Two studies recently came out that provide interesting perspectives on how a brand is viewed by the general public and by young workers looking to start their careers. These surveys illustrate both the connection and disconnection between branding and employer branding.
The first study was conducted by CoreBrand, which annually surveys more than 10,000 business decision-makers from the top 20% of US businesses. This is a survey of peers, not of average consumers. It determines two factors: Familiarity, based on whether respondents could name a brand’s verticals or subsidiaries; and Favorability, based on respondents’ opinions of the brand’s overall reputation, perception of management, and investment potential. CoreBrand considers brands with the highest scores in both categories to be the “Most Respected.” The top 10 of 2014 are:
1. Coca-Cola
2. PepsiCo
3. Hershey
4. Bayer
5. Johnson & Johnson
6. Harley-Davidson
7. IBM
8. Apple
9. Kellogg
10. General Electric
In short: business leaders know these brands, like them, and feel they’re well-run and have successful futures.
Collegefeed then looked at brands from the other direction, asking 15,000 Millennials (60% college students and 40% recent grads) their top three companies to work for. Respondents weren’t given a list; they could name any companies. Their top 10 are:
1. Google
2. Apple
3. Facebook
4. Microsoft
5. Amazon
6. eBay
7. LinkedIn
8. Yahoo
9. Goldman Sachs
10. IBM
The high number of tech companies may be due to the fact that 50% of Collegefeed’s respondents were in a “tech-oriented major,” or it might be reveal that more college students are studying technology to get ahead in the weak, post-Recession economy.
Either way, only two companies from Collegefeed’s top ten overlap with CoreBrand’s top ten: Apple and IBM. Coca-Cola and Pepsi, which are CoreBrand’s two “Most Respected” brands in the world, don’t even make Collegefeed’s top 50! Why the discrepancy? Could it have something to do with employer branding?
Indeed it does. A scan of Glassdoor’s 2014 Best Places to Work shows LinkedIn at #3, Facebook at #5, and Google at #8. Twitter, which just outside the top ten of Collegefeed’s list, is #2 on Glassdoor. My conclusion is that a brand’s familiarity, likability, and even peer respect isn’t as compelling to young job-seekers as whether the company is a great place to work. That’s reinforced by Collegefeed’s respondents’ reasons for choosing their top employers: more than 75% said “people and culture fit.” Meanwhile, “company mission” scored below 45% and “market leadership” was below 20%.
As surprising as it may sound, recent college grads would rather work at an online company that treats them well than one that sells candy or soda or motorcycles.
In fact, the situation gets even more intriguing as you move down the list of Collegefeed’s most sought-after companies. “Boring” brands like Salesforce (#18) and Qualcomm (#19), which Millennials rarely encounter or use, placed ahead of “cool” companies like The Walt Disney Company (#20) and Nike (#21), which Millennials grew up with. Again, the answer lies in the employee experience. Qualcomm is #13 on the Glassdoor list, ahead of Nike (#29) and Disney (#42). Salesforce placed an amazing #7 on Fortune’s list of Best Companies to Work For.
Did all these college students read the lists? Probably not. But their information also came from some surprising places. “Friends” was the most-cited way that Collegefeed’s job-seekers heard about a company, with more than 70% of respondents putting it in their top three. Social media accounted for a third. As the CEO of Collegefeed put it, “If college students like something, they tell their friends on social media or face-to-face.” If you ask me, that’s one definition of employer branding.
Look at it another way: There are certain companies that are well known, but it’s not considered “cool” to work for them. I’m thinking of Walmart, ExxonMobil, or Bank of America. Job-seekers may encounter them every day, and even use their products. And the company might have a lot of job openings that match the job-seekers’ skills. But it will take extra convincing to overcome young people’s perceptions. One way a brand is responding to this problem is WalmartLabs, the retail giant’s outreach to the tech community, which positions Walmart as an alternative to Google.
The takeaway from all these lists and statistics? For a brand to attract top talent, it’s better to be liked by employees than by consumers, or even by other industry leaders. Hip companies like Google and Apple will always have a slight edge, but job-seekers care far more about cultural fit and career potential than about what their employer actually does — or what they pay. So if you think your “dull” company with average compensation can’t go after the best employees, think again.
Jody Ordioni is President of Brandemix.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
