Demystifying employer branding

Wing the clock back only a decade or two, and you’d probably struggle to find a mainstream Hong Kong company talking about ‘employer branding’. That doesn’t mean it didn’t exist though, it did, we just called it something else. And that something else was ‘culture’, in particular ‘company culture’, a term we’ve been familiar with for centuries. We’ve all been asked, “what’s it like working there?” It’s a perennial question posed in coffee shops and bars the world over. But thankfully these days, responsible employers take the answer more seriously. However, creating a strong employer brand doesn’t happen overnight, it’s not spin; it’s not going to magically appear by simply sticking motivational posters on the break room wall. creation of an authentic culture, one that people are proud to be a part of, requires company values that resonate with those it’s seeking to employ, and of course retain. Remember, your brand is your reputation, and crucially how people talk about you over coffee or beer has a fundamental impact on how your business will perform long term.