Description
Covers employer branding in detail.Takes examples of Welspun and L & T to highlight the concept.
Study of –Employer Branding: Achieving Competitive Advantage In Manufacturing Sector
Table of Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................3 What is Employer Branding .....................................................................................3 Evolution ..................................................................................................................4 Relevance to Manufacturing Sector ........................................................................5 How it helps to achieve Competitive Advantage .....................................................7
Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren Limited ..........................................................................9 Need for Employer Branding .................................................................................10 Building The Brand .................................................................................................11 Scope ......................................................................................................................12
Larsen & Toubro ...........................................................................................................14 Need for Employer Branding .................................................................................15 Building The Brand .................................................................................................16 Scope ......................................................................................................................18
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................20
Annexures .....................................................................................................................22
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Introduction
This is a market oriented era. If you have a good brand value in market, you will get a good response and if not; it’s very difficult to convince people. Similarly if your organization has a good brand image in the market, it will help you in getting right workforce at right time and at the same time you will have a control over the employee cost. An organization with no brand name has to shell out lots of money to attract and retain the right candidate. A “good company tag” is critical to a company’s ability to attract, motivate and retain the best and the brightest, thus gaining competitive advantage in the marketplace. Internationally, those companies that are voted as ‘Best Companies to Work For’ also yield higher returns for shareholders. In fact, employee attitudes are directly linked with company performance, according to Watson Wyatt’s Human Capital Index. Additionally companies that are considered good employers have a strong identity and image in the marketplace.
What Is Employer Branding?
An employer brand is a collection of ideas and beliefs that influence the way current and potential employees view an organisation and the employment experience that organisation is offering. It communicates the company's culture and values and helps to ensure employees are passionate about, and fit in with, the organisational culture to help move the company forward. It is the process of creating an identity and managing the company’s image in its role as an employer. As organizations are complex, open systems, single interventions are not enough. The employer brand has to be aligned and be congruent with what the company delivers to the employee, customer, public and shareholder. Employer branding is a derivative of the following factors? ? ? ? Demonstrated investment in growth by way of future products, R&D spend, articulation of the roadmap ahead and viable strategies. Impressive and consistent track record in business leadership. The organisation should clearly be perceived as a place where every employee could learn and develop skills in the latest technologies, concepts and knowledge areas. Aggressive, competitive compensation and benefits package.
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?
Transparent and merit-oriented performance management system, wherein the polarisation between various levels of performance is both visible and fair.
?
Very high score on the leadership, business conduct and customer satisfaction, or any other parameter evaluated by an independent third party.
Evolution
The real issue faced is that the science of branding in practice today stems from the middle ages when there were only two stakeholders of significance- management or owners and customers.
However, times have change and recently companies have realised that there are people in organisations who provide the link between whatever it is that they sell and the customers. People who research, people who innovate, people who sell, people who count money, people who manage logistics and people who manage people. And all of these people are important. They need to be the best that can be found. They need to be motivated, passionate and engaged with what they do. Otherwise the customer suffers. Hence, all of a
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sudden, people are no longer just cogs in the organization, but the critical differentiator and competitive edge that they have been looked for and so it has been realized there are other critical stakeholders who should have a say and so the science of branding needs to evolve. In order to evolve however knowledge, insights and understanding is required. Knowledge of how to gain insights from audiences other than customers and understanding of what is important to the right people, what will make them join the organizations and what will make them stay beyond money. This is why Employer Branding exists; because there’s a void. Most brands haven’t been articulated with employees in mind. In fact, most leaders and their organisations are only just realising the importance of their people.
Relevance To Manufacturing Sector
The primary reason for employer branding is the high demand and low supply scenario of skilled manpower. All companies, more so small & medium enterprises (SMEs), need to focus on the way they look at and feel for their employees. The second angle from which the need of employer branding arises is to acquire resources (manpower, machine, money) at competitive prices, add value through robust processes and hence create competitive advantage. Employer branding not only focuses on attracting the employee but also on retaining them. The brand has to deliver the promise that is perceived for it in the market.
Once employed, the next challenge is to keep them motivated in a factory shop floor environment with high machine involvement, not-so-comfortable working conditions and at the compensation levels they are being offered. One way to address this challenge is to be able to look more attractive to potential employees by way of employer branding. A sound employer branding leads to a blend of internal and external effects, as shown in Fig.1 below:
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Fig.1: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EFFECTS OF EMPLOYER BRANDING
Employer Brand management helps to improve the following: ? ? ? ? ? ? Recruitment and retention Performance and commitment Maintaining brand integrity Research effectiveness Alignment with business strategy Defining a more focused position and bringing it to life
An employer brand will help by clarifying: ? ? ? ? The target market The competitive set The needs and aspirations of your target candidates The most appealing employer brand benefits (or “recruitment drivers”)
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How it helps to achieve competitive advantage?
L&T has been ranked 11th in the best companies to work with in India. Much of the credit goes to the Employer Brand that has been created by this company. It is found that satisfied customers are better to deal with, and satisfied employees give better service. Employees derive satisfaction from being part of an enterprise that is associated with an enviable market reputation. Ensuring a positive reputation and employer brand can be a way of creating a unique and attractive identity with which current or potential employees can identify. Therefore the employer brand becomes a significant aid in the battle to win and retain talent. A company’s corporate reputation directly affects HR initiatives. In fact, potential candidates and existing employees – particularly among the Gen Y/Millennial segment - are more concerned than ever about whether they work for a “good” company – one that is positively reported in the media, gives back in a big way to the community and does the right thing environmentally and socially.
Up until several years ago, our company’s community involvement and “green” initiatives were largely considered human-interest stories internally and externally. Today, corporate reputation is one of the top questions on the minds of candidates and employees – so much
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so, that we have added this information to our company’s intranet and Careers Web site, collateral materials and recruitment presentations.
A sound employer branding gives the following benefits: 1) Personal and Professional Development ? Employees appreciate working for socially responsible companies because it gives them an outlet for personal and professional growth 2) Connection and Identification with the company, leads to greater loyalty, commitment, engagement and productivity. ? ? When employees feel they are effectively balancing the needs of work and family, they feel less stressed. Employees who feel that personal needs are fulfilled at work are more likely to identify with the company, feeling that their sense of self aligns with their sense of the company. ? Employees identify strongly with the company due to its social responsibility, and view its successes as their own. This identification creates positive outcomes that are valuable retention and recruitment tools: ? Internal outcomes lead to behavioural outcomes, such as interest in achievement of the company’s goals, reduced absenteeism, and higher retention.
Satisfied, loyal employees are more likely to remain with the firm and to share good views about the company with each other and prospective employees. Positive word of mouth amongst employees assists in building camaraderie within and across teams, engendering greater loyalty to the firm and to team members, thus improving staff retention. Furthermore, existing employees have a large “signaling” impact on prospective employees. Positive word-of-mouth helps contextualize the employment experience for prospective employees, attracting those with values that will fit with the brand and allow them to flourish.
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WELSPUN GUJARAT STAHL ROHREN LTD. (WGSRL)
The flagship company of Welspun Group, incorporated in 1995, is the 2nd Largest Pipe Producer in the World and 'The Emerging Company of the Year' (Economic Times Corporate Excellence Awards, 2008). A manufacturing hub for state-of-the-art pipe and related niche products it has manufacturing facilities located in Gujarat in Western India, in proximity to the national highways and seaports and one recently set up facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA with a production capacity of 3,50,000 tons of pipes annually. With a strong culture of ‘Engineering Excellence' WGSRL has grown over 200 times in the last one decade and is all set to be the World's Largest Pipe Company with an increase in capacity from 1.5 million ton per annum to 1.8 million ton by March 2011. It is the first company from India to supply large diameter Line-pipes for off-shore application to USA, to set up the Platecum-coil Mill one of the only three mills in the World, to produce Steel Plates of up to 4.5 meter wide and many more. With a dynamic setup, the core strength of success is its quality, integrity and values. While on the relentless path of achieving success, WGSRL has doubled efforts towards the community, society and its valued employees. It strives to create more leaders within to spearhead multi-country operations and business opportunities. With the belief that employees are the most important asset with which they can reach the top in each category of their Product / Service they emphasize on their continuous improvement through up gradation of relevant knowledge and training. Highly skilled professionals with strong in-house training and world class practices primarily from Germany, ensures highest quality of products.
