How do the most trusted companies in the Philippines stay at the top year after year? While much of it has to do with their ability to maintain the quality of their products and services, the talent behind them is another important yet less obvious factor.
Talented people give these companies the much-needed edge to keep them competitive. Thus, it’s important that they do everything they can to attract and retain these talented people within the organization, something that is easier said than done.
In fact, the Philippine Statistics Authority found that in the National Capital Region, about 120 per 1,000 employees have either been laid off or left their jobs in the second quarter of 2020. In cases where the employee left their job, 25.5% were hired by another company, 23.3% left for personal reasons and 12.7% went on an absence without leave.
Losing an employee can be costly. According to American Progress, the cost of turnover is anywhere between 20 and 213% of the person’s annual salary depending on their position, level of education and whether or not they have specialized training.
It is, therefore, in the best interest of every company to consistently attract and retain their talent, which they can do by having a strong employer brand.
What's an Employer Brand?
An employer brand is the employees’ and job seekers’ perception of the company as an employer. If you were the owner of the company, you’d naturally want to be seen in a positive light. It makes it much easier to encourage skilled and talented people to join you, especially in a highly competitive job market.
How You Can Build a Strong Employer Brand
These days, you need to give people a more compelling reason to attract them beyond offering them a great salary and benefits package. You need a strong employer brand. But how do you build one? Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Have a Clear Employee Value Proposition
It starts with a well-defined Employee Value Proposition, which is a unique set of benefits your employees will get in return for working at your company. These are intangibles, including giving them a sense of purpose for being a part of the company, that get them to truly believe in the organization and rally behind you in all that you do.
2. Develop Your Talent
Creating a great employer brand starts from the inside. Investing in your employees’ talents by giving them opportunities to upskill will boost morale and their confidence. You’ll benefit too because happy and confident employees are more willing to share their talent with you.
3. Give Employees a Sense of Purpose
This is especially true for Millennials. The majority of them would like to work for a company that allows them to make an impact on their community. Employees who feel that their values align with that of the company’s are more likely to stay there.
4. Promote Your Company Culture
Marketing can be a powerful tool in creating your employer brand. You can use social media, for example, to promote your programs and share employee testimonials, which will give others a closer look at how you are as an employer.
Employer Branding at Great Workplaces
As the COVID-19 pandemic drove the majority of Filipinos to work from home, Western Union Asia Regional Operations Center (Western Union AROC) acted quickly to safeguard its 540 employees in the Philippines. Employees received full work-from-home support and everyone stayed connected via their WULife social media platform and regular online engagements. In addition, the company looked after their employees’ physical and mental health and championed Diversity and Inclusion, while distributing baskets of goodies to celebrate birthdays and holidays.
Having a good employer brand has boosted our employees’ morale, and our employees are definitely proud to say that they work for a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company and one of the Philippines’ Best Workplaces – Site Lead Von de Leon.
The company’s efforts also raised its profile to make it 7th out of 70 companies in Asia’s Best Workplaces – Large Category.
Size doesn’t matter when it comes to building an employer brand. Take it from Canva Philippines, the local division of the global platform that allows anyone to create professional-quality designs. Despite being a startup, it already received two consecutive Great Place to Work® certifications, ranks third among the Philippines Best Workplaces in 2021 and is among Asia’s Best Workplaces, praises to which 90% of its employees agree.
It can be attributed to its commitment to defining its values and living it daily, using those values to create policies with a purpose and genuinely getting its employees inspired and excited by how the company treats them.
Employer branding doesn’t just mean how you market your brand to the public, but it’s how you treat people behind closed doors when no one is looking
-Canva Philippines’ Country Head Yani Hornilla Donato.
The key to creating a great employer brand is treating employees well.
“If you treat them well, give them the space to thrive and do the best work of their lives, they’ll do the branding for you,”
-Vanson So, Canva Philippines’ People Lead
This became apparent during the pandemic as Canva Philippines took the steps to take care of its employees. These include providing those working from home with ergonomic home office furniture and workstations as well as daily meal stipends to make up for the free onsite cafeteria meals they enjoyed at the office. Canva then reassigned their cafeteria workers to prepare meals for front liners and the community, enabling them to keep their jobs and help Canva provide value to society.
Caring for their employees has also paid dividends for AMZ All Stars, a leading operator of large eCommerce brands such as Amazon and a Great Place to Work-Certified™ company.
“We value employee experience. We recognize the better we treat our staff, the more excitement our staff have for the work they do. The more engaged they are, the more ownership the staff take for their work and the better they treat our clients in turn,”
-AMZ All Stars CEO Erick Rodriguez.
Now, their employees are reciprocating the love they give them, as 92% of their employees consider AMZ All Stars a great place to work.
Finally, Ingram Micro leveraged the Great Place to Work® Trust Index™ Survey to find out their employees’ needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their insights enabled the two-time Great Place to Work Certified™ company to support their employees in adjusting to working in the new normal. These include providing employees with flexible work arrangements, offering financial support and making them more involved in strategic decisions by opening more communication channels.
Build Your Employer Brand with Great Place to Work®
Like Western Union AROC, Canva, AMZ All Stars and Ingram Micro, you too can build your employer brand to attract and retain talent. We can help you with this by engaging your employees in our Trust Index© employee survey, giving you all the insights you need to take the right step forward to become an employer of choice in your industry. Start building your employer brand by contacting us today to learn more on how other Great Place to Work-Certified Companies™ built theirs.
