Traditionally, the better you were at employer branding, the more likely you were to attract top talent. In addition, a positive employer brand would help you retain top talent. But does this matter at the moment? As we continue to see unprecedented numbers out of work, has the role of projecting a strong employer brand taken a back seat?
Employer Brand and the Labor Market
The COVID-19 Pandemic has turned the candidate and employee experience on its head. With high unemployment rates and social distancing orders, the candidate marketplace has completely changed from what it was a few months ago. There’s more talent out there seeking work and their media consumption and usage has changed drastically due to being at home. This means that recruitment marketing and retention strategies have altered, and will continue to do so, for the foreseeable future.
In episode 184 of the HRchat podcast, we consider authentic branding in times of high unemployment. Our guest is Kerris Hougardy, Vice President, People Services North America at Colliers International. Kerris argues that the role of the employer brand is, actually more important than ever.
Before the crisis, an organization’s consumer brand was often more well-known and externally-facing compared to their employer brand. Throughout the pandemic, by contrast, people have been more concerned with how organizations were caring for their employees. Employer brands have taken strong and more public stances during this time, and messaging has had to be well-planned and adjusted constantly to keep up. Additionally, this has caused many employer brand and recruitment marketing teams to become closer to the company’s corporate communications and marketing teams; to become a united front in any and all branding and messaging.
Listen to the interview with Kerris Hougardy to get her opinions on the following issues:
- What does the labor market look like in the middle of 2020?
- How can HR navigate huge numbers of job applications?
- Why does employer branding still matter?
- Can an employer brand indicate what the employee experience might be like?
- When is the right and most effective time to apply for jobs?
- Is now a good time to consider a career change?
About Kerris Hougardy
Kerris leads Colliers International’s North American People Services group for Canada and the USA.
She coaches, mentors, and manages a high performing team of over 80 human resources professionals with a focus on strategic business partnerships, talent management, employee experience excellence, employment brand championship, diversity and inclusion, and continuous process improvement.
Colliers International is a leading real estate professional services and investment management company. With operations in 68 countries, their 15,000+ employees work collaboratively to provide expert advice to maximize the value of property for real estate occupiers, owners and investors.