The study is a summary of interviews with, strangely enough, 2,200 finance managers across 17 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe and America. Why they didn’t interview HR people is a good question but part of the reason must be that Robert Half is very focused on the finance area. Their specialization is a big advantage in terms of their client offering but they have to work with what they’ve got.

The study, which you can order here, looks at the connection between employer branding and the skills shortage, and clearly is intended to inform companies of the value of a strong hiring brand. Specifically, this would mean how to attract and retain good people. 

My main take-away is their suggestion that recruitment can, and should, be seen as an extension of marketing. It seems like an obvious thing to say but it is still amazing how many companies in China have no conception of what this means.

It doesn’t mean advertising of the kind that tells everyone how great the company is. Rather, it is about talking the talk, and walking the walk; and integrating the view of the organisation that is projected into the hiring market with the reality on the shopfloor, or in the office. 

If the branding is done in this way your employees will become evangelists for your company and the positive feedback loop that is created will continue indefinitely. Or at least until there is a mismatch between what you say about your company to job applicants, and what is actually true.

If you are lacking in time, and we all are in China, here is a summary of Robert Half’s conclusions about how to develop a strong hiring brand:

Action Plan

1. Research your company’s current attraction and retention performance:

• Ascertain for which departments or job titles you have problems hiring
• Assess whether your current employees represent the calibre of employees you would like to hire in the future
• Ensure the right people at your organisation are conducting candidate interviews; do they
represent the image you would like to convey?
• If you make a job offer and its declined, find out why the candidate wasn’t interested in working for you
• Conduct exit interviews to establish why people are leaving

2. Conduct an audit on your company’s values and points of difference:

• List the reasons why someone may opt for employment with your organisation
• It may be worthwhile to conduct a survey and / or a focus group with internal and external
stakeholders to compare your stated company values with the reality of internally and
externally held perceptions and opinions about your organisation. Consistency between
brand reality and the image you sell are critical for success
• Ensure current employees are aware of what the organisation represents in terms of culture and values
• Measure the consistency of your employer brand across all channels

3. Initiate your roll out plan:

• Establish an “Employer Brand Team” which includes at least one C-level executive
• Ensure the values and attributes are conveyed in your hiring channels such as advertising, company websites and public relations programmes
• Review the messaging on a quarterly basis to ensure your organisation continues to adhere to the guidelines you have established
• Conduct an annual “brand health-check” to measure the perceptions of your internal and
external stakeholders

Note: If you actually do order the report please enter your address in full. It will not be sent to you by email as a PDF but by snail mail. You have to ask why anyone would wait more than a few hours in this day and age.