Everyone feels valued
Legitimate sense of purpose
Employees feel like they're part of a team Believes in diversity and inclusion
Referrals come from employees
Ability to learn new things and given the resources to do so and advance Treats employees fairly
Executives and managers are coaches and mentors Dedicated to employee health and wellness
COMPANY IS VIEWED POSITIVELY
Have you ever dated someone who you thought was a great catch, and then all of your friends and family members told you that they didn't like him or her (please tell me I'm not the only one)? Even if you thought this person was the one, you started to have doubts and reservations about this person.
The same is true in the business world. If you start working for an
organization that you believe to be a good fit and then hear about how much people don't like the company you are working for, you will start having doubts. This doesn't necessarily mean you will quit the company, but your overall employee experience will be affected negatively. I'm sure you can think of several examples of organizations that have treated animals cruelly, represented unethical business practices, harmed employees or the
environment, or treated customers unfairly. Keep in mind that this isn't just about employees viewing the company positively but the public as well. We live in a very open and transparent world, so when an organization does something wrong or unethical, people tend to find out. Similarly when an organization is admired and revered, people want to work there.
Look at the most recent Fortune list of the World's Most Admired Companies:
1. Apple
2. Alphabet (parent company of Google) 3. Amazon
4. Berkshire Hathaway 5. Walt Disney
6. Starbucks
7. Southwest Airlines 8. FedEx
9. Nike
10. General Electric
Chances are that when you look at this list, you aren't surprised to see these organizations.
Sometimes organizations aren't viewed positively because they are simply engaging in poor business practices, but other times organizations don't do a good enough job of letting the world know what they stand for, why they do what they do, and what it's like to work there. In either case the situation needs to be corrected.
Dell does a great job of telling its story to the world, and to learn more about what it does, I spoke with Jennifer Newbill, senior manager, global candidate attraction, engagement, and experience. At Dell employees can go through a social media and brand certification program that enables them to become brand ambassadors of the company. These ambassadors feel a greater connection to the company, and they help share the Dell story and purpose, what it's like to work there, news and announcements, and much more. They feel like true representatives of the organization. Not only do these brand ambassadors make the rest of the world more aware of what Dell is doing and working on, but also these individuals have a higher employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) than others at the company.
You may have heard of the website Glassdoor. I used their data as a source for the analysis in this book. Glassdoor is a website that provides an
amazing amount of transparency into virtually any organization. Simply
visit the website and type in your company name. Of course, not every company in the world is listed there but many are. You'll be able to see the overall company rating on a five‐star scale, the CEO approval rating, salary information, candid reviews of the organization, pictures of the offices, the benefits, the interview process, and much more. The amazing thing is that this information is put up on the site by employees! So imagine you're looking to work for an organization. Before even submitting a resume you basically have all the information you need to decide whether this is a place you want to work for. Of course, Glassdoor is one example and is perhaps the best and most transparent company and career website in existence.
I used to think that lists that highlight the best or greatest companies to work for were a bit foolish and had no real business merit. However, although I might not always agree entirely with how and why all of these lists are created, I acknowledge that they have an impact on the overall brand perception of the organization and an impact on the overall employee experience. Employees feel a greater sense of pride when they are working for one of these awarded organizations, and from my observations it also appears that they stay there longer. What's interesting about these lists and awards is that some of them are quite hard to get onto and require
significant financial and people resources. In other words to get the award or to make the list, you genuinely have to make some changes in your organization, which is a good thing. There are many of these lists and awards that are given, which include most admired companies, most
sustainable, best or great places to work, happiest places to work, greenest companies, and so on.
Today, this company perception often falls under something called employer branding. HR is responsible for all the people inside of the organization, and marketing is responsible for driving awareness of
products, services, and the organization as a whole. It's not hard to see why these two roles need to come together to focus on the overall company perception. Lydia Abbot, Ryan Batty, and Stephanie Bevegni's Global Recruiting Trends 2016 report found that almost 50 percent of HR
professionals “share or contribute to employer branding with marketing.”1 General Electric has a killer brand, but it, like many others, has realized that the brand isn't enough to get the best people to work there.
Company perception can have a tremendous impact on the business. A study by LinkedIn, which was summarized in a 2016 blog post by Wade Burgess called “Research Shows Exactly How Much Having a Bad Employer Brand Will Cost You,” found the following:
The cost of a bad reputation for a company with 10,000 employees could be as much as $7.6 million in additional wages.
Employers who fail to invest in their reputation could be paying up to an additional $4,723 per employee hired.
Nearly half of US professionals would entirely rule out taking a job with a company that exhibited the top three negative employer brand factors, no matter what pay raise they were offered. Even a pay raise of 10% would only tempt 28% of us to sign on the dotted line.
Companies with most (3 in 5) of the qualities encompassing a positive employer brand can attract 41% of full‐time US workers without any pay increase. This rises to 46% if they have all 5—job security, more professional development opportunities, the
opportunity to work on a better team, an organization with the same values as you and an organization that is talked about positively by present or past employees.
Companies with all 5 qualities can win over nearly half (49%) of those aged 18–34 and 46% of those aged 35–54 with no pay increase.2
However, this doesn't mean your goal should be simply to make every list that's out there. Sure, that would be nice, but instead it's far more important to understand what the organization wants to be known for and how it can effectively tell that story and build the employer brand around it.
What This Measures
Organizational effectiveness around telling its story
Impact that the organization is having on the world around it Employer branding
Pride
What You Can Do
Look on sites like Glassdoor to see how your company is perceived by people who work there.
Keep a good pulse on the news and conversations happening about your organization.
Encourage HR and your marketing teams to work together.
See what honorary lists your organization can become a part of.