What is an Employer Brand and does a fashion business really need one? Frankly, if you are an employer, you have one whether you want it or not.
The CIPD describes an Employer Brand as “the way in which organisations differentiate themselves in the labour market, enabling them to recruit, retain and engage the right people.” A strong employer brand helps businesses compete for the best talent, hold onto them, and establish credibility.
In the fashion space I see so many organisations create amazing consumer brands yet present their “Employer Brand” disastrously. Equally, I see candidates express enthusiasm for businesses based purely on their product without exploring whether the employer brand meets their needs and core beliefs. This is particularly visible in the luxury sector. During the recruitment process, if the candidate fails to look beyond the organisation’s consumer brand, and the employer fails to interview beyond technical skills, we have a high risk of the engagement failing.
The latest Manpower employer survey for Q3 2022 showed that global talent shortages have reached a 16 year high, with 78% of employers having difficulty filling jobs due to a lack of skilled talent. With these alarming statistics it is more important than ever for businesses to really understand what their Employer Brand stands for and how it can be improved to allow the organisation to recruit and, importantly, retain the best talent. This can only be done by truly engaging current employees to unlock perceptions of the business and understand what keeps the best performers in place. It is not something that is simply decided by the C-suite and HR. While benefits play a part they are only a tiny part, your employer brand will not be defined by break-out areas and fruit bowls. Communicating culture honestly from the start of the recruitment process is essential, even if it means putting off candidates that appear technically amazing. If they’re not aligned with your culture they’re not going to stay, no matter how good they are and how much you pay them. Successful recruitment campaigns are about communicating the opportunity and allowing candidates to understand who they are joining, the difference they can make, and if the brand aligns with their lifestyle and emotional needs. Here’s a hint, a product picture and a dry job spec won’t achieve that! However, that’s a blog post for another day.
At LIFE in Fashion it’s an essential part of our process to help brands unlock a better understanding of their Employer Brand to allow us to communicate this to candidates when talent sourcing. This ensures we present clients with candidates that will stay. However, we can also consult with organisations that are not recruiting through us, providing workshops to help them define and improve their Employer Brand to attract the right candidates and retain talent. We believe this makes us the first Search and Retention Consultancy in the fashion industry.