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Need For Employer Branding
Welspun is starting to see glimmers of faster paced growth. As a reaction, they are becoming more aware of the need to build their employment brand as a well-managed company and good place to work. And while senior executives in the company long ago realized the value of building product brands, only recently have executives realized the importance of managing their brand as an employer. Welspun has grown over 200 times in the last one decade from a Rs. 18 Crores in 1998 to almost Rs. 4010 Crores in 2008. With a dynamic setup, the core strength of success is its quality, integrity and values. A massive growth in capacity would always require a similar growth in its employee strength. This necessitates the search for attracting and retention of the right talent. Growing companies like Welspun however, need to better communicate their culture, philosophy and vision to potential candidates through a strong employer brand. The kind of skill-set required for employees in manufacturing sector could be very specific and for a growing company like this recruiting the right talent could turn out to be a herculean task. The presence of bigger competitors makes it all the more difficult. Rise in competition not only in the industry but related fields. Especially as their factories are in Gujarat, the development in state in attracting all sorts of industries thus presents big threat. Thus, as there are more opportunities for talent in today’s growing economic scene Welspun’s competition is tough with not only peers but allied engineering field. In these circumstances it was necessary for the company to differentiate the company from others in the same industry as well as in the same geographical region.
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Building The Brand
The first element in building an Employer Brand is the Employment Package which is the offer that an employee gets including job responsibilities, financial compensation, work/life balance, the employee's role in organization and professional development. Then comes the Culture and Environment which includes the physical working environment, the size of the organization, and the organization's approach to work. Then there is Integrity. Delivering what has been initially committed always counts. The consequence of a lack of integrity is seen in the form of high attrition rates. And finally Management Performance that plays as a vital role in the Employer Branding process. Welspun presents image of continuous growth and very conducive work culture. The company presents itself as the preferred place to work both in terms of remuneration and work satisfaction. Putting Together a Team That Understands, Influences, and Experiences All Facets of Employer Branding Developing a powerful employer brand requires that you involve all constituencies who influence your employer brand in the branding process. The HR department examines and brings forward all success stories within the organisation where the young achievers are highlighted and their efforts are rewarded. Involving Employees In Every Facet of the Process Employees directly experience whether or not the organisation delivers on its employer brand promise – whether it walks the talk, and hence they play an essential role in the employer branding process. The HR department make sure that all the department heads are involved including frontline sales and marketing & PR teams to campaign for Welspun Brand. At Welspun, the papers & Journals within the organisation are carefully chosen for release of advertisements and company details and the best possible agencies are deployed for the same. For Welspun the job is easier as the HR department has to encash on the unmatched company performance but they make sure that proper coverage is maintained all the time. The HR department also covers brand damage by immediately attending poor work experience or discontent.
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"If your employees love working for your company and buy into your employer brand, they will be your best advertising" The employees at Welspun clearly understand that in competitive scenario growth is the only way to survive. This is true for the organisation as well as for the individuals. Each employee at Welspun conveys this aspect clearly in their thoughts and actions. It is worthwhile to conduct a survey and/or a focus group with internal and external stakeholders to compare the organisation’s stated company values with the reality of internally and externally held perceptions and opinions about your organisation. Consistency between brand reality and the image you sell are critical for success. Welspun carries out various surveys to access the employee feedback on work place environment and working practices. The present feedback is that the employees feel proud working with the organisation and their work. The only negative factor negative factor that is perceived within the organisation is that the pace with which the organisation is growing is very high. Thus the need to sustain the growth becomes all the more important.
Scope
Welspun presently is in the process of cautious approach of EB building. Welspun has grown over 200 times in the last one decade. The company’s growth has been quick so this is the time to sustain the growth. As the company is entering in to new fields by both organic and inorganic way, the brand Welspun helps in motivating people (involved/effected employees) to adopt the changes fast. Employer Branding gives a very clear statement to a potential employee as to a company's vision, market position, culture, and/or other qualities that basically equate to a recognizable, desirable commodity. By attracting and retaining people with the right fit, Welspun can create a more productive workforce and position the organization for long term success.
One of the main challenges for most companies is about creating a culture in which people enjoy working. The effectiveness of internal communication, the extent to which employees are motivated to perform well, and the quality of the leadership given by management, all
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play an important role in retaining staff. All these factors relate to the strength of the organisation's employer brand and the way that it is perceived internally by current employees and externally by potential future recruits. The key challenges for an emerging company are: ? The challenges for an emerging company are far more than an established company. Incorporated in 1995, Welspun is still new to the manufacturing sector. Therefore, it needs to establish itself by recruiting more intensively in order to grow. ? Welspun being a medium sized organisation does not get the best talent as large organisations attract the best brains in the industry. This poses a significant threat for the company leading to high attrition. ? To justify the return on the investment, as HR departments are traditionally viewed as cost centres rather than a profit-generating function. A successful employment brand management effort increases both the number and quality of applicants, reduces the turnover rate, and increases overall workforce productivity. Employment branding is a targeted strategy it cannot be successfully managed using an uncoordinated effort. Quality, integrity and values are Welspun’s main strengths and it is committed to satisfy its customers with the best quality of products and services that they deliver.
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LARSEN & TOUBRO
Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) was founded in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1938 by two Danish engineers, Henning Holck-Larsen and Soren Kristian Toubro. Today, the company sets global engineering benchmarks in terms of scale and complexity and is one of the largest companies in India’s private sector.
The company recently won The Business Standard ‘Company of the Year’ award and ‘The Best Company to Work for in the Manufacturing Sector’ by Business Today.
The company has manufacturing facilities in India, China, Oman and Saudi Arabia. A thrust on international business has seen overseas earnings grow significantly. It continues to grow its overseas manufacturing footprint, with facilities in China and the Gulf region.
L&T believes that progress must be achieved in harmony with the environment. A commitment to community welfare and environmental protection are an integral part of the corporate vision. L&T offers its people freedom at work, unmatched leadership & the opportunity to grow at a rapid pace. It provides them challenging, interesting & motivating assignments which brings a sense of professional fulfilment. The company encourages entrepreneurial skills thus, enabling and empowering employees to take appropriate risks.
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Need For Employer Branding
Larsen and Toubro has been growing at a CAGR of 26.6 % since 2005 and continues to grow further as the manufacturing sector is propelled further in India. One of the most important raw materials for any industry and for the engineering industry in particular is the availability of quality talent. As compared to service oriented industries, the skill level of employees hired by the manufacturing sector is required to be highly specialized. Thus, engineering talent from colleges in India are fertile grounds for new recruitment for L and T, India. Besides fresh talent, there is also an increasing requirement for experienced human resources with prior industry technical expertise. In addition to technically skilled talent, there is also an emerging need for middle level managers that needs to be fulfilled as the company grows. Although the number of engineers being churned out of India’s engineering colleges has increased collectively, the quality of the talent has not increased proportionately. As a result, the employable talent pool is much lesser as compared to the industry requirements and growth rate. Apart from talent attraction, the other major problem area is talent retention. What L&T does in engineering "being comparable to anywhere in the world," the company is a cave of human treasure for raiders. Since the beginning of this decade, India was becoming a hot destination for engineering services. Multinationals have been setting up base since the past couple of years. Increasing salaries meant increasing salaries across the 14 grades of L&T employees, totalling 25,000 people, back in 2004. In the same year, its attrition rate was more than 20 per cent and in some divisions 30 per cent, as quoted by its CMD, Mr. A.M. Naik. "The huge challenge is how to retain our engineers," he said. Also, “At L&T, matters are rather different from what exists at other manufacturing corporations, where the top 20 to 40 people can run the entire company. A young engineer who is working on satellite design on an ISRO project is as important to the company as a senior vice-president because he is working on something new in which L&T wants to grow and to excel”, Mr.Naik was quoted as saying. In such a scenario, there was an increasing need felt to differentiate the company from its competitors and thus arose the need for employer branding at L&T.
