Personal development, recognition and stability top the list of values employees cherish in companies they work for, according to a recently conducted survey on employer branding by Misco.
This, and more interesting findings, were announced during Misco’s ‘Hot Seat’ event on employer branding for leading professionals in the industry by Misco director Lawrence Zammit.
The survey, conducted among 293 employees and 208 employers revealed interesting data about how employees perceive the companies they work for.
Some of the findings in this survey show that, whereas 72 per cent think their company is well known and 76 per cent feel it has a strong corporate brand, when asked what differentiates their organisation from other companies operating in the same sector, only 58 per cent said they see their company to be different from their direct competitors.
“This proves that employer branding can be the differentiating factor for companies wanting to stand out as employers of choice and attract the best talent,” says Joanne Bondin, director of Misco Consulting.
“A company’s employer brand is all about the culture it upholds. This should be a reflection of the actual experience of employees. When employees like their job and the place they work at, they eventually become advocates for their organisation. These are the brand ambassadors a company should aspire to have,” Ms Bondin adds.
She explains how, when asked whether people genuinely seem to enjoy their time working for the company, 64 per cent said yes while 36 per cent said no.
“One needs to look at that 36 per cent with an open mind. Could it be because these employees are looking for values that are different to those offered by their company, thus not having found what they are looking for? Is it because the company projects itself differently from employees’ expectations? Could it be that the company is attracting the wrong people ?
When respondents were asked about their respective company values, 31 per cent said these were not clear to all employees, while 35 per cent said their company’s values do not match their own.
“This situation is not a desirable one and alienates people from their company.”
When employees feel alienated and stop identifying themselves with their company and work environment, they start to distance themselves and eventually will start looking for another job – by which time a better remuneration package and personal advancement become top priorities, without much interest in the company’s culture. In fact, according to the survey, 31 per cent of employees said they would look for another job for a better salary and 25 per cent for personal advancement.
Other reasons mentioned include work-from-home arrangements, fear of redundancy, work not being challenging enough, work environment, flexible hours or internal conflict, management style and company culture.
The survey also asked respondents about whether their company applies performance-related structures to employee incentives. Fifty-five per cent said their company has a performance management system in place and 76 per cent have a formal pay structure. Whereas 51 per cent of respondents said that their company offers incentives or bonus compensation for superior performance, only 48 per cent stated that the company has programmes in place to recognise good performance.
“Another positive outcome from the survey was that although 55 per cent confirmed most of the employees typically work more than 40 hours per week, a healthy 67 per cent said their company offers flexible working conditions. This is important and we hope more employers introduce initiatives that encourage more flexible conditions.”
Ms Bondin went on to say that employer branding is not an abstract notion but a value that can be measured.
“At Misco, we investigate how an employer brand is perceived by various stakeholders; we then develop an employer brand by building a clear picture of what the organisation stands for, what differentiates it and what it is ready to offer. We call this the company’s employee value proposition. We then implement and communicate this internally, within the organisation, and externally to build a strong brand, followed by monitoring and measuring of results.”
A company’s value proposition must be unique in order to offer something competitors in the same sector do not offer. A company should seek to engage the hearts and minds of those employees it wants to attract and generate a vision of what is possible to attain by those who will eventually choose to join it.
More importantly, this should also take place while ensuring that the company’s vision keeps matching the real-life experiences of employees, the way the leadership team behaves and the projected corporate values. Any divergence from these three elements will affect the authenticity of the employer’s brand.
Employers with strong, positive, authentic brands attract talent to a greater extent than other employers, experience lower staff turnover and reduce their recruitment costs. In today’s labour market, these are three outcomes that cannot be ignored.