One often reads about companies increasing their focus on the development and the interests of the employees. For example: Fed Ex’s has a philosophy of ‘People – Service – Profit’ which proves that it gives priority to its people, Accenture’s head count hits 35,000 due to their completely new HR strategy and Sasken has started a people first policy. Here, the impression that these companies are clearly sending out is that they are ‘an employer of choice and a great place to work’.

The reputation of a company (apart from the pay package and the position offered) is one of the main aspects that a prospective employee considers when he is looking for employment. Employment branding can help companies in giving out the right impression to the world so that they are looked up on as an employer of choice.

Employment branding is the development and effective communication of an organization's image in the marketplace. Employment branding is also known as internal branding. Internal branding focuses on what needs to be done in house so that it is reflected on the corporate brand of the company. Companies undertake massive efforts to enhance their image in public. These efforts cannot bear fruit if these are not applied towards the internal customer, namely the employees of the organization. To develop an employment brand, companies identify the unique attributes of its brand and integrate these into the people management process. This can be achieved if the senior management of the organization believes in this process and instills the same values among its juniors. The ability of a company to respond to the changing needs of its current employees as well as the talent market is termed as ‘employer intelligence’.

Though there have been companies that have invested time and resources since several decades to brand themselves as an employer of choice, the concept of employer branding has been recognized as a separate discipline since the mid 90’s. A company which is perceived as a strong brand among its employees can automatically spread this sentiment among its prospective employees, the customers and ultimately its investors.

In India, similar to the west, companies are realizing the importance of employer branding. The current trend of job hopping coupled with a talent crunch in many sectors, has forced employers to seriously focus on increasing their employer brand value. In addition to this there is the problem of solicitation of employees by competitors. Not to mention the unavailability of talent in the middle management levels of Indian companies. A similar trend can be observed across Asia.

Across Asia Pacific, 63% of employers believe that their employer brand helps them to retain employees. However 60% claim that they need to take many more initiatives to attract and retain employees. Research indicates that employers from Asia Pacific are looking to increase their workforce by 42%, a significant increase from 28% in 2007. Research also indicates that retention of employees is more dependent on the work environment and respect for the company rather than on an attractive pay scale. Considering this, it looks like employer branding would be given greater emphasis to attract, engage and retain talent.

Effective employer branding can benefit businesses to a large extent. Organizations that focus on employer branding are known for their reputation and low attrition rates and can tackle competition in the war for talent. These organizations provide development opportunities for their employees and this sentiment is reciprocated by the employees who show their commitment towards the organization.

Employer branding requires the combined effort of HR as well as Marketing. Employer branding activities if substantiated with employee testimonials, recognition from associations, grabbing headlines in the newspapers and achieving regional or national best employer awards help organizations attract quality talent, retain valuable employees and increase productivity and innovativeness which results in higher profits. Therefore employer branding culminates in the overall development of an organization. A company can therefore use this tool to satisfy its short and long term goals.