Enhancing your employer brand

Craig Sidoruk

You might have heard of “the Great Resignation” — a global phenomenon seeing record numbers of people leaving their jobs in the wake of Covid-19.

This soon morphed into “the Great Reshuffle” — where, after the lockdowns were lifted and life returned to normal, a large number of people chose to leave their jobs in search of more fulfilling roles with greater flexibility.

More recently we have seen the emergence of a new trend called “Quiet Quitting” — where people are making a conscious decision to perform only the bare minimum at work, attributed in part to a desire to establish a healthy balance between life and work.

These trends appear to be supported by the recently released outcomes of the 2022 EMA and NIB Health Insurance Workplace Wellbeing Survey. The survey, which covered 1205 workers in senior and middle management and front-line workers across small, medium and large businesses, showed that:

• One in four employees intend to change jobs in the next 12 months despite not necessarily being unhappy.

• 78 percent of employees who change jobs are looking for flexible working hours/hybrid working, including working from the office or home.

• 74 percent of employees who change jobs are looking for a career development strategy that links to a recognition and rewards programme.

Added to the above, immigration pressures have led to an increasingly tight labour market, with a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.3 percent in the June 2022 quarter and a record employment rate of 68.5 percent.

So what does all of this have to do with “employer brand”?

Your employer brand is your organisation’s reputation as a place to work — based on the perception of both your current employees and of the wider workforce (ie potential employees). Consequently, the better your employer brand, the more likely you are to both retain your current employees and to attract new employees when the time arises.

In the post Covid-19 environment, it’s more important than ever to understand and promote your employer brand, and to be aware of what your current employees and the wider workforce is looking for. Given that one in four employees intend to change jobs and 78 percent of employees who change jobs are looking for flexible work opportunities, it’s time to seriously consider what you can do to enhance your employer brand and as a result, help to retain employees and attract new ones. Outlined below are a number of measures that may help to do that:

1. Consider providing career development and/or alternative work or project opportunities for employees. Such opportunities allow employees to develop professionally and, importantly, learn new skills, which ultimately keeps people interested in their job and the organisation.

2. Pay your employees appropriately in a competitive market. While not everyone leaves their job for a higher salary, with historically low unemployment, high inflation and a tight labour market, it’s important to be competitive.

3. In a candidate-short job market, it’s important to be aware of and actively promote your employee value proposition (ie, why would a person work for you and not someone else?) You may have a fantastic work culture, provide training or mentoring, offer competitive remuneration and benefits or work in an exciting industry — if so, make sure you get that message out there, whether it be by word of mouth, on social media or in your job ads.

4. Address that gender pay gap. On average, New Zealand women are paid 9.1 percent less than men, so if your organisation values diversity and inclusion, it’s time to measure and address this issue.

5. Consider increased work life balance and flexible working practices. Most of us have had a taste of remote working at some point over the past couple of years and many employees are now looking for greater flexibility, reducing their hours, or occasionally working from home.

Of course, while it might not be practicable for every business to implement these measures, in a tight labour market it is important to do what you can to enhance and promote your employer brand, thereby increasing your chances of retaining current employees and attracting new ones.

■ Craig is the HR and employment relations specialist and licensed private workplace investigator for Business Central in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay. Email:

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