1Employer branding and total reward 1

Research report March 2010

In association with

Employer branding and total reward

1Employer branding and total reward 1

Introduction 1

Highlights from the interviews 4

How are organisations aligning employer branding and total reward? 6

Our recommended approach to aligning employer branding and total reward 9

The challenges of aligning employer branding and total reward 13

Conclusion 15

References 16

Appendix: An overview of employer branding at the participant organisations 17

2 Employer branding and total reward

This report provides a holistic view of the areas

to consider when looking at the links between

employer branding and total reward. It can be used

to help HR, reward and branding professionals

develop their own employer branding offering

that links strongly to their organisation’s reward

approach.

It can be used by you to gain buy-in from other

members of staff and develop cross-functional

working relationships focused on ensuring these

concepts mutually support one another throughout

the business. This report can help you navigate your

way during economic recovery by offering examples

of ways in which remaining true to your employer

branding and reward strategy can help to position

your company positively for the upturn.

This report is based on in-depth interviews with

nine interviews carried out between August and

September 2009.

In this report, what do we mean by employer

branding? The CIPD defines the employer brand as

a set of attributes and qualities – often intangible

– that makes an organisation distinctive, promises

a particular kind of employment experience, and

appeals to those people who will thrive and perform

best in its culture.

Specifically, organisations that have a strong and

attractive employer brand:

• can use it to help them produce in turn a more

engaged workforce who ‘live the brand’ and in

turn reduce the costs of employee turnover

• are likely to perform better, have higher

attendance levels and deliver a more positive

customer experience.

What do we mean by total reward? The CIPD

defines total reward as a reward strategy that

brings additional components such as learning

and development, together with aspects of the

working environment, into the benefits package.

It goes beyond standard remuneration by embracing

the company culture and is aimed at giving all

employees a voice in the operation, with the

employer in return receiving an engaged employee

performance.

The CIPD Reward Management survey report (CIPD,

2008b) found concern among employers as to

how reward and recognition policies support their

employer brand. Hence, our research partnership

focused on the following question: What are the

links between employer branding and total reward

within organisations?

Research methodolgyThe research project consisted of two phases. The

first phase collected data from 44 organisations

during May and June 2009 using a web-based

questionnaire. The results from our first phase

of research can be found on the CIPD website.

Headline findings are shown below:

• Nearly 90% of organisations have an employer

brand or plan to within six months.

• Fifty-seven per cent of respondents developed

their employer brand to support their employee

value proposition (what an organisation stands

for, requires and offers as an employer).

• Seventy per cent of senior leadership understand

and 49% value the employer brand, compared

with 10% and 20% of employees/potential

employees, respectively.

• Almost half of respondents felt a positive or

negative effect of the recession on their employer

brand, for example it either offered them an

unrivalled selling point versus it was compromised

by reduced engagement, retention and reward.

The findings provided a general understanding

of the current employer branding and reward

environment (CIPD and Mercer 2009) and supported

the second phase of our research.

Introduction

3Employer branding and total reward 3

This phase consisted of in-depth interviews and a

panel discussion that provided insights into how

organisations are trying to align employer branding

and reward. Nine companies participated in this

phase of our research conducted in the second half

of 2009. Those that were happy to be named have

been listed below:

• Abbey – Maria Strid, Head of Reward (Please note

that Abbey was re-branded as Santander UK in

the beginning of 2010)

• Bacardi – Alison Campbell, HR Director Bacardi

Martini UK

• Malmaison and Hotel du Vin – Sean Wheeler,

Group Director of People Development

• McDonald’s – Neal Blackshire, Benefits and

Compensation Manager

• Midland Heart – Clare Fielden, HR Business

Partner leading on Brand Development

• tw telecom – Steve Hardardt, Senior Vice

President Human Resources and Business

Administration.

An overview of employer branding at the participant

organisations has been provided in the Appendix.

4 Employer branding and total reward

Highlights from the interviews

There are many benefits that can be derived

from having a compelling employer brand that is

supported by employee rewards, according to our

interviewees. Engagement can be enhanced by a

brand that is demonstrably aligned to rewards as it

provides an opportunity for companies to ‘put their

money where their mouth is’ in promoting desired

corporate behaviours and image. Engaged employees

who believe in the brand then promote this image

more effectively to customers. In our interviews, four

key approaches to strengthening the link between

employer branding and reward emerged.

1 Employee value propositionThe employers we have talked to acknowledge that

reward can influence employee behaviours, therefore

encouraging the right behaviours can strengthen

the employer brand. There is no point in paying for

X while hoping for Y; an employer brand that isn’t

supported by rewards can be perceived as little more

than empty words. In this approach, the employer

brand sets out the value proposition, outlining what

the organisation stands for and its reward philosophy.

