Nov 20, 2018

Jeremy M EskenaziHow your company can leverage what employees and candidates say about you to attract top talent

By: Jeremy Eskenazi

Have you ever struggled to hire the right people? Do most of the people you interview seem like a questionable fit at your company? It might be a symptom of not using your employer brand to your best advantage. An employer brand is what employees and candidates say about your company and the work experience when you’re not in the room. It’s not something you can go out and buy, or have a fancy branding exercise to develop and replace if you don’t like the one you have. Much like branding a product, your employer brand takes on elevated meaning and a predisposition to buy or join. In what is currently a competitive talent market, effective branding creates a sustainable competitive advantage and can make a huge difference in who is interested in working for you.

If you’re not sure what your employer brand is today, think about employer review websites online that are popular in North America and many parts of Europe. If you’re not familiar with the concept of these sites, they’re user-driven platforms that encourage people to anonymously record their experiences with a company as a candidate or employee. They can write whatever they want, even if it’s negative, and they can encourage people to run in the opposite direction. The flip side is that reviewers can also sing your praises and wax lyrical about you. Unfortunately, much like any user-driven site, anonymous contributors are usually either delighted with something, or were very upset; so you tend to see wild swings of positive or negative comments.

An employer brand is not necessarily changed overnight, but every time you interact with a candidate, you create an impression. Now multiply these impressions dozens or even hundreds of times. This is a powerful force. This is your professional brand and your opportunity to create (or start to re-create!) the first experience.

The people, symbols, and meaning we try to attribute to the company can be a powerful tool in communicating where the organization is headed. The brand management process helps you to unearth the organizations’ brand expression in the marketplace. The five ways to leverage your employer brand are:

1. Asset Assessment. Be honest: what are your strengths and weaknesses? How large is your companydo you need people who thrive in an intense corporate environment or do you want people who are happy to have a more stable career? What benefits do you offer? Is there opportunity for advancement? Knowing this and being able to clearly articulate it is so important.

2. Employee Involvement. What is your organizational culture? Is it vertical, with top-down direction and little front-line input, or are decisions made on a broad collaborative basis? Is there opportunity for creative thinking? Knowing how your employees interact today and empowering them to tell the story of how they contribute is powerful.

3. Competitive Assessment. What other organizations can your candidates work for? You need to know who your competitors are and what they offer. If another company offers higher wages, can you compensate with profit sharing or better benefits? Are there opportunities for you to be creative about your offering based on what your competitors are packaging for candidates?

4. Brand Positioning. You need to know where your organization fits in the overall market. Does your company compete on price, or are you targeting the upscale market? Are you known for promoting from within? Does your company have a reputation for treating women and minorities fairly? The comments left online are a good starting point for this, as are any internal surveys you run.

5. Brand Expression. This is the combined result of all of the ‘brand signals’ that are present in the marketplace and are picked up by consumers and candidates. Every element of your employer brand needs to be in alignment. For example, if you claim to care about the environment and candidates are offered Styrofoam cups when they come in for an interview, you’d be surprised how much that can alter perceptions of your company and what you stand for.

In today’s competitive global economy, these five steps can help you find the candidates you need. Remember that candidates can be both internal and external. If you bring the right talent into your team, they may be interested and have versatile skills that could allow them to try new jobs at your company. They may be ready to take on a new role and be promoted, or they may be excellent at their current job. The point being: there is active work required to engage your current employees as brand ambassadors as well—they too represent and can carry your employer brand far and wide.

Remember, you can’t “make” an employer brand. An advertising agency can’t help you create a brand. They can help create a brand message. Whether or not you know what your brand is isn’t the issue. It’s knowing the what the themes are that people use to talk about your organization. Then you can manage the expression of the brand—and how people receive it—as part of your brand as an employer. You can do this through your goals, vision, and values, and the taglines that best explain what your company is about.

It’s easy for someone to throw out “we aspire to be the best place to work”. Your employer brand cannot be solely aspirational—it has to be accurate for where your organization is today. When your position is too aspirational, people will likely be unhappy when they encounter you—both candidates and employees. If you were in their position, don’t you think you’d feel let down too?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jeremy Eskenazi is an internationally recognized speaker, author of RecruitConsult! Leadership, and founder of Riviera Advisors, a boutique Recruitment/Talent Acquisition Management and Optimization Consulting Firm. Jeremy is not a headhunter, but a specialized training and consulting professional, helping global HR leaders transform how they attract top talent at some of the world’s most recognized companies. For more information on Jeremy Eskenazi, please visit: www.RivieraAdvisors.com.

  • Prev
The Boating Industry Canada Employer of Choice (BICEOC) Award is the industry's only ...
Our readers will be interested in this sweeping statement of corporate strategy and evolution  ...
Land 'N' Sea invites you to join them to experience North America's largest coast-to-coast ...
Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) proudly announces the launch of the ATA Leadership Academy, an ...
The annual Boating BC Conference is set for November 21 and 22nd with Marina Night on Monday ...
The boating community is gearing up for the return of the iconic Annapolis Powerboat Show to City ...
The Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development, is once again launching ...
Let your customers know they can enjoy boating activities all year, and go further and do more with ...
With the end of Summer upon us Quadrant Marine Institute is geared up and ready for our next ...
The Maritime Museum of BC, with support from the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, Mill Bay ...

