The culture an organisation cultivates as an employer is just as important to its success as the brand image of its products or services. A culture that is at odds with the organisation's commercial activities is a very powerful signal to customers, employees and other stakeholders; it is a signal that will impact on the employers' sales, market reputation, share value and their ability to attract and retain the kind of employees that they need. In fact, employer branding is a complex process that involves internal and external customers, marketing and human resource professionals. Helen Rosethorn's book puts the whole topic into context, it explores some of the shortcomings of employer branding initiatives to date and provides a practical guide to the kind of strategy and techniques organisations need to embrace in order to make the most of their employer brand. At the heart of the book is the concept of the strategic employee lifecycle and ways in which an organisation should engage with potential, current and past employees. The Employer Brand focuses on the experiences and perspectives of organisations that have applied employer brand practices. It is a book about marketing - and the relationship of customers and employees; about culture - and the need for fundamental change in the role of the human resources function; about psychology - and the changing aspirations of the next generation of employees; and about hard-nosed business - and the tangible and intangible benefits of a successful employer branding strategy and how to realize them.
Biography
Helen Rosethorn, CEO, Bernard Hodes Group. A pioneer of employer branding practice in the UK, Helen Rosethorn is CEO of the Bernard Hodes Group. After successfully integrating the group into the Omnicom network a decade ago, she has built it into one of the UK's leading employment marketing and talent specialists. An MBA at Bradford Management School crystallised Helen's long-standing interest in the people dimension and cultural dynamics of organisational success. It was here that Hodes' distinctive approach to employer branding had its origins. Developed and refined during more than ten years' practice with blue-chip clients, including GSK, Philips and Nokia, the Hodes' model examines the unwritten deal between employers and employees. A member of Hodes' Global Network Executive Board, Helen is also a principal HR/Brand Strategy Consultant on talent, branding, engagement and communications projects. She speaks and writes widely about all these issues. It is her great hope that the next few years will see more people at CEO level actively engage in the employer brand debate.
'It's a book to sit down and read - and it certainly makes interesting reading...it may be a book to recommend to your business school...' - Hazel Doyle, Careers and Employability Adviser, Manchester Metropolitan University, agcas Pheonix magazine 'This is a fascinating read and well worth working through. It offers a good insider view, helpful examples and a perceptive insight into the value of the employer brand. It is both a good read but also a challenge to one's opinions about the factors that determine an effective brand. Helen Rosethorn - and her team of contributors - is to be congratulated on a fresh look at the subject and an excellent book that could well become an essential read for practitioner, academic and student alike. For me, the significant contribution - different from other offerings on the subject - is the attempt to simplify it all. Helpfully, it distinguishes the brand as a journey rather than a project or initiative. If you accept this theory, the case studies are even more helpful and insightful. And the assertion that the way that employees interact with customers and shareholders is the real distinguishing factor may, to many, be obvious. But it is not the way that many brands have been established or developed. This is a good book. It should be read...and reread in order to pick up the hints missed first time round. A definite reference book too.' - Martin Tiplady, HR Director, Metropolitan Police
