Comments on: Revelation – Your Employer Brand Is No Longer Owned by Your Firm

By: How Candidate Abuse Is Costing Your Firm Millions of Dollars in Revenue : ERE.net

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:11:16 +0000

[...] brand image damage — it has become a reality that “others” now own your employer brand image. If you treat candidates poorly, they can now easily and rapidly spread [...]

By: The employer brand dilemma «

The employer brand dilemma « — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:22:23 +0000

[...] media in recent years has complicated employer brand management. In his October 2009 article, “Revelation — Your Employer Brand Is No Longer Owned by Your Firm,” Dr. John Sullivan outlines how social media and other web technology has shifted the power in [...]

By: The Employer Brand Dilemma : ERE.net

The Employer Brand Dilemma : ERE.net — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:59:52 +0000

[...] in recent years has complicated employer brand management. In his October 2009 article, “Revelation — Your Employer Brand Is No Longer Owned by Your Firm,” Dr. John Sullivan outlines how social media and other web technology has shifted the power [...]

By: Corporate Communications and Social Media: Genie Will Not Return to Bottle | Corporate Eye

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:28:26 +0000

[...] launch came along just days after a post in which HR thought leader John Sullivan declared: Your Employer Brand Is No Longer Owned by Your Firm. His picture is a lot bigger than just the potential impact of Sidewiki—and the title conveys [...]

By: Alasdair Murray

Alasdair Murray — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:15:58 +0000

Isn’t the term ‘employer brand’ a misnomer though? A brand is conmsistent, it doesn’t change, yet the people who make up your workforce all have different motivatinos, ambitions, backgrounds etc. More here: http://alasdairdmurraycopywriter.co.uk/blog.aspx

By: Social Media in recruitment (again) - HR Buzz - Australian HR Discussion

Social Media in recruitment (again) - HR Buzz - Australian HR Discussion — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:30:42 +0000

[...] What demographic are you hoping to attract via Facebook? Kevin PS: You might be interested in this blog post by Dr John Sullivan about employer brand [...]

By: keith robinson

keith robinson — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:48:25 +0000

Some observations, Alan you are right the issue has always been their and yes it used to be distributed by word of mouth BUT today’s jobseeker/consumer is way more critical, way more brand savvy and has a strong feeling about their “worth”. They also have, as all have commented a have huge ditribution network.
As and old Marxist our mantra was to control the channels of distribution!! including the media. We lost that one.
Axle great point as well as a Marxist I was also a 76 punk and that “DIY ethos” whether it be about “Brand Me” or “You find me” takes me back to that ere.
We saw punk as being sincere, trustworthy and authentic and we were taking away from the “corporate bands”.
Like the vibe out there and post recession could be a fun market.
Really enjoyed the debate and respect to all.

Keith

By: Axle Davids

Axle Davids — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:43:19 +0000

Branding, employer or otherwise, is too complicated, too slow, and often meaningless. The changing reality you site is leading to a new reality for brands. They must be simple, sincere, and trustworthy. We must find ways to take branding back from the experts (like us) and give people the collaborative technologies and best practices to forge a new breed of authentic brands.

By: Google Gives HR Something New To Worry About : ERE.net

Google Gives HR Something New To Worry About : ERE.net — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:20:07 +0000

[...] Dr. John Sullivan said last week that employers have lost control of their brand, he likely wasn’t thinking of Sidewiki. Why [...]

By: Alan Strauss

Alan Strauss — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:02:50 +0000

Marvin-

Agreed!

-Alan

By: Marvin Smith

Marvin Smith — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:18:30 +0000

Alan-great question.

After nearly four decades of recruiting, I normally ascribe to the thinking—the more things change, the more they remain the same.” The word of mouth observation is spot on. I think the difference this time will be the magnitude of the change required. For the past century, we have been in a “it pays to advertise mentality.” And we had the power to change opinions with words. Now to change opinions, it will require both a change in mentality (understanding that we are no longer in control) and the ensuing change in behavior (treating prospects & candidates better). It feels different this time around. I think the branding folks get it already, but I do not believe the transaction minded recruiters understand the change we must employ. And the beat goes on.