Corporate Profile - Dometic Outdoor Global Marine Division

Dometic

Dometic Outdoor Global Marine Division is one organization that has set the bar high globally on quality standards in all aspects of its operation. From its human resources practices to its product development and manufacturing standards, the company strives for 110% in all it does. Dometic’s Vancouver, British Columbia design and manufacturing facility is the largest marine focused company in Canada. Its global standards are admirable, and our entire industry can learn from its leadership and positive practices.

In 1962, Dometic (then under the name Teleflex) developed, launched, and marketed a mechanical steering system and with its success came the first hydraulic steering in 1983 and No FeedBack Steering in ’91. 

 
Read More


 

Changing Scene

  • Prev
Brunswick Corporation reported another record-setting display at the 2023 Cannes Yachting ...
Vision Marine Technologies Inc., a global leader and innovator within the performance electric ...
Raymarine, global leaders in high-performance marine electronics for the recreational boating, ...
Okanagan Lake is a picturesque glacial fjord in British Columbia, Canada. It's also home to Mission ...
We are thrilled to announce a remarkable achievement by Vision Marine Technologies at the iconic ...
Mercury Marine today introduced the Avator™ 20e and 35e electric propulsion systems. The new ...
The NMMA announced on August 23, the relocation of its headquarters to Washington D.C. as the ...
The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management (GLAM) Committee is seeking to better ...
This August Craig Scholten, American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) technical vice president, has ...
On August 14, 2023, Yamaha Motor Canada unveiled a new 1.9L High Output Yamaha marine engine for ...

Boating Industry Canada News Week

 

Every Tuesday we publish a fresh Digest with informative articles pertaining to the Canadian boating and marine industry. Stay up to date with the latest products, research and industry developments.

Missed an Issue of Boating Industry Canada News Week? If you're looking for a specific issue, or simply want to catch up on previous issues, check out our Boating Industry Canada News Week Archives.

Not signed up for News Week? Subscribe here

 

 

 

 

 

Launchings

  • Prev
X Shore, the Swedish technology company behind a game-changing generation of fully-electric, ...
Polaris Marine has unveiled two new concept electric pontoons under its Bennington and Godfrey ...
Nuova Jolly has long stood as a vanguard in the maritime industry, carving a unique niche for ...
Highfield Boats, the leading supplier of Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBS) in North America, will ...
With the new Hanse 410, Hanse is now launching the third model in its revolutionary new series, ...
The 10th edition of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (MEBC) has wrapped up at the Yacht Club de ...
This summer, the world of competitive sailing is set to witness an historic moment as the Dutch ...
Two months ago, Fountaine Pajot organized its Innovation Show in La Rochelle, France. The theme was ...
Wellcraft continues to push the boundaries of Performance Cruisers with the introduction of its ...
Sea Ray is continuing the evolution of its premium SLX Series with the official launch of the SLX ...
 

Electric Boat

The 10th edition of the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (MEBC) has wrapped up at the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM) and it gives a compelling look at the future of electric boating.

The MEBC was started in 2014 as a competition between university teams who built and raced boats powered only by solar power and batteries. To encourage more participation from institutions that may not have naval architecture or boat construction expertise, the YCM introduced the Energy Class competition. The club supplies the student teams with the same one-design catamaran hull, and each team adds their own cockpit and propulsion system that can be powered by any renewable alternative energy sources, not just solar.

Read More


 

 

Questus Radar Mount

Questus Marine patented, Self-Leveling Radar Mounts automatically keep radar antennas level with the horizon, eliminating target loss.

Regardless of the angle of heel, with a Questus mount, a radar antenna will pick up targets to either side of a vessel, rather than aiming to the sky and water (for planes and fish). The Questus Marine Self-Leveling Radar Mount can be installed in three basic configurations: backstay mount, mast mount or Stern Pole mount.

 

 

 

Read More


 

People

  • Prev
RAILBLAZA Ltd., manufacturer of premium quality, user-friendly electronics, fishing and boating ...
The Board of Directors of The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame recently announced ...
We learned from the Tuesday, August 1st, 2023 edition of the UK media outlet, Marine Industry News ...
Torqeedo, the global market leader for electric mobility on the water, announced on July 18th, the ...
On July 18th, Brunswick Corporation named Lenn Scholz president, Boston Whaler and Jeromie Johnston ...
Heather Wiczek, MarineMax Nisswa Operations Manager, was recently named to Boating Industry's 2023 ...
The Board of Directors of The Sailing Museum and National Sailing Hall of Fame have announced that ...
It is with profound sorrow that Furuno USA announces the passing of long-time employee and friend, ...
Making boating safety education more accessible by bringing courses online, growing the ...
Pace Industries, North America’s leading full-service aluminum, zinc and magnesium die casting ...

Torqeedo announces new structure and names business unit management

Matthias Vogel, Fabian Bez, Sven Mostoegl

Left to right: Matthias Vogel, Fabian Bez, Sven Mostoegl

Torqeedo, the global market leader for electric mobility on the water, announced on July 18th, the creation of two dedicated business units and named their managers. Matthias Vogel will lead the Customized Solutions unit, and Sven Mostögl will lead the Branded Retail line.

“The new Customized Solutions business unit will serve our marine industry and commercial maritime clientele with a dedicated team of experts in sales, application engineering, customer service, and after-sales service,“ said Fabian Bez, CEO of Torqeedo GmbH. 

Read More