subject: So Just How Does Your Company Rate As An Employer Brand? [print this page] The Sunday Times loves its surveys and one of the most recent to be published on an annual basis is the Best 100 Companies to work for supplement. This has proved so popular that it is now broken down into small, mid-sized and big company sectors.
The surveys are always an interesting read even if one is not directly involved in outcomes arising from them. Its quite extraordinary to the outsider to contrast the branding of a companys product or service with its employer brand. Take, for example, the latest winner in the big company category. Believe it or not, it was Iceland Frozen Foods. Similarly, another company that has featured in the top twenty in the past 2 years is Bourne Leisure, the holiday park operator.
What is surprising about this is that both companies are perceived to be pretty downmarket in terms of their branding as businesses and yet, as employers, their brands are clearly very upmarket in the eyes of their employees. Moreover, since the survey involves a company visit as well as a staff questionnaire, the professionals must have been duly impressed as well.
Another noteworthy feature of the results is the large proportion of the top employer brands that are hotel and catering companies. A prime example is McDonalds which now regularly features in the top twenty. The company always suffered from a bit of a stigma when it came to employment. Unemployed youths were often heard to say that they would rather stay at home than flip burgers at McDonalds.
To counteract this impression which was clearly undermining its employer brand, the company has put a huge effort into building its reputation as one of the best employers. The advent of social media has made it even easier for staff to either denigrate or compliment the companies they work for and it is difficult to think of better ambassadors and advocates than existing employees.
Like McDonalds, every company has its own reasons for allocating funds to promoting its employer brand. Maybe people with a particular skill set are difficult to find and keep hold of. Maybe staff turnover is too high and the company is paying a fortune to keep recruiting and training new employees. Remarkably, staff retention is never just a question of money and apparently there are all sorts of factors which contribute to building esteem and satisfaction amongst employees. Next time you are shopping at Iceland, why not see if you can spot a few clues.