By: Alan Strauss

Alan Strauss — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:48:04 +0000

John,

I would also like to thank you for the article. It provided me with a well-organized “road map” to the current state of employment branding. As the founder of a DC based organization of recruitment leaders, I am going to recommend that our members read this article.

I have one question for you and/or the group of readers-Is the challenges of employment branding really any different now than 5, 10 or 15 years ago? Obviously, the communication methods are vastly different, but are the results? For example, when I was recruiting for large DC based companies in the late 90’s, it seemed like every candidate had some predisposition reactions when hearing about opportunities from specific companies. I am not an expert at employment branding, however, at least with contemporary communication methods, employers can read and see what people are saying about their organization. 10 years ago, it was all word of mouth.

Does that make sense to the group?

Just a thought…

Alan Strauss
Founder
Talent Acquisition Leadership Council

By: HR Stuff « HR Perspective

HR Stuff « HR Perspective — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:31:25 +0000

[...] Revelation – Your Employer Brand Is No Longer Owned by Your Firm [...]

By: 10 osób kreujących wizerunek twojej firmyk - WebFan

10 osób kreujących wizerunek twojej firmyk - WebFan — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 08:13:22 +0000

[...] pisze dr. John Sullivan wizerunek Twojej marki należy do innych ludzi. Ci inni [...]

By: Ryan Huckle

Ryan Huckle — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:04:00 +0000

If employers know that any decision they make can spread like wildfire through Twitter.

And if they know that their culture, policies and the way they treat their people will regularly and quickly be reported.

… then the way they manage their brand is surely by changing the reality of their employment experience.

Which is good news for employees.

By: Phil Haynes

Phil Haynes — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:35:11 +0000

All,
The most interesting thing about this is that by making small changes in a recruiting process you can make HUGE progress in changing the perception of your brand.

Phil Haynes
Managing Director
AllianceQ

By: keith robinson

keith robinson — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:32:19 +0000

Hi Lesa, thanks for the pick up. I have used these ststistics to constainly point out to organisations that plan to “down size HR/Recruiter” that they have a huge responsibility for the companies “brand” and during a downturn comapnies get more response which equals more potential damage to your “brand”.
But as we know they tend not to listen to this rational.
All we hear and see are 100,000 of jobseekers complaining about “how they are being treated by companies they apply too”.
I use a term to discribe this “the employment consumer” for 90% of the time they consumer a product or service and only for 10% the consume your “employment service BUT boy can those experiences differ. BUT they remember the 10% experience because it” “personal” to them.
Long ramble.
Keith

By: Jeremy Langhans

Jeremy Langhans — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:24:08 +0000

Holy Smokes! This is a hot topic!!

By: Lesa Caskey

Lesa Caskey — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:07:18 +0000

Thank you Dr. Sullivan, for the very thorough and interesting post. I’m so pleased to see Keith Robinson’s reply because I too thought Potential Employees was a missing category of influencers in your piece.
I have yet to complete a formal study, but in some basic research I have found that for every blog post about a negative interviewing experience, there are an average of 20 responses. You hit the nail on the head when you talked about emotionally charged, passionate dialogue. Keith’s study further shows how motivated people are to share their negative experiences with others.
The recruiting groups within HR must get their arms around this issue and address key areas in the process for applicants, candidates and new-hires in order to keep from missing the wonderful candidates who never were.
I’m looking forward to reading more from you. Thanks again.

Lesa Caskey

By: keith robinson

keith robinson — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:19:09 +0000

I have been following this debate and agree with Libby’s comments “it’s all about the “candidate experience” and having spent 20 years working with clients on the concept it is great to see the passion you guys feel.
I wanted to share some results of a survey I did some years ago on the candidate experience and the impact of a negative one on a company (sample 8k).
As a result of the bad hiring experience % less likely to;

Take the job – 76%

Recommend a friend – 82%

Buy that companies product or service – 64%

So treat em badly and you harm your your referral program, loss poetential candidates BUT it can cost the company $$.

Thought I would share a “Brits” view