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Building The Brand
Recognizing the need for attracting and retaining talent, L & T has a number of practices in place that help to position L&T as an attractive brand to existing and future employees. Proof of this is the number of awards that L & T has won for its innovative HR practices over the years and more importantly, the fact that it continues to be a respected and well-known brand in the manufacturing sector. Employer branding is not a one-time process but a continuous process. The set of activities that go towards building the brand consist of making a set of promises and delivering consistently on them. From the set of interviews conducted and our analysis of the company policies, the following factors emerged as major contributors in building “Brand Larsen &Toubro”: Recruitment and Employee Benefits: Recruitment in L& T is based solely on merit by following well-defined and systematic selection procedures without any discrimination. Further, the salary and benefits offered are on par with the best available in engineering industry. Since remuneration was one of the major reasons for attrition in the past couple of years, L & T has a number of perquisites & welfare schemes for its employees, such as - subsidized accommodation, part furnishing of accommodation provided, free transport facilities for work, subsidized canteens, medical benefits, welfare activities and counselling. The L&T Institute of Technology offers 4-year integrated diploma courses for children of employees, including those of deceased employees. Training and Education: Given the dynamic nature of the engineering industry, it is important for the company to keep its people abreast of the latest developments in technology and enable them with the tools and techniques to facilitate performance and create a competitive environment of excellence.
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In this spirit, L&T has a separate HR department dedicated to training. Training needs for employees are assessed; coaching is structured in institutes in India and abroad and also inhouse or on-the-job training. These skills help to enhance the technical, behavioural, communication and presentation skills of L&T’s employees. Even counselling for postretirement financial planning and an effective-transition to non-working life is provided. This helps reinforce the image that L&T takes care of its employees from the time they join the company till the time they retire from the company. Leadership development: L&T has a structured leadership development programme to develop more leaders who are better and faster at decision-making and implementation. This is for meeting both near and distant challenges. The employee involvement is not just restricted to managers being students but also being faculty for in-house programmes. Line managers deliver effective training sessions wherein they share their unique understanding of the nature of the business and the problems associated with the company and the industry. Leadership development opportunities make L&T an attractive place to work in, for budding managers. Work environment and other benefits: L&T values its employees’ contribution even as it sets daunting targets. At the same time, it emphasizes a healthy work-life balance. It has an employee grievance system in place to minimize employee concerns and build loyalty. It follows a transparent performance evaluation process wherein the employee is an integral part of the whole process and promotions based on merit and performance. Being an engineering firm, there is special emphasis on occupational health and safety. Through various safeguards, initiatives and precautions, it constantly tries to provide a zeroaccident environment to its employees. Besides, it has also invested in providing health club and other wellness facilities so that its employees are in the best of health. In addition to all this, L&T follows a policy of diversity and equal opportunity at the workplace. All of the above factors help in creating an image of a safe, secure and yet challenging work environment at L&T, which further boosts its brand as an employer.
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Scope
Engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which has been reeling under a talent crunch and high attrition among its skilled workforce, has aggressively stepped up its efforts to identify new talent pools and retain people in critical areas of operations like project management and design. L&T has an attrition rate of 12-14%. The company needs to identify new talent pools, including working with different tiers of institutes. At the same time, the company will need to invest much in training as candidates may not be of the quality as those sourced traditionally. L&T has also started developing a leadership programme at all levels which focuses on training leaders for the future. The other part is employee engagement, where L&T, through continuous dialogue with its managers, looks to create the best value proposition for them in their careers. Some of the benefits of Employer Branding for L&T are: ? With the shift to fragmented workforces of small and mid-sized businesses, it can be challenging to recruit and retain employees, if it does not have a consistent employer brand. Employer Branding would help L&T attract and retain employees. ?
Positioning employer brand would help L&T attract and retain people who “fit”. With four generations in the workplace and a wide variance in employee motivations, a compelling employer brand can help L&T identify, attract and retain the right people.
?
A great employer brand can help L&T stand out; this would enable them to save resources such as traditional benefits or salaries. Many people prefer to work for employers aligned with their values. A great employer brand can help L&T become an employer of choice. Tata Group is enjoying the advantages of a great employer brand. Tata Group is not a pay master still employees are willing to join them owing to their great brand.
?
A distinct employer brand can streamline recruitment. By being clear about L&T’s organization values, goals and culture, it can avoid interviewing people who are out
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of sync with their organization. And it can increase applications from people who “fit”.
Some of the Challenges for L&T are:
?
Employee Attrition: Following increased opportunities in the IT and ITeS sectors, attracting and retaining talent in its core engineering sector represents growing challenge. Employee turnover affects organisational capital, impacting growth on one hand and recruitment cost on the other.
?
Developing Leaders: The quality of leaders ensures long term corporate sustainability. Therefore the challenge is to build leaders who will multiply the organisational value without diluting the core values. The company should have adequate leadership development programmes to build leaders from within.
?
Occupational health and safety: Protecting the health and safety of employee’s remains an organisational challenge for L&T. L&T has implemented safety norms across all its locations, reinforced by increased awareness and training. However a lot of effort still needs to be put in place to ensure employee safety and awareness.
?
Balancing customer: L&T has strengthened non conflicting relationships with customers and communities through a compliance with all applicable rules and regulations, as well as undertaking projects only after obtaining all regulatory clearances. However as the organisation enters new territories (countries) it needs to pay special attention to local community norms and customs.
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Conclusion
Can Employer Branding in one organisation make that organisation more successful than its competitors? The answer is a definite ‘yes’, but only if an organisation starts with the right definition of employer branding and aligns its organisation for success from the top.
Employment branding and the actions required to build and manage an employment brand are powerful tools that can be used to add value to an organization through HR. Employment branding, can increase the quality of employees, help inspire them to become more productive, and open opportunities to the company in the marketplace that might not have been open before. In short, employment branding can address many of the issues facing corporation today. As companies seek to attract the best talent and to win the retention battle, they are coming to the conclusion that it pays big dividends to influence the candidate’s psyche. The great hope offered by an effective employer branding strategy is that many of today’s HR challenges – those revolving around retention, loyalty and engagement – can be solved long before they ever arise.
To anticipate future trajectories for employer branding, we should first ascertain if it has already become established. In spite of the high visibility of employer branding in much of the corporate identity, marketing and HR literature, there is little empirical data available. A 2007 survey suggests that globally only 20% of companies intend to adopt employer branding over the next two years, compared with 35% who have no such intention.
Welspun has launched a program called “DISHA 2012” which clearly defines their goal as becoming the best employer in Industry with an aim to become the best employer in the country. They follow the philosophy of self esteem and pride. The role of the employer brand is not only about projecting the brand to current and potential employees; it is about the nature of the job itself. But real brand management is all about working with other functions, persuading skilled and powerful people to do things differently
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“Tomorrow’s CEO will spend more time on their organisation’s reputation as an employer than with the investment community (and fund managers will worry if they don’t) “
The landscape for talent is starting to surge. Companies have to make sure they are relevant in the eyes of top talent - that starts with a well-thought out branding campaign that often centres on both career options and opportunities. Competitive advantage can be lost if companies don’t start changing their approach right now.
