Why Employee Branding is Crucial for Business?

In the rapidly evolving world of business, companies are recognizing the importance of employee branding. One such company is Cisco, which is training its 84,000 employees to be LinkedIn influencers with the aim of attracting top talent to the organization.

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The initiative was inspired by the need to fill highly technical and specialized roles. In an interview with Fortune, Cisco's chief people officer Kelly Jones explained that the company's hiring goals have remained unchanged despite economic uncertainties. However, the type of skills they are hiring for has evolved, prompting a rethink of their upskilling, reskilling, and internal talent marketplaces.

To foster a hiring culture, Cisco launched training sessions on how to influence talent through social media, particularly LinkedIn. The effectiveness of this approach was confirmed when leaders became vocal about the roles they were hiring for. The company also encouraged employees to blog about their technical projects to attract talent. The training has proven popular, particularly in emerging fields like security and cloud technology.

The results have been impressive, reducing the time-to-fill for positions by about five days. Additionally, data shows that when leaders are involved in recruiting, it increases employee retention rates. The company found that top tech talent tends to stay longer when they are recruited through leaders.

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Key Takeaways: Benefits of Employee Branding to Individuals and Companies

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1. Building Trust: A high-quality digital profile and content production enhance trust, create thought leadership, and provide significant added value to support potential customers' purchase decisions.

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2. Creating Marketing Content: Employee branding serves as effective content marketing for a company. The unique content of individualized personal brands creates a distinctive and recognizable brand for both the individual and the company.

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3. Strengthening Recognition: Employee branding cultivates a positive image for the company's brand or logo, which builds trust in the company and its services.

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4. Career Advancement: Personal branding is critical to career development in modern times. Active participation, a high-quality digital profile, and networking lay a solid foundation for upward career movement.

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5. Establishing Authority: Employee branding is a valuable way to bolster authority in your industry. Authority attracts customers to your business.

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6. Standing Out From Competition: In competitive industries, employee branding is a decisive distinguishing factor. With it, experts/salespeople/managers get their unique message and expertise out, creating a difference from competitors.

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7. Improving Marketing Skills: Marketing yourself can be fundamentally uncomfortable. Content marketing and a high-quality profile done through employee branding inspire professionals to become active.

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8. Better Control Over Personal Image: A high-quality employee brand is an entity projected by personality, skills, experience, and behavior that brings out the unique qualities of each individual and creates success for the future.

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9. Recruiting: Employee branding can be a powerful tool in attracting the right talent to your organization. A strong employee brand sends a clear message about what you and your company stand for, making it easier to attract individuals who align with your values and goals.

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10. Vital in 2024: Employee branding is not just a good thing these days, but a necessity. A high-quality employee brand helps a professional stand out, build trust with customers, and strengthen his own and his company's position in the competitive market.

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11. Becoming an Industry Influencer: Employee branding enables you to become an influencer in your industry, which has a direct, positive effect on company recruitment, brand, and visibility.

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In conclusion, employee branding is no longer an option but a necessity in today's competitive business environment. It not only helps in attracting top talent but also plays a crucial role in retaining them.