'We need to appreciate that candidates today have access to more information than ever before'
In today’s digitized world, branding has never been so important. An organization can quite literally make or break their reputation with employer branding – get it right and you’re a champion, slip up and it could cost you. One company that seems to have nailed their branding efforts is Centurion Asset Management – winner of HRD’s Best Employer Branding award. Speaking to HRD, Laura Salvatore, VP human capital at Centurion, she revealed how listening to employees and leading with care led to securing the industry accolade.
“We need to appreciate that candidates today have access to more information than ever before,” she told HRD. “In a matter of seconds, they can use their phones to pull up all sorts of information on companies – from career pages on company websites to information on Indeed or Glassdoor. Last year we hired 120 employees at Centurion – which is 30% more than the year before – and all while working remotely. We weren’t able to go to universities or job fairs and recruit directly from there anymore, so we had to get creative with how we were going to get our hands on new talent and how we would promote our brand and our employee value proposition.”
One way Centurion did this was by building out their brand recognition within the candidate marketplace on LinkedIn. On Tuesdays they ask an employee to share what it is they love about working with Centurion – on Thursdays they showcase their employee feedback, revealing the score their people have given them based on culture, growth opportunities and culture.
“We also introduced a welcome box,” added Salvatore. “On their first day, each employee receives a box containing Centurion-branded gifts, as well as a personalised welcome letter. Employees then take photos of themselves with the boxes and post them on social media. This has really helped to increase our brand recognition.”
This focus on onboarding and promoting culture in remote work has really separated the good brands from the great ones. Companies that relied too heavily on having a culture based on ‘Beer Fridays’ and ping-pong tables found themselves cast adrift when the pandemic hit. Instead, it’s those organizations that foster a culture of communication, of empathetic leadership and tangible, personalized, benefits that really came into their own over the past 12 months.
To hear more from Salvatore on how Centurion secured HRD’s Best Employer Branding award, watch her full interview with HRDTV here.
