Employer branding is not a HR function, it is a business philosophy

Door Brett Minchington
Having spent the best part of the last decade researching, writing, speaking and consulting in the field of employer branding, I thought as this new decade begins now would be a good time to reflect and share my opinion on employer branding trends towards 2020 and how they will impact on the workplace.

My views have been shaped by leaders, practitioners and academics I have been fortunate to collaborate with over the past 10 years with the past 3 spent travelling to 30 cities in 20 countries as part of my Employer Brand Global Masterclass Tour.

Some of the trends below have already started and will gain momentum towards 2020. Whilst it is by no means a complete list, I hope it will provide insights, awareness and facilitate discussions into how I see employer branding evolving over the next decade and your preparedness to meet these challenges.

Global companies such as Google, Sodexo, Apple, McKinsey & Co, Southwest and Philips have been frequently spoken about as leading employer brands over the past decade. Whilst there are many lesser known or visible employer brands, they are in fact in all industry categories and in companies of all shapes and sizes. These companies consistently articulate a clearly defined employment proposition to their target audience and align systems, policies and processes to ensure an authentic employment experience for employees across the employment lifecycle. In short they care about the welfare of their employees and have leadership conversations to better understand what drives superior performance in their teams.

Companies who are judged as the leading employer brands over the next 10 years will be those who identify, react and adapt to the people and product/service challenges that lay ahead.

These include:
1) Time replaces money as the new currency
2) Functions will blend
3) Less is more, small is big
4) The talent crisis becomes the matching crisis
5) Relationships will replace reputation
6) Employer brands become global
7) Slow is fast
8) Organisations will get naked
9) Work becomes living
10) Connected, cleaner and greener

Some closing thoughts
If the economic downturn has taught us one thing, it is the value of the three business performance pillars of trust, communication and leadership in building competitive advantage. The rate of technological innovation is increasing at rapid speeds and the greatest challenge for business will be to manage the needs of shareholders and employees to ensure that profit is returned in a manner that is both healthy for the environment and for employees. We should not forget these pillars have always been within our reach, the challenge will be how we balance our focus on them whilst managing the complexities of the workplace towards 2020.

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About the author
Brett Minchington, Chairman/CEO of Employer Brand International and Managing Director of Collective Learning Australia is an International employer brand strategist, author and educator. Brett’s expertise in Employer Branding led him to author “Your Employer Brand attract-engage-retain” in 2006 which has since been sold in over 42 countries.

Brett will be the Chairing the 2010 South African Employer Branding Summit in Johannesburg on 23 March 2010 and 2010 Italian Employer Branding Summit in Milan on 27 May 2010.