It defines the ‘deal’ between employer and employee

and hence influences the ‘psychological contract’. At

McDonald’s, for example, to prevent its employer

branding proposition from becoming an empty

marketing campaign, it is supported by their reward

practices.

Organisations with an established, well-defined

employer brand are already using total rewards to

demonstrate the corporate culture to current and

potential employees. For example, tw telecom

has aligned incentives, performance-based equity

grants, traditional benefit programmes, wellness

programmes, and learning and development

opportunities to its employer brand and believes this

alignment has also been achieved via its performance

management system. Customer service firms within

our sample have achieved an advanced alignment

between employer branding and reward. We suggest

that this is due to the need to make a strong first

impression and build relationships quickly, particularly

during the current economic climate.

2 Rewarding desirable behavioursThe most effective way rewards can support

employer branding is through rewarding desired

behaviours. Often defined in a company’s values,

these behaviours can create a clear identity for

employees and support a positive customer

experience that together reinforces the company

culture. Some companies, such as tw telecom,

directly link their values within their performance

management system as a means to communicate

the employer brand and support employees’

understanding of the line of sight between their

performance, their reward and the company. For

such organisations, employer branding becomes

part of the deeper culture of the organisation, for

example Bacardi’s values define the work culture,

which is essentially the employer brand they market

during recruitment. What constitutes exceptional

behaviour or ‘living the values’ is included in the

performance management system and therefore

influences opportunities for development.

3 CommunicationEffective communication of reward packages is a

key way to reinforce the employer brand as it raises

awareness to potential and existing employees

of the benefits of working for the company. For

example, McDonald’s was already investing heavily

in its people, therefore its branding work focused

on communicating this investment to strengthen

the employer brand both internally and externally.

Numerous media are used to communicate the links

between reward and employer branding. The most

common of these are: the Internet and intranet

sites; employee induction booklets; job descriptions/

advertisements and newsletters (CIPD and Mercer

2009). Effective communication from line managers,

however, is considered to be most important.

5Employer branding and total reward 5

4 Ownership and measurementDifferent companies position employer branding

in different functions, not always HR. Ownership

varies between the executive team, marketing,

employees, communications/operations and HR.

A number of companies we interviewed have set

up steering groups or reputation teams within

their lines of business to support and monitor

the employer brand. For example, at tw telecom

focus groups across the organisation help shape

the desired culture, based on company values and

associated competencies. The company’s values

(integrity, service, teamwork, flexibility) are used as a

foundation for all people-related processes and total

reward plan elements. Similarly at McDonald’s, a

planning team managed the employer branding

campaign and its launch, leading to campaign

success. Among the people we spoke to, it was

agreed that employer branding cannot exist solely in

HR but rather needs to be owned by the line.

In general, we found that most organisations are

not measuring the impact of employer branding

and reward on the organisation. However, of those

that do try to assess the impact, they use employee

attitude surveys and/or performance management

data. Detailed examples concerning measurement

for success are provided later in this report in the

section, ‘Our recommended approach to aligning

employer branding and total reward’ (see page 9).

6 Employer branding and total reward

How are organisations aligning employer branding and total reward?

Almost half of companies in this research believe

there is a strong link between their employer brand

and rewards. Some believe compensation and

benefits should have their own ‘reward brand’.

Provided below are some examples from our

research of the various ways in which employer

branding and total reward have been successfully

linked. These have been included in the context of

Mercer’s Total Reward Model to illustrate the role of

each element discussed in the wider reward context.

CompensationThe interviews highlight that for many organisations

cash is still king when it comes to attracting, retaining

and motivating employees. Even for organisations that

state that pay does not overtly support the employer

proposition, most agree that pay needs to be at the

right level to ensure that people want to work and

come to work for the company. Therefore, while

getting pay positioning right may not necessarily

enhance the brand, getting it wrong can be damaging:

• Pay is often viewed differently across industries.

For example, charities pay competitively to get

people ‘through the door’, but rely on other

benefits of working for such an organisation to

retain them, such as development opportunities

and a positive working environment. Alternatively,

for organisations in industries that are more

financially focused, pay is at the heart of the

employee value proposition and top quartile pay

is required to retain employees. However, even in

these industries, the importance of looking at the

whole rewards package was highlighted rather

than looking at pay in isolation.

• Bonuses can support the brand in three key

ways. First, bonuses can enable organisations to

stay aligned with competitor reward packages.