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Annexure
The questionnaire used for interviewing the two employees of the companies is given below:
WELSPUN GUJARAT STAHL ROHREN LTD. (WGSRL)
Questionnaire 1.
Employee Name: Mr. Rupak Ghosh Designation: Assistant Vice President – Business Excellence
Q1. How does your company employ hygiene and motivation factors in attracting /retaining people? Our “DISHA 2012” clearly defines goal as becoming the best employer in Industry with aim to become best employer in the country. We follow the philosophy of self esteem and pride. The standards are kept high (in fact stretched) to provide the sense of achievement in performing their tasks. The work places and working standards are maintained at international level. Being in international business this is the demand of the business and implemented cautiously by the company. These include work place hygiene and safety standards. Employees comparing with industry peers appreciate the effort and investment in their hygiene and safety. Motivational practices include standard practices like variable salaries, profit linked incentives, ESOPs, yearly and periodic recognition and awards.
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Q2. What do your employees say about your organization? Our motto says it all “dare to commit”. Our employees clearly understand that in competitive scenario growth is the only way to survive. This is true for the organisation as well as for the individuals. Each employee at Welspun conveys this aspect clearly in their thoughts and actions. We carry out various surveys to access the employee feed back on work place environment and working practices. The present feedback is that our employees feel proud working with the organisation and their work. One of the negative factor we hear is that pace is higher.
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Q3. What are your employer reputation strengths and threats? What practices does the organization follow in order to brand itself as an attractive destination for talent? About strengths - We are a world class company and compete with the best in the world (not only best in India). The company provides an international exposure to the complete work force. The good part is that by maintaining world class standards, they are already quite higher then the industry peers in the country. The level of remuneration is on the higher end of the industry. Threats – Rise in competition not only in our industry but related fields. Especially as our factories are in Gujarat, the development in state in attracting all sorts of industries thus presents big threat. Welspun presents image of continuous growth and very conducive work culture. The company presents itself as the preferred place to work both in trerms of remuneration and work satisfaction.
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Q4. How does the HR department initiate/ assist in employer branding? HR department examine and bring forward all facets of work. The success stories are brought forward. Young achievers are highlighted. The target is simple – Employer of choice. HR department make sure that all the department heads are involved including frontline sales and marketing & PR teams to campaign for Welspun Brand. The papers & Journals are carefully chosen for release of ads and company details. Best possible agencies are deployed. For Welspun the job is easier as HR department has to encash on the unmatched company performance but we make sure that proper coverage is maintained all the time. HR department also covers brand damage by immediately attending poor work experience or discontent.
Q5. Other than attracting talented people, how does your organization leverage its ‘employer brand’? (E.g. In terms of salaries, work profiles, etc.) Welspun presently is in the process of cautious approach of EB building. The company’s growth had been too quick so this is the time to sustain t he growth. As the company is entering in to new fields by both organic and inorganic way, the brand Welspun helps in motivating people (involved / effected employees) to adopt the changes fast.
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Q6. Why do people choose to join your company? How big a role does the brand of the company play in it? The brand plays a big role. As there are various opportunity for talent in today’s growing economic scene. Our competition is tough with not only peers but allied engineering field. Welspun brand as most emerging company plays a considerable role. We have examples of leading experts writing to the companies to get hired by knowing the company and by their short experiences.
Q7. How do employees currently perceive their employer brand? As answered above, we have implemented process to have a feedback from the Employees. The perception is very encouraging. Welspun sure is on the path of most preferred employer and the survey result shows the same.
Q8. Do they have a strong sense of organization’s purpose and values? Company has invested a lot in highlighting the core values. The philosophy of dare to commit has been embedded since the inception and the recent drives making it more visible.
Q9. Which behaviours are perceived to be the most characteristic of employees? Welspun looks for typical characteristics; team player is a must Dependability & ability to take risk Proactive Attitude & multi task ability.
Q10. What currently drives people’s commitment and what demoralizes them? Why do people choose to join an organisation and why do they leave it? Growth is the word to go. Hard work is rewarded and success stories are highlighted. Sometime pace of the life at Welspun is an issue for under performers. Immediate superior’s higher aspirations is another major field.
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Q11. What kind of an organisation do u work for - what would people reply to this question? Fastest growing company!
Q12. What is it that makes an organisation different from its nearest competitor? Growth & performance. Clear policies and world class standards.
Q13. What is it that makes an organisation better than its competitors? World class working standards and clientele bring world class exposure. Company’s long term policies clearly reflect values it is standing on. Remuneration in terms of not just salaries but variable pays and ESOPS are unheard of by other industry peers. Most of all opportunity to grow.
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Questionnaire 2.
Employee Name: Designation:
Q1. How does your company employ hygiene and motivation factors in attracting /retaining people? Managers are trained and encouraged in applying effectively talent management practices in their workgroups to ensure lower rates of attrition and create a supportive corporate climate as a key factor of sustained and improved productivity. Felicitating employees on some important days like annual day etc.; rewarding their children for academic performance and other cultural activities for their families.
Q2. What do your employees say about your organization? Employees take pride in being associated with Welspun. Loyalty and satisfaction levels are high and employees are also ready to take on any new challenges that come their way.
Q3. What are your employer reputation strengths and threats? What practices does the organization follow in order to brand itself as an attractive destination for talent? Our corporate values like Customer delight, Employee satisfaction, Creation of wealth for all stakeholders and Quality Products help us to achieve the growth that we are seeing today that makes us an attractive destination for young talent.
Q4. How does the HR department initiate/ assist in employer branding? Working in tandem with the PR department and properly getting published the best human resource practices through effective media helps in successful employer branding.
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Q5. Other than attracting talented people, how does your organization leverage its ‘employer brand’? (E.g. In terms of salaries, work profiles, etc.) It is the first Indian company in the pipe industry to offer ESOPs to the employees plus Performance Evaluation Screens at the senior level. Also training is a regular feature here ranging from contractual workers to the skilled engineers. Also various graduate and undergraduate degrees are being provided from renowned universities. Moreover employees are given concessions to spend their weekends in resorts near Mumbai.
Q6. Why do people choose to join your company? How big a role does the brand of the company play in it? Welspun group as a whole is well known across the globe for its finest products and services which makes it a big brand. And the growth that WRGSL is seeing in last years makes it a bigger brand in itself.
Q7. How do employees currently perceive their employer brand? Employees, as understood by a survey, rate the company very high on career growth, work environment and CEO rating. It is the fastest growing name in Asia for pipes and steel.
Q8. Do they have a strong sense of organization’s purpose and values? Quality, integrity and values are our main strengths of success and at Welspun we all are committed to satisfy our customers with the best quality of products and services that we deliver.
Q9. Which behaviours are perceived to be the most characteristic of employees? Being the fast growing company that it is, it basically looks for very dedicated and hard working and technically sound employees.
Q10. What currently drives people’s commitment and what demoralizes them? Why do people choose to join an organisation and why do they leave it? As I have already mentioned above growth is one thing that drives people in the organization. It is the 1st company in the Indian pipe industry to offer ESOPs to its employees. And maybe too many expectations and demanding work sometimes demoralizes them.
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Q11. What kind of an organisation do u work for - what would people reply to this question? The new emerging Global company.
Q12. What is it that makes an organisation different from its nearest competitor? High end technology!!
Q13. What is it that makes an organisation better than its competitors? Remuneration higher than industry standards. Huge opportunities because of high growth. Challenging work culture resulting in higher work satisfaction.
