Your employment brand is the perception current employees and prospective hires have of what it’s like to work at your company. It’s the first impression you make on potential employees. It’s the expectations you set for new hires. And it’s the reason that your most valuable employees decide to either stay with you or leave for ostensibly greener pastures. But here’s the kicker: Whether you realize it or not, your company already has an employment brand –– one that’s likely been shaped by word-of-mouth from current and former employees and customer interactions with staff and media (whether employment-related or not). And unless you take an active role in shaping your employment brand, it will continue along the same path. By working to shape your employment brand, you can help attract and retain your ideal employees –– the ones you have deemed critical to your success. Fortune magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” reads like a rundown of industry leaders: Google, Starbucks Coffee, Aflac, S.C. Johnson & Son, Network Appliance and Wegmans Food Markets. These companies aren’t great employers just because they’re at the forefront of their markets. Their success is due in great part to their ability to hire and keep the right people and manage perceptions of their work environments.
Mark Shevitz, Senior Brand Strategist