This is particularly true in the financial services

and re-insurance companies where bonuses are

central to the psychological contract. Second,

bonuses can link rewards directly to financial

performance, which reduces risk to the firm and

aligns employees with stakeholders. However,

some employers also use bonuses to reward

employees for demonstrating behaviours that

support the company values.

For example, at Malmaison and Hotel du Vin

‘everything we do links back’. Bonuses encourage

excellence and positive employee behaviour, which

Figure 1: Mercer’s Total Reward Model

Source: Mercer

7Employer branding and total reward 77

are both at the heart of the company values and

improve the guest experience. As such, employees

are measured and rewarded against company values,

the guest experience and personal achievement.

BenefitsFor many organisations, the employer brand

determines the type of benefits offered and in turn

these benefits support the messages aiming to be

delivered via the employer brand. That is, they are

mutually supportive. For instance:

• Malmaison and Hotel du Vin Group has

introduced a varied benefits offering including

contributory pension, private medical insurance,

shopping discounts, foot treatment, childcare

vouchers and staff discount rates at their hotels.

All of these benefits can be accessed easily

online via the new benefits website. This benefits

offering is intended to mirror the company’s

values of value for money, relaxation and making

life easier, which also make up the employer

brand.

‘The benefits offered aim to make life easier for

employees, which ultimately works to support

the employer brand as our employees feel looked

after and are in a position to perform when they

get to work.’

• A large energy exploration and production company has an employer brand that promotes

longevity and partnerships, which for them

means long service and employee loyalty and

commitment. As part of this, it has designed

benefits to ensure the employee gains financially

over the longer term. It drives home simple

messages to employees such as, ‘the longer you

participate in our pension plan, the bigger your

pension will be.’ Similar messages about share

plans are also communicated.

The quotes below illustrate the feelings of

organisations in our study regarding the alignment of

their benefits provision with their employer brand:

‘We expect our employees to work flexibly,

therefore we offer a flexible benefits programme.’

‘Our brand says we are the best in the market,

therefore the benefits we offer our employees

have to be the best.’

‘Our benefits provision reflects the type of work

our employees undertake and the lifestyles they

lead.’

Non-financial benefits: development and career, and work lifestyleFor many employers in our research, offering

development and career benefits helps to ensure

employees have the knowledge, skills and capabilities

to carry out their roles effectively. This is not only

good for business but it enhances engagement

and encourages employees to ‘live the brand’.

Recognition awards are often used to influence the

employee experience.

Recruitment and inductionAt McDonald’s, employer branding is centred on

four key propositions: improvement opportunities,

flexibility, an energising environment and continuous

learning. McDonald’s launched its competitive reward

package – the ‘It’s not bad for a McJob’ campaign –

back in 2006 in response to low levels of awareness

around the reward programmes in place to support

the propositions. The focus of the campaign was

on existing reward programmes, as these resonate

with current employees and create a sense of brand

reality. McDonald’s stresses that employers have a

responsibility to keep enhancing and communicating

what they are delivering and now feel they are

getting the respect they deserve from the public and

so are perceived as a credible employer.

Externally, McJobs had become synonymous with

low-paying jobs with no growth opportunities. The

‘It’s not bad for a McJob’ campaign included 18

advertisements depicting a startling array of positive

business practices. In particular, various elements of

the pay and benefits package are highlighted using

posters. One example of this is that the company

promoted the opportunities for people to move

8 Employer branding and total reward

from training manager to business manager within

three years, with a salary of up to £45,000. It also

promoted the flexibility in shift patterns that promote

work–life balance for all employees. For instance, one

of its recruitment posters emphasised flexibility by

showing a person doing yoga.

Similarly, Malmaison and Hotel du Vin’s ‘Best

Start’ programmes for new joiners focus on engaging

employees in their first 12 weeks and giving people

the confidence they need. All new staff are given

a full starter pack and induction on joining, and

a mentoring scheme is in place to make sure

new recruits settle in. The firm gives rewards for

completing induction training.

Career developmentFor Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, ongoing

development of employees is key. The company

offers education and numerous training and

development opportunities. For example, each

property has its own food and wine training school

and also regular supplier-funded trips are used to

educate staff and reward good performance, such

as a visit to the Champagne region, which was one

recent success. Plus it keeps education fun and holds

annual competitions, such as the ‘Ultimate Cook

Off ‘ for chefs, the ‘Housekeepers Olympics’, and a

cocktail competition for bar staff. These development

opportunities and incentive vehicles aim to ensure

that employees live and own the brand themselves.