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doc_927412506.docx
Covers employer branding in detail.Takes examples of Welspun and L & T to highlight the concept.
Study of –Employer Branding: Achieving Competitive Advantage In Manufacturing Sector
Table of Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................3 What is Employer Branding .....................................................................................3 Evolution ..................................................................................................................4 Relevance to Manufacturing Sector ........................................................................5 How it helps to achieve Competitive Advantage .....................................................7
Welspun Gujarat Stahl Rohren Limited ..........................................................................9 Need for Employer Branding .................................................................................10 Building The Brand .................................................................................................11 Scope ......................................................................................................................12
Larsen & Toubro ...........................................................................................................14 Need for Employer Branding .................................................................................15 Building The Brand .................................................................................................16 Scope ......................................................................................................................18
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................20
Annexures .....................................................................................................................22
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Introduction
This is a market oriented era. If you have a good brand value in market, you will get a good response and if not; it’s very difficult to convince people. Similarly if your organization has a good brand image in the market, it will help you in getting right workforce at right time and at the same time you will have a control over the employee cost. An organization with no brand name has to shell out lots of money to attract and retain the right candidate. A “good company tag” is critical to a company’s ability to attract, motivate and retain the best and the brightest, thus gaining competitive advantage in the marketplace. Internationally, those companies that are voted as ‘Best Companies to Work For’ also yield higher returns for shareholders. In fact, employee attitudes are directly linked with company performance, according to Watson Wyatt’s Human Capital Index. Additionally companies that are considered good employers have a strong identity and image in the marketplace.
What Is Employer Branding?
An employer brand is a collection of ideas and beliefs that influence the way current and potential employees view an organisation and the employment experience that organisation is offering. It communicates the company's culture and values and helps to ensure employees are passionate about, and fit in with, the organisational culture to help move the company forward. It is the process of creating an identity and managing the company’s image in its role as an employer. As organizations are complex, open systems, single interventions are not enough. The employer brand has to be aligned and be congruent with what the company delivers to the employee, customer, public and shareholder. Employer branding is a derivative of the following factors? ? ? ? Demonstrated investment in growth by way of future products, R&D spend, articulation of the roadmap ahead and viable strategies. Impressive and consistent track record in business leadership. The organisation should clearly be perceived as a place where every employee could learn and develop skills in the latest technologies, concepts and knowledge areas. Aggressive, competitive compensation and benefits package.
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?
Transparent and merit-oriented performance management system, wherein the polarisation between various levels of performance is both visible and fair.
?
Very high score on the leadership, business conduct and customer satisfaction, or any other parameter evaluated by an independent third party.
Evolution
The real issue faced is that the science of branding in practice today stems from the middle ages when there were only two stakeholders of significance- management or owners and customers.
However, times have change and recently companies have realised that there are people in organisations who provide the link between whatever it is that they sell and the customers. People who research, people who innovate, people who sell, people who count money, people who manage logistics and people who manage people. And all of these people are important. They need to be the best that can be found. They need to be motivated, passionate and engaged with what they do. Otherwise the customer suffers. Hence, all of a
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sudden, people are no longer just cogs in the organization, but the critical differentiator and competitive edge that they have been looked for and so it has been realized there are other critical stakeholders who should have a say and so the science of branding needs to evolve. In order to evolve however knowledge, insights and understanding is required. Knowledge of how to gain insights from audiences other than customers and understanding of what is important to the right people, what will make them join the organizations and what will make them stay beyond money. This is why Employer Branding exists; because there’s a void. Most brands haven’t been articulated with employees in mind. In fact, most leaders and their organisations are only just realising the importance of their people.
Relevance To Manufacturing Sector
The primary reason for employer branding is the high demand and low supply scenario of skilled manpower. All companies, more so small & medium enterprises (SMEs), need to focus on the way they look at and feel for their employees. The second angle from which the need of employer branding arises is to acquire resources (manpower, machine, money) at competitive prices, add value through robust processes and hence create competitive advantage. Employer branding not only focuses on attracting the employee but also on retaining them. The brand has to deliver the promise that is perceived for it in the market.
Once employed, the next challenge is to keep them motivated in a factory shop floor environment with high machine involvement, not-so-comfortable working conditions and at the compensation levels they are being offered. One way to address this challenge is to be able to look more attractive to potential employees by way of employer branding. A sound employer branding leads to a blend of internal and external effects, as shown in Fig.1 below:
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Fig.1: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EFFECTS OF EMPLOYER BRANDING
Employer Brand management helps to improve the following: ? ? ? ? ? ? Recruitment and retention Performance and commitment Maintaining brand integrity Research effectiveness Alignment with business strategy Defining a more focused position and bringing it to life
An employer brand will help by clarifying: ? ? ? ? The target market The competitive set The needs and aspirations of your target candidates The most appealing employer brand benefits (or “recruitment drivers”)
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How it helps to achieve competitive advantage?
L&T has been ranked 11th in the best companies to work with in India. Much of the credit goes to the Employer Brand that has been created by this company. It is found that satisfied customers are better to deal with, and satisfied employees give better service. Employees derive satisfaction from being part of an enterprise that is associated with an enviable market reputation. Ensuring a positive reputation and employer brand can be a way of creating a unique and attractive identity with which current or potential employees can identify. Therefore the employer brand becomes a significant aid in the battle to win and retain talent. A company’s corporate reputation directly affects HR initiatives. In fact, potential candidates and existing employees – particularly among the Gen Y/Millennial segment - are more concerned than ever about whether they work for a “good” company – one that is positively reported in the media, gives back in a big way to the community and does the right thing environmentally and socially.
Up until several years ago, our company’s community involvement and “green” initiatives were largely considered human-interest stories internally and externally. Today, corporate reputation is one of the top questions on the minds of candidates and employees – so much
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so, that we have added this information to our company’s intranet and Careers Web site, collateral materials and recruitment presentations.
A sound employer branding gives the following benefits: 1) Personal and Professional Development ? Employees appreciate working for socially responsible companies because it gives them an outlet for personal and professional growth 2) Connection and Identification with the company, leads to greater loyalty, commitment, engagement and productivity. ? ? When employees feel they are effectively balancing the needs of work and family, they feel less stressed. Employees who feel that personal needs are fulfilled at work are more likely to identify with the company, feeling that their sense of self aligns with their sense of the company. ? Employees identify strongly with the company due to its social responsibility, and view its successes as their own. This identification creates positive outcomes that are valuable retention and recruitment tools: ? Internal outcomes lead to behavioural outcomes, such as interest in achievement of the company’s goals, reduced absenteeism, and higher retention.
Satisfied, loyal employees are more likely to remain with the firm and to share good views about the company with each other and prospective employees. Positive word of mouth amongst employees assists in building camaraderie within and across teams, engendering greater loyalty to the firm and to team members, thus improving staff retention. Furthermore, existing employees have a large “signaling” impact on prospective employees. Positive word-of-mouth helps contextualize the employment experience for prospective employees, attracting those with values that will fit with the brand and allow them to flourish.
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WELSPUN GUJARAT STAHL ROHREN LTD. (WGSRL)
The flagship company of Welspun Group, incorporated in 1995, is the 2nd Largest Pipe Producer in the World and 'The Emerging Company of the Year' (Economic Times Corporate Excellence Awards, 2008). A manufacturing hub for state-of-the-art pipe and related niche products it has manufacturing facilities located in Gujarat in Western India, in proximity to the national highways and seaports and one recently set up facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA with a production capacity of 3,50,000 tons of pipes annually. With a strong culture of ‘Engineering Excellence' WGSRL has grown over 200 times in the last one decade and is all set to be the World's Largest Pipe Company with an increase in capacity from 1.5 million ton per annum to 1.8 million ton by March 2011. It is the first company from India to supply large diameter Line-pipes for off-shore application to USA, to set up the Platecum-coil Mill one of the only three mills in the World, to produce Steel Plates of up to 4.5 meter wide and many more. With a dynamic setup, the core strength of success is its quality, integrity and values. While on the relentless path of achieving success, WGSRL has doubled efforts towards the community, society and its valued employees. It strives to create more leaders within to spearhead multi-country operations and business opportunities. With the belief that employees are the most important asset with which they can reach the top in each category of their Product / Service they emphasize on their continuous improvement through up gradation of relevant knowledge and training. Highly skilled professionals with strong in-house training and world class practices primarily from Germany, ensures highest quality of products.
