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Leading Big Change and Employer

Re-branding: "Is this still a great
place to work?"
Recent Academic Research on People and Strategy
By Brad Winn

ow employees feel about their work

inevitably is influenced by how they
feel about their company's reputation. Employment branding or improving
your company's image as a great place to work
is built upon common marketing principles
normally used to influence customers. In HR,
we refocus these marketing principles to influence our current and potential employees.
Working with corporate marketing and communication experts, HR executives enhance
the employee value proposition by developing
enduring corporate reputations and unique
employment packages.
The value of employment branding for talent
managers is well-established. Employment
branding is about clearly communicating
corporate values, meaningful work, economic rewards, and generally marketing the firm's
image. Providing leadership in developing
both substance and brand to competitively
attract, integrate and retain top talent has
always been a hallmark of great human
resource executives.
Yet what happens when a large-scale organizational disruption or "big change" occurs
that threatens to change the unique characteristics a company's employment brand,
such as a merger or major acquisition? During any organizationwide turmoil or change,
HR leaders find themselves in the middle of
trying to manage a changing employment
brand. And the implications for talent are
significant.

and Tony Edwards (2013) recently published

an important study tofillthis gap and inform
HR practice. The article was published in
Human Resource Management.

The Study: Impacts

of Big Change and
Employer Brand

of their employment experience

provided by their employer.
The study is based on an acquisition involving "two U.S.-based multinational firms, one
of which was almost twice the size of the
other globally; given the relative size of the
two firms, the new formal identity was based
mainly on the larger, more dominant party"
(Edwards &C Edwards). In the year following
the acquisition, the size of the combined
workforce decreased by 10 percent.

The study investigates a major merger of two

global companies and follows employees
from the parent company and the acquired
company throughout a 12-month period. It
examines changing employment brands in
the context of large-scale organizational
change by considering four employment
branding components that have HR implications. Edwards &C Edwards (2013) identify when going through a major organizational
these as:
change, employees often anticipate the
change will result in a new or different cor1. Employee perceptions linked to
porate image or reputation. During these
the strength of the merged orgatimes, HR leaders should focus on four key
nizational identity
elements of employment brand including (1)
2. The degree to which employees
organizational identity, (2) authenticity of
consider the organization to act
corporate values, (3) organizational prestige
in accordance with its espoused
and (4) the company's unique package of
values
employment rewards.

Employee Reactions
to Major "Employer
Brand" Changes

3. Perceived prestige, and

4. Employee j udgments of the degree
to which there are unique elements

HR executives need to pay close attention to

potential changes in employer brand because
they affect changes in three important

Large-scale Organizational Disruption ("Big Change")

In this issue of People & Strategy, we review

a new study that addresses the question of
"re-branding" necessitated by organizational
disruption or big change. What are the HR
implications (e.g. employees' reactions, attitudes and behaviors) when an organization
goes through a major upheaval that affects
employer brand? Until now, research studies
have not empirically examined the HR implications of a changing employment brand due
to mergers or acquisitions. Martin E. Edwards
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PEOPLE & STRATEGY

Employer Brand Changes

Organizational Identity

Values Authenticity
Organizational
Prestige
Unique Rewards
Package

Eniiployee Reactions
Employee
identification
(attachment)
Turnover intent
Discretionary effort

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employee intentions as identified by the
authors: (1) employees' identification with
and attachment to the "new" organization,
(2) turnover intent and (3) how productively
they use their discretionary time.

1. Organizational Identity
(Distinction)
"It is argued that where an organization has
a strong, enduring and distinctive identity,
employees are more likely to form a stronger
bond with the organization," (Edwards &
Edwards). Furthermore, first impressions of
the future identity of a newly merged organization have inertia or a sustained impact over
time as the organization moves from having
a "transitional identity" to a more stable
post-acquisition identity. The authors
describe transitional identity as follows:
In the context of the current study,
a major acquisition, the initial perceptions of the strength of identity
immediately following the acquisition are likely to have a profound
and potentially lasting impact on
employees...The transitional identity is something that gives employees
a sense of what the new firm will
look like and allows managers to
reduce the problems associated with
uncertainty.

associated with their new organization if they

believe that the organization is authentic, has
integrity and acts in accordance with the values it promotes.

3. Organizational Prestige
(Reputation)
A company's perceived prestige obviously
affects their commitment. Being associated
with a prestigious organization offers
employees social capital and allows them to
enjoy social status. In a major acquisition,
these perceptions are formed based on
employees' views of both original company
and the newly merged company. The authors
note that "these perceptions of prestige may
well change over the first year or so of the
integration as employees gather more information about the acquisition partner."