McDonald’s supports career development by

offering apprenticeships and management A-level

equivalent awards. They are an awarding body for

diplomas in shift management. They also encourage

staff into personal development through its

performance stars on the employee uniform.

For Bacardi, the biggest challenge concerning

their employer branding efforts has been enabling

their managers to communicate reward decisions

clearly to employees. Therefore, Bacardi developed

a management training program in order to achieve

improved and consistent development and associated

reward communications and to help managers make

their decisions more transparent. Bacardi believe this

has enhanced their employer brand.

tw telecom’s non-financial benefits, such as

performance management, training and career

development, are designed to ensure employees

have the required knowledge and skills. This

has the dual impact of increasing engagement

among employees and creating brand champions.

Recognition programmes at tw telecom align with

internal employer branding and provide opportunities

for employees to recognise fellow employees who

demonstrate company values, which underpin

the employer brand. The programmes also allow

managers to recognise team members for both results

and how they achieve those results.

Work lifestyleMalmaison and Hotel du Vin recently involved

its employees’ feedback in decisions surrounding a

change to their uniform. It feels this has increased

employee engagement and motivation. Since the

new uniform also helped to present a coherent

brand to the guests, this process has made both the

employee and the guest experience more positive.

McDonald’s has promoted flexibility and introduced

the innovative ‘family’ contract whereby members

of the same ‘family’ working in the same location

will be able to swap shifts without prior notice or

needing to seek a manager’s permission. The new

contracts were designed to cut absenteeism and

improve retention.

SummaryWe have found that pay is driven in part by external

factors and therefore there is a balance to be

realised between alignment to external factors,

such as the market rate for a particular role, and

alignment to the internal drivers, which includes

the employer brand. While it is accepted that the

benefits provision should align with the employer

brand, we found that it can be easier to do this for

non-financial benefits.

9Employer branding and total reward 9

What is the ideal world?There is no one ideal world because the solutions will

vary significantly between organisations, industries and

geographies. However, based on our research, there are

a number of small steps that you can take in aligning

reward with the employer brand.

1 Management buy-inThe role of senior leadership is essential to drive the

concept of employer branding into something that

is achievable within the business strategy. Often the

most successful brand strategies are those that are

presided over by a CEO who is visible and active in

the process:

• At tw telecom, the CEO and senior team are

actively ‘shaping’ the employer brand via all

ongoing communications, including quarterly

town hall meetings. The senior executive team

is actively involved in building awareness of the

firm’s vision and values and they have a clear

understanding of the importance of people,

leadership, talent management and total rewards.

In addition, round table discussions hosted by

executives across the organisation foster two-way

communications and help reinforce tw telecom’s

values-based culture.

However, it is also important for you to involve all

lines of business and harness the strengths across

different teams within the organisation:

• While its chief executive is actively signed up to

the employer branding concept, Midland Heart stressed the importance of involving several business

areas that work closely together (for example

HR, marketing and communications) towards a

centralised branding plan. Following a series of staff

forums, an employee brand engagement steering

group was developed to test and ensure that the

employer brand accurately reflects the experiences

of employees across the company.

2 Employee feedbackFeedback from employees is essential since, as

the example of Malmaison and Hotel du Vin

highlights, senior management might be responsible

for keeping the employer brand alive, but it is the

employees that live the brand, through creating

the desired work environment. At the ‘Your Voice’

Committee, established as a result of employee

feedback, the board of directors meet with employee

representatives to discuss employee issues and ensure

continuous improvement and communication:

• One company also used a ‘Jam Session’ to assess

the impact of their policies on employees. This

was a global session that lasted 72 consecutive

hours with leaders online for the whole time

discussing different themes. The session could be

adapted to target the employees’ understanding

and experience of the company’s employer brand

and reward policy and therefore the impact they

were having. There were 10,000 posts!

It is also essential to obtain feedback from

line managers, especially concerning what the

organisation wants to be known for as an employer,

since this allows HR and the senior leadership team

to determine how the employer brand might be

achieved and implemented.

Our recommended approach to aligning employer branding and total reward

10 Employer branding and total reward

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Figure 2: Employee associations with the employer brand

3 Setting boundariesA fundamental understanding is needed regarding

how much you want each employee, by grade or

band, to associate themselves with the employer

brand. Engagement surveys can indicate where the

biggest gaps between what the empoyer needs the

employee to understand and what the employee

actually understands.

Figure 2 illustrates the different levels of employer

brand association possible and the factors that

influence it. You might want a non-client-facing,

junior employee with little influence and impact

just to be aware of what the employer brand is. By

contrast, at senior leadership level or in a client-facing

role, an employee would be needed to promote

or even champion the employer brand to make it

successful and ensure expectations are realised.