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Need For Employer Branding
Welspun is starting to see glimmers of faster paced growth. As a reaction, they are becoming more aware of the need to build their employment brand as a well-managed company and good place to work. And while senior executives in the company long ago realized the value of building product brands, only recently have executives realized the importance of managing their brand as an employer. Welspun has grown over 200 times in the last one decade from a Rs. 18 Crores in 1998 to almost Rs. 4010 Crores in 2008. With a dynamic setup, the core strength of success is its quality, integrity and values. A massive growth in capacity would always require a similar growth in its employee strength. This necessitates the search for attracting and retention of the right talent. Growing companies like Welspun however, need to better communicate their culture, philosophy and vision to potential candidates through a strong employer brand. The kind of skill-set required for employees in manufacturing sector could be very specific and for a growing company like this recruiting the right talent could turn out to be a herculean task. The presence of bigger competitors makes it all the more difficult. Rise in competition not only in the industry but related fields. Especially as their factories are in Gujarat, the development in state in attracting all sorts of industries thus presents big threat. Thus, as there are more opportunities for talent in today’s growing economic scene Welspun’s competition is tough with not only peers but allied engineering field. In these circumstances it was necessary for the company to differentiate the company from others in the same industry as well as in the same geographical region.
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Building The Brand
The first element in building an Employer Brand is the Employment Package which is the offer that an employee gets including job responsibilities, financial compensation, work/life balance, the employee's role in organization and professional development. Then comes the Culture and Environment which includes the physical working environment, the size of the organization, and the organization's approach to work. Then there is Integrity. Delivering what has been initially committed always counts. The consequence of a lack of integrity is seen in the form of high attrition rates. And finally Management Performance that plays as a vital role in the Employer Branding process. Welspun presents image of continuous growth and very conducive work culture. The company presents itself as the preferred place to work both in terms of remuneration and work satisfaction. Putting Together a Team That Understands, Influences, and Experiences All Facets of Employer Branding Developing a powerful employer brand requires that you involve all constituencies who influence your employer brand in the branding process. The HR department examines and brings forward all success stories within the organisation where the young achievers are highlighted and their efforts are rewarded. Involving Employees In Every Facet of the Process Employees directly experience whether or not the organisation delivers on its employer brand promise – whether it walks the talk, and hence they play an essential role in the employer branding process. The HR department make sure that all the department heads are involved including frontline sales and marketing & PR teams to campaign for Welspun Brand. At Welspun, the papers & Journals within the organisation are carefully chosen for release of advertisements and company details and the best possible agencies are deployed for the same. For Welspun the job is easier as the HR department has to encash on the unmatched company performance but they make sure that proper coverage is maintained all the time. The HR department also covers brand damage by immediately attending poor work experience or discontent.
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"If your employees love working for your company and buy into your employer brand, they will be your best advertising" The employees at Welspun clearly understand that in competitive scenario growth is the only way to survive. This is true for the organisation as well as for the individuals. Each employee at Welspun conveys this aspect clearly in their thoughts and actions. It is worthwhile to conduct a survey and/or a focus group with internal and external stakeholders to compare the organisation’s stated company values with the reality of internally and externally held perceptions and opinions about your organisation. Consistency between brand reality and the image you sell are critical for success. Welspun carries out various surveys to access the employee feedback on work place environment and working practices. The present feedback is that the employees feel proud working with the organisation and their work. The only negative factor negative factor that is perceived within the organisation is that the pace with which the organisation is growing is very high. Thus the need to sustain the growth becomes all the more important.
Scope
Welspun presently is in the process of cautious approach of EB building. Welspun has grown over 200 times in the last one decade. The company’s growth has been quick so this is the time to sustain the growth. As the company is entering in to new fields by both organic and inorganic way, the brand Welspun helps in motivating people (involved/effected employees) to adopt the changes fast. Employer Branding gives a very clear statement to a potential employee as to a company's vision, market position, culture, and/or other qualities that basically equate to a recognizable, desirable commodity. By attracting and retaining people with the right fit, Welspun can create a more productive workforce and position the organization for long term success.
One of the main challenges for most companies is about creating a culture in which people enjoy working. The effectiveness of internal communication, the extent to which employees are motivated to perform well, and the quality of the leadership given by management, all
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play an important role in retaining staff. All these factors relate to the strength of the organisation's employer brand and the way that it is perceived internally by current employees and externally by potential future recruits. The key challenges for an emerging company are: ? The challenges for an emerging company are far more than an established company. Incorporated in 1995, Welspun is still new to the manufacturing sector. Therefore, it needs to establish itself by recruiting more intensively in order to grow. ? Welspun being a medium sized organisation does not get the best talent as large organisations attract the best brains in the industry. This poses a significant threat for the company leading to high attrition. ? To justify the return on the investment, as HR departments are traditionally viewed as cost centres rather than a profit-generating function. A successful employment brand management effort increases both the number and quality of applicants, reduces the turnover rate, and increases overall workforce productivity. Employment branding is a targeted strategy it cannot be successfully managed using an uncoordinated effort. Quality, integrity and values are Welspun’s main strengths and it is committed to satisfy its customers with the best quality of products and services that they deliver.
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LARSEN & TOUBRO
Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) was founded in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1938 by two Danish engineers, Henning Holck-Larsen and Soren Kristian Toubro. Today, the company sets global engineering benchmarks in terms of scale and complexity and is one of the largest companies in India’s private sector.
The company recently won The Business Standard ‘Company of the Year’ award and ‘The Best Company to Work for in the Manufacturing Sector’ by Business Today.
The company has manufacturing facilities in India, China, Oman and Saudi Arabia. A thrust on international business has seen overseas earnings grow significantly. It continues to grow its overseas manufacturing footprint, with facilities in China and the Gulf region.
L&T believes that progress must be achieved in harmony with the environment. A commitment to community welfare and environmental protection are an integral part of the corporate vision. L&T offers its people freedom at work, unmatched leadership & the opportunity to grow at a rapid pace. It provides them challenging, interesting & motivating assignments which brings a sense of professional fulfilment. The company encourages entrepreneurial skills thus, enabling and empowering employees to take appropriate risks.
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Need For Employer Branding
Larsen and Toubro has been growing at a CAGR of 26.6 % since 2005 and continues to grow further as the manufacturing sector is propelled further in India. One of the most important raw materials for any industry and for the engineering industry in particular is the availability of quality talent. As compared to service oriented industries, the skill level of employees hired by the manufacturing sector is required to be highly specialized. Thus, engineering talent from colleges in India are fertile grounds for new recruitment for L and T, India. Besides fresh talent, there is also an increasing requirement for experienced human resources with prior industry technical expertise. In addition to technically skilled talent, there is also an emerging need for middle level managers that needs to be fulfilled as the company grows. Although the number of engineers being churned out of India’s engineering colleges has increased collectively, the quality of the talent has not increased proportionately. As a result, the employable talent pool is much lesser as compared to the industry requirements and growth rate. Apart from talent attraction, the other major problem area is talent retention. What L&T does in engineering "being comparable to anywhere in the world," the company is a cave of human treasure for raiders. Since the beginning of this decade, India was becoming a hot destination for engineering services. Multinationals have been setting up base since the past couple of years. Increasing salaries meant increasing salaries across the 14 grades of L&T employees, totalling 25,000 people, back in 2004. In the same year, its attrition rate was more than 20 per cent and in some divisions 30 per cent, as quoted by its CMD, Mr. A.M. Naik. "The huge challenge is how to retain our engineers," he said. Also, “At L&T, matters are rather different from what exists at other manufacturing corporations, where the top 20 to 40 people can run the entire company. A young engineer who is working on satellite design on an ISRO project is as important to the company as a senior vice-president because he is working on something new in which L&T wants to grow and to excel”, Mr.Naik was quoted as saying. In such a scenario, there was an increasing need felt to differentiate the company from its competitors and thus arose the need for employer branding at L&T.
