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Employer branding has become an important part of HR. Building a brand that people would feel proud to work with and for is becoming necessary to attract the best talent and to retain current employees. The brand image and what it stands for is a major consideration when accepting a job offer.

We connected with Alpana Parida, Managing Director - DY Works + IDIOM, to understand what makes a brand, THE BRAND?

“I would say branding is the true reflection of organizational culture. Your company’s brand encompasses everything from your logo to your tagline. Varied contributors come into play such as rewards and recognition, cultural events and activities, cultural adaptations and fostered behavior. This varies from organization to organization. This culture forms the brand of the organization, the people brand, which makes a world of difference,” says Alpana.

She shares how internal brand and external brand are two distinct yet complementary key factors of a brand strategy. “An external brand is created by all the marketing activities planned keeping the external market and thus potential employees or future contributors in mind.” Alpana adds that the internal brand is as important as the external brand because “a company is as good as its people.” To drive home the importance of organizational brand building, she refers to big corporate giants such as L&T and wittily points out how it’s easier to find a suitable match for marriage there, thanks to the brand name.

“The key ingredient for a successful brand strategy is that the internal brand and the external brand strategy should match. If it’s a customer-centric organization, people should be at the center of the brand strategy, irrespective of the industry. Innovation needs to be at the core of all industries, be it one facing the repercussions of recession or one like the booming IT industry. Unless the CEO makes innovation a priority, it obviously won’t trickle down to the rest of the firm.

Collaboration is key. That’s one aspect that will stand out and keep the people and functions of any organization together. A cohesive brand strategy needs to involve the people of the firm, not only as an audience but as active participants—dialog is important to establish trust and build goodwill,” she says. “Remember that when the employees as well as your followers will have a positive experience with your brand, they will most likely share the experience with their friends offline and online.”

“At the end of the day, a company is as good as its people. The HR Function is and needs to be the face of a firm, which reflects the culture in the best way possible - good, bad or ugly. An organization that has engaged employees will surely have a happy clientele, which will reflect on the customer delivery. Workplaces that demonstrate the value they place in their employees will benefit, in turn, from worker commitment and productivity,” she adds and we agree!

We’re sure you are eager to hear more and understand how you too can up your brand game. Join us at the upcoming SHRM India Annual Conference and Exposition 2016 to connect with her and know what drives a brand.