AmCham Connect newsletter : Consultancy in the HR World

Branding a company’s reputation is important not only for stakeholders and clients, but also internally, as it creates a positive reputation for an organization as an employer, which will lead to attracting and retaining top talent.

To do this, it is essential for organizations to see if their message aligns with the company's mission and values and sees employees as an essential component of the organization. An organization’s culture is partially an outward expression of these internal values.

When a person is dissatisfied with a company, they are de-motivated and tend to tell even more people than when they are satisfied. Needless to say, this creates a negative message, which, if not managed, can be devastating both externally and internally.

When people are happy with their employer, they can be a driving force behind filling the talent pool, which reduces recruiting costs. It does not matter what a company's statement or slogan is as long as the company is professional and treats employees in a fair manner. It is crucial that companies understand how negative internal branding can alter a company's image as a whole and have a disastrous effect on employee retention.

Company branding can also increase employee engagement and productivity. For example, when organizational strategy and objectives are clearly defined, it is easier for employees to understand and get on board with company-wide goals. As a result, engagement will likely increase and the message employees share will help shape the entire brand image.

We all agree that retaining the best employees ensures customer satisfaction and sales. Further, it also contributes to fostering a satisfied staff, effective succession planning and a deeply imbedded organizational knowledge.

Clearly, employee retention matters.

Failing to retain key employees is costly as it leads to a loss of knowledge, insecure staff and a costly candidate search on top of that. Employee retention is one of the basic and first measures of an organization’s success. That is why exit interviews with departing employees provide invaluable information that can be used to retain remaining staff. They can serve as a very significant source of information about the health of an organization.

Retaining employees also involves developing an understanding of what intrinsically motivates them. One prime source of intrinsic motivation is how an organization shapes their professional future and career path. In other words, a satisfied employee knows exactly what is expected from them every day, along with what is expected in terms of career evolution.

A lack of short- and long-term perspective keeps people on edge and creates an unhealthy level of stress and dissatisfaction. It also creates internal insecurity and makes employees feel unsuccessful. There is a need for specific frameworks within which people clearly know what is expected from them and what they can expect from their company.

The current economic climate is forcing organizations to explore new strategies to stay competitive. Business process outsourcing of certain functions is an increasingly popular way for organizations to focus on their core activities.

In rapid growth periods, the HR Department, especially Recruitment and Selection services, will expand. This expansion may start to consume many human and financial resources at the expense of core activities. Moreover, the rapid growth may not last, but your company will need to remain flexible in the expansion of its headcount. Outsourcing some HR activities allows an organization to maintain its focus on the business activities that are important while still being able to increase its staff. Further, in cases of a high turnover of staff, outsourcing can ensure continuity to an organization.

Outsourcing can also be an ideal solution in projects requiring skills that a member of staff does not possess. On-site outsourcing (or ‘insourcing’) of the project will bring people with the right skills into your company, with your staff working alongside to learn and acquire new skills