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Building The Brand
Recognizing the need for attracting and retaining talent, L & T has a number of practices in place that help to position L&T as an attractive brand to existing and future employees. Proof of this is the number of awards that L & T has won for its innovative HR practices over the years and more importantly, the fact that it continues to be a respected and well-known brand in the manufacturing sector. Employer branding is not a one-time process but a continuous process. The set of activities that go towards building the brand consist of making a set of promises and delivering consistently on them. From the set of interviews conducted and our analysis of the company policies, the following factors emerged as major contributors in building “Brand Larsen &Toubro”: Recruitment and Employee Benefits: Recruitment in L& T is based solely on merit by following well-defined and systematic selection procedures without any discrimination. Further, the salary and benefits offered are on par with the best available in engineering industry. Since remuneration was one of the major reasons for attrition in the past couple of years, L & T has a number of perquisites & welfare schemes for its employees, such as - subsidized accommodation, part furnishing of accommodation provided, free transport facilities for work, subsidized canteens, medical benefits, welfare activities and counselling. The L&T Institute of Technology offers 4-year integrated diploma courses for children of employees, including those of deceased employees. Training and Education: Given the dynamic nature of the engineering industry, it is important for the company to keep its people abreast of the latest developments in technology and enable them with the tools and techniques to facilitate performance and create a competitive environment of excellence.
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In this spirit, L&T has a separate HR department dedicated to training. Training needs for employees are assessed; coaching is structured in institutes in India and abroad and also inhouse or on-the-job training. These skills help to enhance the technical, behavioural, communication and presentation skills of L&T’s employees. Even counselling for postretirement financial planning and an effective-transition to non-working life is provided. This helps reinforce the image that L&T takes care of its employees from the time they join the company till the time they retire from the company. Leadership development: L&T has a structured leadership development programme to develop more leaders who are better and faster at decision-making and implementation. This is for meeting both near and distant challenges. The employee involvement is not just restricted to managers being students but also being faculty for in-house programmes. Line managers deliver effective training sessions wherein they share their unique understanding of the nature of the business and the problems associated with the company and the industry. Leadership development opportunities make L&T an attractive place to work in, for budding managers. Work environment and other benefits: L&T values its employees’ contribution even as it sets daunting targets. At the same time, it emphasizes a healthy work-life balance. It has an employee grievance system in place to minimize employee concerns and build loyalty. It follows a transparent performance evaluation process wherein the employee is an integral part of the whole process and promotions based on merit and performance. Being an engineering firm, there is special emphasis on occupational health and safety. Through various safeguards, initiatives and precautions, it constantly tries to provide a zeroaccident environment to its employees. Besides, it has also invested in providing health club and other wellness facilities so that its employees are in the best of health. In addition to all this, L&T follows a policy of diversity and equal opportunity at the workplace. All of the above factors help in creating an image of a safe, secure and yet challenging work environment at L&T, which further boosts its brand as an employer.
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Scope
Engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T), which has been reeling under a talent crunch and high attrition among its skilled workforce, has aggressively stepped up its efforts to identify new talent pools and retain people in critical areas of operations like project management and design. L&T has an attrition rate of 12-14%. The company needs to identify new talent pools, including working with different tiers of institutes. At the same time, the company will need to invest much in training as candidates may not be of the quality as those sourced traditionally. L&T has also started developing a leadership programme at all levels which focuses on training leaders for the future. The other part is employee engagement, where L&T, through continuous dialogue with its managers, looks to create the best value proposition for them in their careers. Some of the benefits of Employer Branding for L&T are: ? With the shift to fragmented workforces of small and mid-sized businesses, it can be challenging to recruit and retain employees, if it does not have a consistent employer brand. Employer Branding would help L&T attract and retain employees. ?
Positioning employer brand would help L&T attract and retain people who “fit”. With four generations in the workplace and a wide variance in employee motivations, a compelling employer brand can help L&T identify, attract and retain the right people.
?
A great employer brand can help L&T stand out; this would enable them to save resources such as traditional benefits or salaries. Many people prefer to work for employers aligned with their values. A great employer brand can help L&T become an employer of choice. Tata Group is enjoying the advantages of a great employer brand. Tata Group is not a pay master still employees are willing to join them owing to their great brand.
?
A distinct employer brand can streamline recruitment. By being clear about L&T’s organization values, goals and culture, it can avoid interviewing people who are out
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of sync with their organization. And it can increase applications from people who “fit”.
Some of the Challenges for L&T are:
?
Employee Attrition: Following increased opportunities in the IT and ITeS sectors, attracting and retaining talent in its core engineering sector represents growing challenge. Employee turnover affects organisational capital, impacting growth on one hand and recruitment cost on the other.
?
Developing Leaders: The quality of leaders ensures long term corporate sustainability. Therefore the challenge is to build leaders who will multiply the organisational value without diluting the core values. The company should have adequate leadership development programmes to build leaders from within.
?
Occupational health and safety: Protecting the health and safety of employee’s remains an organisational challenge for L&T. L&T has implemented safety norms across all its locations, reinforced by increased awareness and training. However a lot of effort still needs to be put in place to ensure employee safety and awareness.
?
Balancing customer: L&T has strengthened non conflicting relationships with customers and communities through a compliance with all applicable rules and regulations, as well as undertaking projects only after obtaining all regulatory clearances. However as the organisation enters new territories (countries) it needs to pay special attention to local community norms and customs.
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Conclusion
Can Employer Branding in one organisation make that organisation more successful than its competitors? The answer is a definite ‘yes’, but only if an organisation starts with the right definition of employer branding and aligns its organisation for success from the top.
Employment branding and the actions required to build and manage an employment brand are powerful tools that can be used to add value to an organization through HR. Employment branding, can increase the quality of employees, help inspire them to become more productive, and open opportunities to the company in the marketplace that might not have been open before. In short, employment branding can address many of the issues facing corporation today. As companies seek to attract the best talent and to win the retention battle, they are coming to the conclusion that it pays big dividends to influence the candidate’s psyche. The great hope offered by an effective employer branding strategy is that many of today’s HR challenges – those revolving around retention, loyalty and engagement – can be solved long before they ever arise.
To anticipate future trajectories for employer branding, we should first ascertain if it has already become established. In spite of the high visibility of employer branding in much of the corporate identity, marketing and HR literature, there is little empirical data available. A 2007 survey suggests that globally only 20% of companies intend to adopt employer branding over the next two years, compared with 35% who have no such intention.
Welspun has launched a program called “DISHA 2012” which clearly defines their goal as becoming the best employer in Industry with an aim to become the best employer in the country. They follow the philosophy of self esteem and pride. The role of the employer brand is not only about projecting the brand to current and potential employees; it is about the nature of the job itself. But real brand management is all about working with other functions, persuading skilled and powerful people to do things differently
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“Tomorrow’s CEO will spend more time on their organisation’s reputation as an employer than with the investment community (and fund managers will worry if they don’t) “
The landscape for talent is starting to surge. Companies have to make sure they are relevant in the eyes of top talent - that starts with a well-thought out branding campaign that often centres on both career options and opportunities. Competitive advantage can be lost if companies don’t start changing their approach right now.
