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 Alan Hosking, editor, HR Future Magazine
In
the past, executives focused on building one brand only – the brand of
their company, products and services in the eyes of potential customers
and clients.
But as human talent became the
currency of companies, smart employers started broadening their focus to
include building a brand that their employees saw as attractive, and so
was born the concept of employer branding.
Employers today fall roughly
into one of three groups: those who don’t know – and don’t care – about
employer branding, those who do know and do care about it, and those who
know about it but are not too sure what they’re supposed to do about
it.
Brett Minchington’s latest book, Employer Brand Leadership A Global Perspective, is just the sort of book that will help all three of these groups, albeit for different reasons.
What sets Brett’s book apart
from the many others on the subject is that he writes very much as a
businessman, an entrepreneur and an employer who understands the
challenges and needs of employers who are required to maximise
stakeholder value through their people.
Having known Brett for a few
years now, I have seen him utilise his engagement with executives around
the globe to understand the challenges that face companies wanting to
build a strong and sustainable employer brand. His practical experience
has resulted in an in-depth understanding of what it is companies need
to know and do about employer brand leadership, and he has imparted this
knowledge very effectively in his book.
For this reason, Employer Brand
Leadership provides a strategic perspective to enable readers to see the
big picture, but also includes sound, practical and realistic
information on how to build the plane, get it onto the runway, down the
runway and into the air.
His inclusion of facts and
figures will appeal to left-brain executives and Financial Directors who
crave statistical evidence and quantifiable facts to help persuade them
of the need to start investing some serious money into an employer
branding initiative. This makes the book an HR Director’s best
friend.
Brett’s frequent references to
many well known and well respected brand names which have engaged in
building an employer brand will also sit well with those who enjoy
reference to best practices and who look to those who have gone before
for reassurance and guidance.
While the content is powerful,
rich and fresh, the kicker is all the first hand content, secured by an
author who has collected it himself by engaging with the very companies
to which he refers.
The chapter summary and
teaser-for-the-next-chapter at the end of each chapter is a clever
device to encourage text-weary readers to read on.
With such a comprehensive
approach to employer branding born from his extensive real time
experience, Brett could quite happily have called this book Everything
you wanted to know about Employer Branding but were too shy to ask!
click here to return to the book>
 Iain Hopkins, editor, Human Capital Magazine
As the groaning shelves above my work desk attest to, there are thousands of business books on the market, each with a claim to improving business operations in one form or another. It takes something special to stand out from the pack.
Brett Minchington, who I have interviewed several times, and who has contributed articles to my publication Human Capital over the past three years, knows his stuff. When it comes to ‘best practice’ the temptation for Australians is to instantly look overseas for examples. However, when it comes to best practice in the emerging and exciting field of employer branding, it’s being carried out right here in Australia.
Employer Brand Leadership – A Global Perspective presents the sharpest thinking on employer branding. Based on in-depth research from Employer Brand International, and using best practice examples from around the world including the likes of IBM, Deloitte and UnitedHealth Group, Brett has managed to present a one-stop shop for those interested in pushing their employer brand to the next level.
The book is broken into three sections. Firstly, the fundamentals of employer branding. As Brett points out, the process of employer branding is by nature holistic and is evident across the employee lifecycle from hire to retire. Whist this maybe a straight forward concept in principle, in reality it can be a complex process to build an employer brand. This section of the book provides a definition of employer branding, it explains the various components of branding, it explores the evolution of the concept of employer branding from the early 1990s onwards, and hints at the different stages and focuses that companies in countries around the world have taken with their brand.
The second section details the role of employer branding in creating value and competitive advantage for companies. This includes chapters on the role of leadership in employer branding (which includes fascinating details about the emerging role of ‘employer brand managers’), building employer brand equity using social media, the convergence between the corporate, consumer and employer brand, and Employer Branding 3.0, which highlights the shift that has resulted from the GFC, where the most successful companies will be those recognising that all stakeholders – not just employees and customers but suppliers and investors too – have a responsibility to make the world a better place.
The final section provides detailed Q&A case studies from companies around the world. Brett asks employer brand managers from global giants like Philips and BASF about their company’s reasons for investing in their employer brand, the roadmap they followed, key challenges and key learnings from the experience. It is these ‘from the coalface’ firsthand experiences that really add value to the findings of the previous chapters.
Brett’s writing style is both insightful and entertaining, while the numerous graphs and charts assist in illustrating key points. Employer Brand Leadership – A Global Perspective builds sequentially and logically towards a better understanding of employer branding. The appeal of this book should be manifold: from HR professionals to marketing professionals and senior executives, there will be something of interest here for all comers.
click here to return to the book>
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