4 Measuring successUnderstanding and assessing the impact and return

on investment of reward changes is important to you

achieving appropriate business outcomes. Assessing

the impact of employer branding is about ensuring

everything is aligned across the whole employee

experience as desired. Measuring the impact of total

reward is about you looking at reward holistically

and making sure your approach is aligned to the

brand and the value for money achieved.

Determining the level of alignment between

employer branding and total reward at a given

organisation can be difficult, but a variety of

measures mentioned by our case studies can help

you examine the impact of employer branding and

total reward.

Employee surveysAnalysis of employee attitudes can help you

uncover whether the employer brand is being

realised throughout the organisation and also

reveal how employees feel about total reward –

specifically, whether or not they understand the links

between the employer brand and their day-to-day

performance and how this links to the way that they

are rewarded:

• For example, one organisation cited

engagement surveys (which examine team

relationships and if the organisation is living the

values), satisfaction surveys, retention surveys

(where one of the main things to look at is

whether the job reality matches expectations),

external surveys, staff road shows and also exit

interviews as methods to use to gain insights into

the thoughts of employees.

• Malmaison and Hotel du Vin uses employee

feedback gathered through appraisals, as a way of

determining how employees feel about working

for the company. On the basis of staff feedback,

it has been able to introduce new strategies that

have strengthened the brand and, it believes,

make a bigger impact than it would otherwise

have achieved. For example, the chief executive

now visits each property twice a year to answer

staff questions. An online academy has been set

up to provide learning and development, this

in turn links to the performance management

system. The firm checks that the staff facilities

are clean and comfortable as this impacts on

the service quality. All of these measures seek

to ensure that employees are having the best

possible experience at work.

11Employer branding and total reward 11

Performance management systemsPerformance management systems offer another

way for you to examine the links between employer

branding and reward. Managers can be trained to use

the company values in behavioural-based assessments

to aid their decision-making process.

These values, for many organisations, define their

employer brand and, therefore, if the reward

employees receive is linked to brand behaviours then

success is assumed:

• tw telecom recently completed development of

a 360-degree feedback tool that will be gradually

rolled out to the organisation through its employee

development processes. At their discretion,

individuals will be able to access this tool online

and provide developmental feedback to determine

whether employee behaviour is living the brand.

The tool also trains coaches within the organisation

to help interpret the results and integrate them into

employee performance and development plans,

including employer branding.

• Bacardi uses the performance management system

to measure how well its employees demonstrate

company values and their attitudes to identify

development opportunities. Therefore, through

testing whether or not its employees are displaying

the desired behaviours, it is examining whether the

employer brand values have been communicated

and understood.

These examples of measurement techniques are only

a few of the many ways you can assess the impact of

employer branding on total reward and it is important

to define measures of success that are achievable

within your own unique organisation.

12 Employer branding and total reward

Our recommendations• HR needs to identify and spell out the employer

brand for the whole organisation, since if

it is not universally defined or understood

then this inhibits a link to the overall business

strategy. Defining what the employer brand is

not is equally important. HR can then act as a

reference point during change and help produce

agreement between the key stakeholders.

• Ensure that senior employees and, where

appropriate, junior employees buy in to the

employer brand. HR needs to contribute to the

wider business issues and communicate the entire

package to all employees.

• Where cultural changes are taking place, help

employees understand and accept the change

using clear and honest communication and

offer the chance for them to provide feedback

during the process. This can help involve them

in the process and maintain levels of employee

engagement.

• Make the most of the programmes you already

have in place and focus resources on those

elements that will have the greatest impact on

the brand. Leveraging existing reward policies

that are likely to be well established among

employees helps to create stability and enhances

understanding while implementing change. Often

it is the small and cheaper elements of total

reward, such as recognition programmes, that

can have the highest impact on the brand.

• When considering the measurement of employer

brand alignment, HR and business metrics need

to be based on the rationale behind the employer

brand. For example, how many employees

have moved and how many have stayed?

Measurement should also take into account

customer satisfaction as well as employee

satisfaction to ensure alignment between the

internal and the external brand.

• HR can use the firm’s internal marketing and/or

press department for ideas on how to sell the

brand and engage individuals. It can also make

use of the various CIPD resources concerning

employer branding (see page 16).