Companies that have a strong set of socially

responsible values and then act in accordance
with these standards offer ideological capital
and produce employees that are more attached
and committed. During the early stages of an
acquisition, employees are intensely focused
on trying to discern whether the new organization "walks the walk" and whether it fits
their personal aspirations and goals. This time
is ripe for potential missteps by leadership. In
the early stages of a merger, it is absolutely
critical that the company acts congruently
with its stated values and espoused corporate
social responsibility (CSR) claims. Moreover,
employees are more positive about being

So what are the key opportunities for successfully re-branding amidst big change?
Here arefiveimportant strategies or ways for
HR professionals to provide leadership and
take action:

4. Unique Rewards Package

(Organizational Offerings)

1. Walk the walk (the biggest

issue)

Employee attitudes and behaviors are affected by the extent to which they perceive that
their employer offers a unique set of experiences, benefits and rewards. These rewards
are the "employment package" and include
the overall offerings a company provides to
employees. The authors note: "In an acquisition context, the acquired group may see

The branding effort that has the greatest

impact is the degree to which organizations
act with integrity and are consistent with
their corporate values or corporate social
responsibility claims. In other words, when
organizational leaders communicate their
values (e.g. respect employees or value diverse
voices), "walking the walk" has a powerful
effect on employees' perceptions of the new
employer brand. HR officers need to work
closely with their colleagues in marketing and
communications to ensure that claimed organizational values are not j ust aspirational, but
rather congruent with organizational action.
For example, our authors note that in a
merger the acquired employees will be particularly attuned to whether corporate value
statements are executed. The critical message
is this: the manner in which a company
evolves is as important to its future as the
direction it takes. Without authenticity it is
difficult for employees to attach to the new
organization no matter how exciting that
future appears to be.

Until now, research studies have not empirically

examined the HR implications of a changing
employment brand due to mergers or acquisitions.
2. Corporate Values Authenticity
(Integrity)

opportunity to influence workforce perceptions, intentions and attitudes in both the

short- and long-terms. When an organization
goes through turmoil, employees rightfully
wonder about possible changes to the
employee value proposition and the employment brand. That is, the authors point out
that major changes in employer brand have
"important consequences on the employeeorganization relationship." During major
change, leaders should be especially attentive
to employees' identification attitudes and
watch for signs of alienation and hopefully
reattachment.

some of the offerings associated with their

previous employer disappear and be offered
a new set of potentially unique employment
experiences." That said, it is important to be
cognizant of those organizational offerings
that are of most worth to both employee
groups during the restructuring process.

Implications for
HR Leaders:
Five Strategies for Re-branding
Amidst Big Change
During times of large-scale organizational
disruption such as an acquisition or merger,
HR and organizational leaders have a unique

2. Manage first impressions

Employee impressions that are formed initially during a major change have significant
impacts on longer term perceptions and
employee behavior. Leaders should focus on
articulating and communicating a clear vision
of the identity of the future organization and
its new brand. Initial impressions significantly impact long-term employee perceptions. If
initial impressions are positive, employees
will tend to commit to this attitude, poten- >
VOLUME 36/ISSUE 2 2013

21

Leaders who are successful in their employer re-branding

effors can expect a significant pay-off in reduced turnover
and increased employee engagement.

attachment and commitment. The authors

point out that employer branding changes affect
"the degree to which employees maintain,
develop, or lose a sense of oneness with their
employer and the degree to which they wish :o
stay with or leave the organization."

End Notes
tially publicly state this perception among
colleagues and look for supporting evidence.
Obviously the opposite is true as well, so
managing first impressions can make a significant difference in the long run.

3. Dissect "employer brand"

into its constituent parts
To better understand and optimally manage
the umbrella idea of employer brand, it is useful to break it down into its constituent parts.
Leading employee re-branding efforts during
times of organizational turbulence involves
creating a new, strong and distinctive organiz a t i o n a l identity, clarifying and
communicating corporate values (ideological
capital), managing organizational prestige
factors (social capital) and carefully crafting
unique organizational experiences and
employment "package" offerings.

4. Key in on employees'
pre-change priorities
Take an audit of what aspects of the employee package and brand matter most, and do
this now not later. In leading big change
and re-branding efforts, it's imperative to
know what elements of the pre-change
employment experience are most valued

and should be taken with you as you move

forward. Eor example, in a major merger
and acquisition you will want to have a
baseline of what matters most as you undertake the integration process. Conduct an
audit of what employees perceive as being
unique and highly valued about their
employment offering. Understand what values are most important and distinctive. Try
to preserve as many of these aspects as possible and benchmark to identify what other
offerings are available in the market place.
Identify who you are as an organization and
communicate who you will become to your
internal audiences. Then, importantly, solidify this message for your external
communities so that employees' perceptions
and identification with the new organization are reinforced.

5. Expect a pay-off in turnover

and employee identification
Leading a carefully orchestrated change in
employer brand can greatly influence turnover
intentions and employee identification. To a
lesser but still meaningful extent, it can also
influence the amount of productive discretionary effort an employee is wiing to give. Leaders
who are successful in their employer re-branding efforts can expect a significant pay-off in
reduced turnover and increased employee

Winning the War for Talent

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PEOPLE & STRATEGY

Human resource leaders have an important

role to play in employment branding during
times of change while ensuring the articulation of the future is not rhetoric but is
substantive throughout the organization. It is
critical to develop a strong and distinctive
new organizational identity, ensure integrity
with relevant value claims, focus on orgarsizational prestige factors, and create a unique
"package" of organizational offerings for the
employment experience. Much is at stake as
the HR leader acts to manage changing
employment brands, utilizes re-branding
tools to strategically attract and integrate top
talent, and ensures that their company is still
a great place to work in the eyes of current
and future employees.

Employee Responses to Changing Aspects of f i e

Employer Brand Following a Multinational Acquisition:
A Longitudinal Study. Martin E. Edwards and Tony
Edwards. Human Resource Management, JanuaryFebruary 2013, Volume 52, No.l, pp. 27-54.
Readability for an Executive Audience: ***.

Dr. Brad Winn directs the graduate HR

executive program and is an organizational leadership and strategy faculty
member at the Jon M. Huntsman School
of Business, Utah State University.

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