How to build a winning cross-border culture with employer branding
If you’re a B2B business operating across borders, employer branding that aligns with your corporate brand enables you to differentiate yourself from competitors, attract high-quality candidates, reduce recruitment costs, increase employee retention, and enhance both your company reputation and competitiveness.
Together, strong, unified corporate and employer branding create an engaged and collaborative work culture, as well as a positive perception of your business among employees, candidates, customers and other external stakeholders. All of which supports productivity and business gains. Here’s how to get there.
Employer branding definition
At CBC, we define employer branding as the strategic activities you can undertake to cultivate a positive and appealing reputation among potential and current employees, with the aim of attracting and retaining top talent to drive your business forward.
The elements of your employer brand
While your corporate brand aims to establish and strengthen the positive perception of your business across all stakeholders – from customers, investors and shareholders to the general public, regulators and governments – your employer brand aims to appeal specifically to current and potential employees.
In our experience at CBC, both corporate and employer brands are most effective when they share the same brand essence. The more both brands can be seen to reflect the same values and culture, the more mutually supportive they are in consistently communicating a meaningful and impactful impression of your business.
And when building or refining your employer brand, we keep your corporate brand very much in mind as we evaluate your:
- Purpose, values and culture
- Environment: locations, facilities, accessibility and convenience
- Benefits and career development opportunities
- Satisfaction levels, work-life balance, recognition and rewards
- Attitudes and how you compare to your competitors
- Collaboration success levels
- Work-related social activities
- Outside-work activities, such as community or charity initiatives
Data source 1: Randstad
Data source 2: Glassdoor
CBC blog link: New ways to build trust in your B2B brand
Why employer branding matters
The expression “You’re only as good as your people” is so over-familiar, it can feel like wallpaper. But its ubiquity reflects its veracity. Better business begins with better people. And to attract the right talent, you need to show that you value your people.
“In technology, it’s about the people – getting the best people, retaining them, nurturing a creative environment, and helping to find a way to innovate.”
Marissa Mayer, Yahoo
The most effective way to demonstrate that you value your people is by implementing an employer branding strategy. With the right approach, you can build, maintain and refresh the positive workforce that will keep driving your business forward.
The impacts of employer branding
The strength of your employer branding affects:
- The motivation, wellbeing and productivity of your existing employees – satisfied workers not only add more value, but can be some of your most convincing advocates
- The quality and quantity of the candidates you attract when filling vacancies
- The amount of time and money you have to spend on filling vacancies
- The attitudes of all your stakeholders to your business
- The perception of your overall brand in the marketplace
“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.”
Simon Sinek, Start with Why
Data source 3: Glassdoor
Tips for implementing a strong employer brand across borders
Embedding a positive employer brand throughout businesses that operate across borders, then communicating it to prospective employees around the world, presents particular challenges. We can help you overcome them.
Cultural sensitivity and adaptation
Clearly, you need to adapt your employer branding to align with local customs, values and norms. This includes considering communication styles, management practices, work-life balance expectations and local traditions. Highlight the unique benefits and opportunities available to employees in each location, while maintaining a cohesive overall employer brand. As ever, it’s a question of finding the optimum balance between maintaining global consistency and respecting local cultural diversity.
Clear and aligned values
Having clearly defined your company’s global values, you should ensure that they are communicated consistently across all locations to foster a shared sense of an aligned, unified organisational identity.
Local engagement
Involve local leaders and managers in shaping your employer branding. Local leaders can provide insights, perspectives and guidance to ensure alignment with the local workforce. Their involvement also demonstrates the commitment of leadership to the success of your employer branding. You could also identify and empower local employer brand ambassadors, who can help champion your employer brand within their respective countries or regions. These ambassadors can provide insights into local culture, act as spokespersons, and actively engage in talent acquisition and employer branding activities.
Cross-cultural training and education
By providing cross-cultural training and education to employees across borders, you can foster cultural intelligence and mutual understanding between employees to enhance collaboration and mitigate potential misunderstandings. This can include workshops, cultural immersion programmes, or online resources that promote awareness and respect for different cultures.
Consistent communication
Establish consistent communication channels and platforms to facilitate transparent and inclusive communication across borders. Ensure that important company updates, values, goals and achievements are effectively communicated to all employees – regardless of location. Utilise technology such as video conferences, collaboration tools and intranets to foster a sense of unity and connectivity.
Employee engagement initiatives
Develop employee engagement initiatives that cater to the unique needs and preferences of employees in different locations. Consider local holidays, customs and interests when planning engagement activities. Encourage participation and feedback from employees across borders to foster a sense of belonging and shared purpose.
Legal and regulatory compliance
Familiarise yourself with local labour laws, employment regulations and any specific requirements related to employer branding. Ensure that your practices, policies and messaging align with the legal framework of each country or region. Consider any necessary disclaimers, privacy regulations or data protection requirements when collecting and using candidate or employee information.
CBC blog link: The emotional role in B2B branding
Key take-out
Your employer branding should be a key differentiator for your business. The stronger it is, the more high-quality candidates you will attract – saving you time and money, as well as safeguarding your ongoing success – and the more productive you existing employees will be. By adopting a clear, consistent and culturally-sensitive approach, you can create a powerful employer branding strategy that works across borders around the world.
As a leading international B2B branding and marketing agency, Cross-Border Communications can help you define, refine, and implement the employer branding strategy you need to safeguard your growth.
To find out more, get in touch with Ralph Krøyer:
+45 35 25 01 60
letsmeet@cbc.dk