• To help HR approach these tasks effectively, we

have provided below a list of HR practitioner

key skills and capabilities described in our

case studies that HR should hold if they are to

successfully develop, implement and maintain

an employer brand. The skills identified are:

affiliation to the business; commercial link

to the business; understanding of what

differentiates the business; marketing (connect

business needs and aims); business acumen;

change management/adaptability; knowledge

of employee experience and judgement;

and the ability to communicate/translate the

employer brand to employees.

13Employer branding and total reward 13

1 Preparing for the economic recoveryThe recent recession has necessitated reducing

reward levels for employees in many companies. The

Mercer Salary Indicator survey (Mercer 2010) showed

that more than half of organisations froze salaries in

2009 and the widespread use of pay freezes has also

been found in the CIPD Reward Management survey

report (CIPD 2009) and Employee Pay Attitudes

survey (CIPD 2010b). This inevitably has an effect on

employee engagement. The majority of companies

in this report said that the impact of the downturn

to date had not had a major negative impact

on them, due to them being in relatively stable

industries. However, just under half of the companies

interviewed have felt a direct impact of the current

recession on the amount of money available to spend

on reward and the value of long-term incentive

awards and pensions. While these companies have

put a hold on, for the immediate future, any pay

reviews or reward design changes, they are still

making efforts to limit the impact on employees and

maintain levels of investment in such programmes

as learning and development. This, they hope, will

maintain the strength of the employer brand in the

long term.

The CIPD’s Employee Outlook survey (CIPD 2010a)

identified that during the last quarter of 2009 fewer

than half of employees felt fully/fairly well informed

about what was happening in their organisation

and that job satisfaction had decreased across all

organisation sizes and sectors. With a third of the

respondents also reporting redundancies and a

quarter having cut back on training opportunities

in response to the recent recession, employers will

need to ensure staff motivation levels are maintained

and, if necessary, stabilised during 2010. The

key challenge for employers now is to retain key

talent during the upturn and rewarding positive

behaviours helps retain talent in a recovering job

market and improves and enhances productivity and

engagement. The employer brand also helps create

trust, which can make ‘selling’ any potential changes

to those who will be affected easier:

• At Bacardi, knowing the company has invested in

them is making employees feel more motivated,

which in turn promotes a positive employer

brand. An aligned employer brand will also

position Bacardi well for the upturn, since it will

enable it to communicate its messages both

powerfully and honestly.

• While Malmaison and Hotel du Vin has had to

make salary and bonus freezes like many other

employers, it believes what sets it apart is the

focus on the future. It communicates to its staff

that if they all work hard, achieve every sales

opportunity and deliver amazing hospitality while

keeping a lid on what is being spent, then they

will share in the success of the firm. Rather than

focusing on redundancies and there being fewer

workers, the firm emphasises that there is more

opportunity for job enlargement and job sharing.

While these approaches have worked for Bacardi

and, Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, it is important

to remember that, during turbulent times, any

changes must be in line with your unique business

strategy. Sometimes, redundancies may be

unavoidable in order to maintain business success

and the employer brand in the longer term.

2 Resistance to changeIn any major organisational change, there is likely

to be some resistance and difficulty in meeting

employee expectations. However, involving

employees in the decision-making process can help

them feel more involved in the change and believe

that their contribution is being recognised.

The challenges of aligning employer branding and total reward

14 Employer branding and total reward

• Malmaison and Hotel du Vin highlights the

importance of involving employees’ feedback

in tough decision-making in a recent uniform

redesign. It has turned the cost reduction

required during 2009 into a positive by

surveying the views of all employees during

one of its staff ‘wear your own clothes’ day.

The company used this feedback to determine

that employees sought more personality in

their uniforms. Involving employees in that

decision-making helped to make the uniform

more personal while saving the company

around £250,000 a year. When the uniform

is launched, the firm can communicate that

the decision was informed by employees’

feedback. This will help to create employee

engagement and motivation throughout the

company during this period of change.

What are the key success factors in overcoming these challenges?• First, work out what the employer brand is and be

able to articulate how it can be strengthened and

improved. For example, identification is needed

between the business strategy and the employer

brand before you can begin to think about

alignment.

• Gain senior leadership buy-in to the concept. It is

HR’s role to ensure that senior leaders understand

the concept and why it is important to the

organisation. HR should work with the senior

leadership team to define what the employer

brand is and how they can ‘walk the talk’.

• Involve line managers in the roll-out of your

employer brand. Depending on where you are

in the employer branding journey, line managers

will have different roles. Early on in the journey

organisations should obtain feedback on how

the employer brand might be achieved and

implemented. Later in the process you will want

them to communicate the brand and ideally

become brand champions.

