circle one number)

1 2 3 4 5

Security
My personal belongings & official expensive items are secure in the office.

1 2 3 4 5

Infrastructure

I have enough lighting in my work area

1 2 3 4 5

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The temperature in my work area always is comfortable

1 2 3 4 5

My chair is comfortable

1 2 3 4 5

I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right

1 2 3 4 5

Facilities

The common areas (toilets, passage etc) are kept clean

1 2 3 4 5

First aid treatment is readily available to treat any injury at work

1 2 3 4 5

XYZ's leadership and planning.

I have confidence in the leadership of XYZ 1 2 3 4 5

There is adequate planning of corporate objectives 1 2 3 4 5
Management does not play favorites 1 2 3 4 5
Management does not “say one thing and do another” 1 2 3 4 5

Corporate Culture

Quality is a top priority with XYZ 1 2 3 4 5

Individual initiative is encouraged at XYZ 1 2 3 4 5
Nothing at XYZ keeps me from doing my best every day 1 2 3 4 5

Communications

XYZ’s corporate communications are frequent enough 1 2 3 4 5

I feel I can trust what XYZ tells me 1 2 3 4 5
There is adequate communication between departments 1 2 3 4 5

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Career Development

I have a clearly established career path at XYZ 1 2 3 4 5

I have opportunities to learn and grow 1 2 3 4 5

If you have been here at least six months, please respond to these
Performance appraisal items

My last performance appraisal accurately reflected my performance 1 2 3 4 5

The performance appraisal system is fair 1 2 3 4 5

Your Role

I am given enough authority to make decisions I need to make 1 2 3 4 5

I feel I am contributing to XYZ’s mission 1 2 3 4 5
I have the materials and equipment I need to do my job well 1 2 3 4 5

Recognition and Rewards

If I do good work I can count on making more money 1 2 3 4 5

If I do good work I can count on being promoted 1 2 3 4 5
I feel I am valued at XYZ 1 2 3 4 5
XYZ gives enough recognition for work that's well done 1 2 3 4 5
My salary is fair for my responsibilities 1 2 3 4 5

Teamwork and Cooperation

I feel part of a team working toward a shared goal 1 2 3 4 5
“Politics” at this company are kept to a minimum 1 2 3 4 5

Working Conditions
I believe my job is secure 1 2 3 4 5
My physical working conditions are good 1 2 3 4 5
Deadlines at XYZ are realistic 1 2 3 4 5
My workload is reasonable 1 2 3 4 5
I can keep a reasonable balance between work and personal life 1 2 3 4 5

Your Immediate Supervisor

My supervisor treats me fairly 1 2 3 4 5

My supervisor treats me with respect 1 2 3 4 5
My supervisor handles my work-related issues satisfactorily 1 2 3 4 5

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 My supervisor asks me for my input to help make decisions 1 2 3 4 5
My supervisor is an effective manager 1 2 3 4 5

XYZ's Training Program

XYZ provided as much initial training as I needed 1 2 3 4 5
XYZ provides as much ongoing training as I need 1 2 3 4 5

Benefits
Overall, I'm satisfied with XYZ’s benefits package 1 2 3 4 5

Leave policy 1 2 3 4 5

What, if any, changes would you like made to XYZ’s benefits package?

How long do you plan to continue your career with XYZ?

Less than a year One to two years Two to five years More than five years
Don't Know

    

How long have you worked for XYZ?

Less than six months 

Less than one year 
One year to less than two years 
Two years to less than five years 
Five years to less than ten years 
Ten years or more 

What is your age?

Under 21 
21 to 34 
35 to 44 
45 to 54 

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 55 or older 

What is your total annual income from this job, including bonus?

Less than 40,000 .. 

40,000 to less than 90,000 
90,000 to less than 1, 30,000 
1, 30,000 to less than 2, 00,000 
3, 00,000 or more 

What can XYZ do to increase your satisfaction as an employee?

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Would I recommend employment at XYZ to my friend? Yes No

Do you think feedback and suggestions will be implemented? Yes No

Any other suggestions:

_________________ _____________________
Employee Signature Surveyor Signature

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