In the new economy, the word that makes its presence felt most in the business world is `competition'. The primary source of long-term competitive advantage for a business firm or an industry is its people. Human resource has to be handled with great care in this era of cut-throat competition. Companies are always on the lookout for a talented employee pool for achieving and sustaining the competitive advantage in the long run. But, there is a widening gap between the demand and supply of future business leaders and competent employees. It could be due to the lack of experiential learning and lack of awareness among potential employees. Hence, it is an uphill task for employers to attract the right kind of workforce. Retaining the current employees is yet another most talked about issue in the business circle. This is the right time for the advent of a technique called `employer branding'considered as the most effective strategy that is fast gaining worldwide attention - which may act as a differentiating factor for the employer who uses it effectively. Effective employer branding is about building the overall image of the organization, both internally and externally. At all levels of building the image of the employer, it requires involvement of the employees and their views on continuous improvement in the organization. The tagline, "employer by choice", is a popular device to attract the best talents. Employer branding is a concept where the recruitment process has to be managed in the same way as customers are. It involves employees and customers, human resource and marketing professionals. The success of employer branding depends on the prevailing culture in the organization. The employer brand image has its impact on the brand image of the product/services.
In
the modern economy, human resource has become one of the
main sources of competitive advantage. The war for talent
is intensifying day by day. The war for talent is a strategic
inflection point. It rose to its present position from the
ashes of the Industrial Age in the 1980s and made its presence
felt in the 1990s. It will continue to reshape the workforce
in the years to come. It is an inflection point in the sense
that talent has become a critical driver of corporate performance
and a company's ability to attract, develop, and retain
talent will be a major competitive feature in future. There
are three fundamental forces behind the war for talent viz.
the irreversible shift from the industrial age to the information
age, demand for high caliber talent, and growing propensity
of people to switch from one job to another. At this juncture,
the relevance of `employer branding' in recruiting, increases.
The looming skill shortages and the death of resume have
triggered the growth of employer branding as a concept.
So there is a great need for attracting potential employees
with right skill sets, who eventually would become the backbone
of the company. The concept of `employer brand' has become
an important development since the early 1990s. Simon Barrow
(Chairman, People in Business) is considered to be
the creator of the term `employer brand'. It is supposed
to be `the hottest strategy in employment', according to
Sullivan (1999). It is a technique which makes the identity
of the employer clear and this results in the companies'
images as an employer both internally and externally (Talent
Talk, 2003). According to The Corporate Leadership Council,
a strong employment brand is one of the best tools a company
possesses, to compete in the highly competitive labor market. |