• Communicate what you want to be known for as

an employer and what you are offering employees

in terms of reward and experience.

• Keep the promises you make to both existing

and potential employees. This will ensure that

employer branding and its links to total reward do

not become an empty marketing campaign.

15Employer branding and total reward 15

All participants in this research agree that aligning

rewards with the employer brand can help in

attracting, retaining and motivating staff. Such

alignment can demonstrate the employer’s financial

commitment to the employer proposition, which

in turn assists in fostering a positive employee

experience. Some companies in this study have made

a conscious effort to demonstrate the alignment of

total rewards to their employer brand, often as part

of a branding campaign, for example McDonald’s

and Malmaison and Hotel du Vin.

However, our research indicates that many other

employers struggle to develop a link with their

employer brand. The research team spent a

long time trying to identify possible case study

organisations for this study, which indicates just how

few employers at the time were working at aligning

their reward approach and employer brand.

While most organisations do not have an

established employer brand, in such a situation

the current reward programmes can help play a

key role in developing and communicating what

the organisation is trying to achieve through its

employer brand.

Branding and reward should be mutually

supportive, emphasising the need to get the

initial alignment correct and ensuring authenticity

within the organisation. Aligning employer brand

with reward can help companies meet employee

expectations, from attracting them into the

company to developing trust and commitment

during their careers. During future research it would

be interesting to determine whether there was a

difference between organisations hiring temporary

versus those hiring permanent staff with regards to

the employer’s focus on employer branding and its

alignment with total reward.

Overall, it would appear that while many

organisations aspire to clearly align employer

branding and total reward, for some the journey has

only just begun.

The CIPD and Mercer would like to thank all respondents for their participation in this key piece of research.

Conclusion

16 Employer branding and total reward

References

CIPD. (2008a) Employer branding: your online

companion for the journey. Practical tool. London:

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

[Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD. (2008b) Reward management. Survey report.

London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and

Development. [Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD. (2009) Reward management. Survey report.

London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and

Development. [Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD. (2010a) Employee outlook. Survey report.

London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and

Development. [Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD. (2010b) Pay management (UK) survey:

employee pay attitudes. Survey report. London:

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

[Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD and Mercer. (2009) Employer branding and

reward research summary. Survey report. London:

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

[Accessed 10 March 2010].

Mercer. (2010) Mercer Q4 salary indicator survey

[Accessed 31 March 2010].

Further readingCIPD. (2007) Employer branding: a no-nonsense approach. Guide. London. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. [Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD. (2007) Employer branding: the latest fad or the future of HR. Research insight. London. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. [Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD. (2009) Employer branding: maintaining momentum in a recession. Guide. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. [Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD. (2009) The impact of mergers and acquisitions on employer brands. Research summary. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. [Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD. (2010) Your employer brand: keeping it real through mergers and acquisitions. Practical tool. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. [Accessed 10 March 2010].

CIPD. (2010) Employer brand. Factsheet. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. [Accessed 10 March 2010].

17Employer branding and total reward 17

AbbeyPlease note that the information in this report is

the perspective of Abbey prior to its re-brand as

Santander UK.

• Abbey is in a ‘unique situation at the moment with

regard to employer branding’ as the external brand

has not been stable for some time. The company

went through a number of logo changes prior

to being acquired by the Spanish banking group

Santander in 2004 when the brand logo changed

yet again.

• Since 2008 the group has acquired parts of

Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester. The

external brand is changing to Santander during the

beginning of 2010, at which time the Abbey brand

will be dropped. Abbey and Bradford & Bingley will

change to Santander in the first half of 2010 while

the Alliance & Leicester will follow suit in the second

half of the year.

• The new organisation is currently in the process of

identifying working groups to help them define

what that the brand will mean from an employer

brand perspective, from an employment perspective,

and from a reward perspective as well.

• Unsurprisingly, Abbey (now Santander UK) are at the

very early stages of the employer branding journey

and have therefore thus far had difficulties defining

the links between reward and their employer brand.

Bacardi • Bacardi is a family owned spirits company with an

impressive portfolio of premium brands including

Bacardi Rum, Martini Vermouth, Bombay Sapphire

Gin and Grey Goose Vodka.

• Employer branding at Bacardi has two key angles:

‘Firstly, recruitment – potential employees

and candidates see employer branding as a

representation of the culture, the way that we

are and they way that we do business. Secondly,

retention – with a focus on engagement. This

is about two way communication between the

employees and the business, and being able to

link the two together.’

• Much of the focus of employer branding is on

defining what it means to work at Bacardi and

incorporating the company values.