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Annexure
The questionnaire used for interviewing the two employees of the companies is given below:
WELSPUN GUJARAT STAHL ROHREN LTD. (WGSRL)
Questionnaire 1.
Employee Name: Mr. Rupak Ghosh Designation: Assistant Vice President – Business Excellence
Q1. How does your company employ hygiene and motivation factors in attracting /retaining people? Our “DISHA 2012” clearly defines goal as becoming the best employer in Industry with aim to become best employer in the country. We follow the philosophy of self esteem and pride. The standards are kept high (in fact stretched) to provide the sense of achievement in performing their tasks. The work places and working standards are maintained at international level. Being in international business this is the demand of the business and implemented cautiously by the company. These include work place hygiene and safety standards. Employees comparing with industry peers appreciate the effort and investment in their hygiene and safety. Motivational practices include standard practices like variable salaries, profit linked incentives, ESOPs, yearly and periodic recognition and awards.
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Q2. What do your employees say about your organization? Our motto says it all “dare to commit”. Our employees clearly understand that in competitive scenario growth is the only way to survive. This is true for the organisation as well as for the individuals. Each employee at Welspun conveys this aspect clearly in their thoughts and actions. We carry out various surveys to access the employee feed back on work place environment and working practices. The present feedback is that our employees feel proud working with the organisation and their work. One of the negative factor we hear is that pace is higher.
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Q3. What are your employer reputation strengths and threats? What practices does the organization follow in order to brand itself as an attractive destination for talent? About strengths - We are a world class company and compete with the best in the world (not only best in India). The company provides an international exposure to the complete work force. The good part is that by maintaining world class standards, they are already quite higher then the industry peers in the country. The level of remuneration is on the higher end of the industry. Threats – Rise in competition not only in our industry but related fields. Especially as our factories are in Gujarat, the development in state in attracting all sorts of industries thus presents big threat. Welspun presents image of continuous growth and very conducive work culture. The company presents itself as the preferred place to work both in trerms of remuneration and work satisfaction.
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Q4. How does the HR department initiate/ assist in employer branding? HR department examine and bring forward all facets of work. The success stories are brought forward. Young achievers are highlighted. The target is simple – Employer of choice. HR department make sure that all the department heads are involved including frontline sales and marketing & PR teams to campaign for Welspun Brand. The papers & Journals are carefully chosen for release of ads and company details. Best possible agencies are deployed. For Welspun the job is easier as HR department has to encash on the unmatched company performance but we make sure that proper coverage is maintained all the time. HR department also covers brand damage by immediately attending poor work experience or discontent.
Q5. Other than attracting talented people, how does your organization leverage its ‘employer brand’? (E.g. In terms of salaries, work profiles, etc.) Welspun presently is in the process of cautious approach of EB building. The company’s growth had been too quick so this is the time to sustain t he growth. As the company is entering in to new fields by both organic and inorganic way, the brand Welspun helps in motivating people (involved / effected employees) to adopt the changes fast.
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Q6. Why do people choose to join your company? How big a role does the brand of the company play in it? The brand plays a big role. As there are various opportunity for talent in today’s growing economic scene. Our competition is tough with not only peers but allied engineering field. Welspun brand as most emerging company plays a considerable role. We have examples of leading experts writing to the companies to get hired by knowing the company and by their short experiences.
Q7. How do employees currently perceive their employer brand? As answered above, we have implemented process to have a feedback from the Employees. The perception is very encouraging. Welspun sure is on the path of most preferred employer and the survey result shows the same.
Q8. Do they have a strong sense of organization’s purpose and values? Company has invested a lot in highlighting the core values. The philosophy of dare to commit has been embedded since the inception and the recent drives making it more visible.
Q9. Which behaviours are perceived to be the most characteristic of employees? Welspun looks for typical characteristics; team player is a must Dependability & ability to take risk Proactive Attitude & multi task ability.
Q10. What currently drives people’s commitment and what demoralizes them? Why do people choose to join an organisation and why do they leave it? Growth is the word to go. Hard work is rewarded and success stories are highlighted. Sometime pace of the life at Welspun is an issue for under performers. Immediate superior’s higher aspirations is another major field.
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Q11. What kind of an organisation do u work for - what would people reply to this question? Fastest growing company!
Q12. What is it that makes an organisation different from its nearest competitor? Growth & performance. Clear policies and world class standards.
Q13. What is it that makes an organisation better than its competitors? World class working standards and clientele bring world class exposure. Company’s long term policies clearly reflect values it is standing on. Remuneration in terms of not just salaries but variable pays and ESOPS are unheard of by other industry peers. Most of all opportunity to grow.
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Questionnaire 2.
Employee Name: Designation:
Q1. How does your company employ hygiene and motivation factors in attracting /retaining people? Managers are trained and encouraged in applying effectively talent management practices in their workgroups to ensure lower rates of attrition and create a supportive corporate climate as a key factor of sustained and improved productivity. Felicitating employees on some important days like annual day etc.; rewarding their children for academic performance and other cultural activities for their families.
Q2. What do your employees say about your organization? Employees take pride in being associated with Welspun. Loyalty and satisfaction levels are high and employees are also ready to take on any new challenges that come their way.
Q3. What are your employer reputation strengths and threats? What practices does the organization follow in order to brand itself as an attractive destination for talent? Our corporate values like Customer delight, Employee satisfaction, Creation of wealth for all stakeholders and Quality Products help us to achieve the growth that we are seeing today that makes us an attractive destination for young talent.
Q4. How does the HR department initiate/ assist in employer branding? Working in tandem with the PR department and properly getting published the best human resource practices through effective media helps in successful employer branding.
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Q5. Other than attracting talented people, how does your organization leverage its ‘employer brand’? (E.g. In terms of salaries, work profiles, etc.) It is the first Indian company in the pipe industry to offer ESOPs to the employees plus Performance Evaluation Screens at the senior level. Also training is a regular feature here ranging from contractual workers to the skilled engineers. Also various graduate and undergraduate degrees are being provided from renowned universities. Moreover employees are given concessions to spend their weekends in resorts near Mumbai.
Q6. Why do people choose to join your company? How big a role does the brand of the company play in it? Welspun group as a whole is well known across the globe for its finest products and services which makes it a big brand. And the growth that WRGSL is seeing in last years makes it a bigger brand in itself.
Q7. How do employees currently perceive their employer brand? Employees, as understood by a survey, rate the company very high on career growth, work environment and CEO rating. It is the fastest growing name in Asia for pipes and steel.
Q8. Do they have a strong sense of organization’s purpose and values? Quality, integrity and values are our main strengths of success and at Welspun we all are committed to satisfy our customers with the best quality of products and services that we deliver.
Q9. Which behaviours are perceived to be the most characteristic of employees? Being the fast growing company that it is, it basically looks for very dedicated and hard working and technically sound employees.
Q10. What currently drives people’s commitment and what demoralizes them? Why do people choose to join an organisation and why do they leave it? As I have already mentioned above growth is one thing that drives people in the organization. It is the 1st company in the Indian pipe industry to offer ESOPs to its employees. And maybe too many expectations and demanding work sometimes demoralizes them.
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Q11. What kind of an organisation do u work for - what would people reply to this question? The new emerging Global company.
Q12. What is it that makes an organisation different from its nearest competitor? High end technology!!
Q13. What is it that makes an organisation better than its competitors? Remuneration higher than industry standards. Huge opportunities because of high growth. Challenging work culture resulting in higher work satisfaction.
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