• While Bacardi are quite far down the employer

branding journey and were able to define the

employer brand, they acknowledged there was

more work to do in defining the links between

employer branding, engagement and achieving

outstanding results.

Malmaison and Hotel du Vin• Malmaison and Hotel du Vin is recognised as the

UK’s leading lifestyle hotel group, with 1,900

bedrooms across the UK.

• Employer branding is focused on aligning the

external and internal brand:

‘What our guests see externally – the look, the

feel and how we advertise in the marketplace

for our guests actually – there’s a link to what

our employees should have in terms of the look

and the feel and the experience. It’s completely

joined up. There isn’t one look for the guests or

employees. It has to be seen as seamless. If we sell

the guests a good experience and it’s a sexy/fun

place, then we need to make sure that’s what we

do for employees.’

• Malmaison and Hotel du Vin do not explicitly

state what their employer brand is; instead they

communicate what employees should expect

from the company and what is expected of

them in terms of service delivery, behaviour and

appearance. These expectations are underpinned

by a series of nine behaviours called ‘Our priorities’.

• Malmaison and Hotel du Vin is well along the

employer branding journey and was able to

articulate the links between employer branding

and reward.

Appendix: An overview of employer branding at the participant organisations

18 Employer branding and total reward

McDonald’s• McDonald’s is the world’s largest chain of

hamburger fast food restaurants, serving over 60

million customers daily worldwide.

• The employer branding focus at McDonald’s has

been linked to making sure that there is a more

accurate and positive public perception of the brand:

‘Employer branding is about further enhancing

the people story that we have within the business

and the people programmes we have within the

business to both change public perception and

also to ensure existing employees feel better about

the job they do.’

• They have developed an employer branding

proposition that is built around four key

propositions: improvement opportunities, flexibility,

an energising environment and continuous learning.

• McDonald’s is well along the employer branding

journey and clearly articulated the links between

employer branding and reward.

Midland Heart• Midland Heart is one of the top ten housing

and regeneration groups in the country and the

largest based in the Midlands.

• Employer branding at Midland Heart is about:

‘Defining what it is we want to sell externally to

new applicants who want to join the organisation

in our recruitment but it is also about selling

ourselves internally – this is the part which is key

to us at the moment. Defining what we want to

be as an employer, how we’d like to let staff know

about that and ensuring that we measure up to

that. We do what we say we’re doing.’

• Midland Heart is currently working to define

exactly what their employer brand is. They

are working to underpin the employer brand

with their values and also to promote a one

organisation feel (the organisation was recently

formed from the merger of a number of smaller

housing associations).

• The concept of employer brand is new to Midland

Heart and they are at the early stages of the

employer brand journey.

tw telecom• tw telecom is a provider of managed voice and

data networking solutions for businesses.

• While the external brand is well defined at tw

telecom, the employee branding is less well

defined. The external brand work focuses on the

relationship between employees and customers. It

is the work within this latter group that tw telecom

have interpreted to be employer branding:

‘Our brand is, in fact, our reputation and it comes

to life through the solutions and service we

provide our customers. We have made a conscious

effort to support employees’ understanding of the

brand and recognise the line of sight between the

work they perform and how they provide the tw

telecom customer experience.’

• The company continually works to support its

brand in the marketplace and the role employees

play in delivering on the promise of the brand.

19Employer branding and total reward 1919

About the CIPDThe Chartered Institute of Personnel and

Development (CIPD) is a globally recognised

professional body for HR and development. With

over 135,000 members we pride ourselves on

supporting and developing those responsible for

the management and development of people

within organisations. Our aim is to drive sustainable

organisation performance through HR, to shape

thinking, to lead practice and to build HR capability

within the profession. Our topical research and

public policy activities set the vision, provide a voice

for the profession and promote new and improved

HR and management practices.

www.cipd.co.uk

About MercerMercer is a leading global provider of HR consulting,

outsourcing and investment services, with more than

25,000 clients worldwide. Mercer’s global network

of 17,000 employees, based in more than 40

countries, ensures integrated, worldwide solutions.

Our consultants work with clients to develop

solutions that address global and country-specific

challenges and opportunities. Mercer is experienced

in assisting both major and growing, mid-sized

companies. Specifically of relevance to this report,

Mercer’s human capital business line is involved in

establishing competitive and appropriate reward

packages and performance management systems

and has previously been involved in helping clients

develop and enhance their employer brand.

www.mercer.com

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development151 The Broadway London SW19 1JQ Tel: 020 8612 6200 Fax: 020 8612 6201Email: cipd@cipd.co.uk Website: www.cipd.co.uk

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