Michael Page Logo

Main menu

  • Home
  • Jobs+

    Browse for Jobs

    • Banking & Financial Services
    • Construction
    • Digital
    • Education
    • Engineering & Manufacturing
    • Executive Search
    • Finance & Accounting
    • Healthcare
    • Human Resources
    • Legal
    • IT
    • Life Sciences
    • Marketing
    • Procurement & Supply Chain
    • Retail & Sourcing
    • Property
    • Sales
    • Secretarial & Business Support

    Searching for a job?

    • Resume and cover letter
    • Create a job alert
    • Submit your CV
    • Salary guide
    • Salary comparison tool

    Contracting

    • Contractors
    • Contracting with Us
    • Benefits of Contracting
    • FAQs for Contractors
    • View Jobs
    • How Michael Page Can Help

    Quick Job Search

  • Recruiting+

    Looking to hire?

    • Recruitment services
    • Recruitment services
    • Reasons to partner with Michael Page
    • Our sourcing methodology
    • Candidate verification
    • Management advice
    • Salary benchmark tool

    High Volume / Project Recruitment

    • About Page Outsourcing
    • Our approach
    • Our solutions
    • Our successes
    • Our team
    • Our testimonials

    Recruitment Expertise

    • Banking and Financial Services
    • Construction
    • Digital
    • Engineering and Manufacturing
    • Executive Search
    • Education
    • Finance and Accounting
    • Healthcare
    • Human Resources
    • IT
    • Legal
    • Life Sciences
    • Marketing
    • Procurement and Supply Chain
    • Property
    • Retail and Sourcing
    • Sales
    • Secretarial and Office Support

    Contracting

    • Employers
    • About Michael Page Contracting Services
    • Why Hire Contract Workers
    • Building Effective Teams
    • FAQs for Employers
  • Advice+

    Career Advice

    • Career Advice
    • Career progression
    • Changing jobs
    • Interview
    • Productivity and performance
    • Resume and cover letter
    • Salary and negotiation
    • Work-life balance

    Management advice

    • Management advice
    • Engagement and retention
    • Hiring
    • Leadership
    • Staff development
    • Diversity and inclusion

    Market insights

    • Market insights
    • Market updates
    • Industry reports

    Popular articles

    • Common interview questions
    • How to negotiate the salary you want
    • Resume and cover letter
    • How to gracefully resign from your job
  • About+

    About us

    • Who we are
    • What we do
    • Our leadership team
    • Work for us
    • Media releases
    • Diversity & inclusion
    • Awards
    • About PageGroup
  • Join PageGroup+

    Join PageGroup

    • Join PageGroup
    • About PageGroup
    • Why choose us?
    • Your role here
    • Use your skills
    • FAQs
    • Apply now
  • Contact+

    Contact us

    • Find our office
    • Find our office
    • Looking to hire?
    • Submit your CV
    • Feedback
  • 企業招聘
Sign In
Saved jobs (0)
Search for a job

You are here

Home>Advice>Market Insights>Market updates>Strong employer branding: A key to success

Strong employer branding: A key to success

by Michael Page
-
27 January 2017
Strong employer branding — a key to success

More companies in Asia are paying attention to employer branding as a way to stand out in the increasingly competitive field of talent acquisition and retention. Already, 56% per cent of employers surveyed said that their organisations practise employer branding actively.

Traditional incentives such as salary increases remain one of the top considerations for candidates, especially in mainland China and emerging markets like Thailand and Indonesia. But other factors, such as career progression, training, work-life balance, and corporate values, are also rapidly becoming more of a “pull” factor for an increasing number of employees, particularly the millennials. This is especially true in Taiwan where salaries tend to stay relatively flat.

Companies that succeed in employer branding are those that can communicate clearly to employees what they stand for, and the culture and values the organisation promotes. Often, such companies have multi-channel digital strategies to promote their brand internally and externally. Almost two-thirds (55%) of the companies that practise employer branding engage with potential and current employees using internal and external social media platforms.

In Indonesia, for example — a relatively young market that is among the world’s most active users of Facebook and Twitter — 50% of employers use social media to reach talent under the age of 30. Start-ups that do not have enough resources to build their employer branding also often turn to social media to communicate their corporate journey and mission as part of their attraction and retention strategy.

Diversity and inclusion

Increasingly, more companies are ramping up their efforts in diversity and inclusion (D&I) to build their employer brand. International firms are typically at the head of the curve with D&I, often because they have policies mandated by regional or head offices, and many of them are seeking to localise their workforces to become more representative in the markets they operate in.

While D&I efforts can be better encouraged on the domestic front, local companies that are taking the biggest strides in this area are typically those looking to expand abroad: for example, several Chinese banks opening in Hong Kong and technology businesses expanding across the globe have made determined efforts to look more attractive to international talent, and this has included having clear policies on D&I.

The good news is that majority of employers across Asia (93%), comprising local firms and foreign multinationals, have said that they are committed, in varying levels, to supporting their D&I efforts. Among all, Singapore stood out, with 91% of employers affirming their commitment to D&I, as the local government continues to champion such efforts.

Throughout Asia, gender appears to be the top focus of most companies’ D&I programmes, with slightly over half (53%) of companies making a clear push for recruiting and promoting women in organisations. Beyond gender, companies are also focusing programmes on age (42%) and minority ethnic groups (34%).

5 ways to push D&I in your organisation

1. Have relevant programmes. To support a diversified workforce, companies should ideally have programmes that retain talent from different backgrounds. Some initiatives that have worked among our clients included leadership development schemes for women and fair performance reviews, with processes that neutralise bias.

2. Make it a genuine priority. For diversity and inclusion (D&I) programmes to truly make a difference, senior leaders will need to support the cause whole-heartedly and make it a point to personally practice D&I.

3. Create an environment that shows support. For example, if your company has a work-from-home policy, ensure that leaders are supporting this initiative 100% and that the employees have the tools, like laptops and remote access permissions, to telecommute productively. Otherwise, employees that the policies are just for show.

4. Avoid unconscious bias. Train managers to be more aware of their hidden biases. People tend to recruit talent who are most similar to their backgrounds and personality. However, such an approach reduces diversity and in the long run, new ideas and perspectives.

5. Do not forget inclusion. Once a diverse workplace is set in place, companies should follow up by introducing programmes that foster collaboration among the different groups. This can be done through organisation-wide projects, like corporate social responsibility initiatives, which allow employees of all levels to work with different groups.

 

Previous article
Made in Asia: rise of domestic brands
Made in Asia: Rise of domestic brands
by Michael Page
Read article
Next article
Contract employment continues to grow
Contract employment continues to grow
by Michael Page
Read article

Join over 50,000 readers!

Get a free weekly update via email here and help kick start your career.

Topics

  • Market Insights
  • Career Advice
  • Management Advice

Popular Articles

Popular articles

  • Common interview questions
  • How to negotiate the salary you want
  • Resume and cover letter
  • How to gracefully resign from your job

Tags

recruitment
team culture
Michael Page Logo
  • Read our BlogRead our Blog
  • Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on LinkedInFollow us on LinkedIn
  • Watch us on YouTubeWatch us on YouTube

General

  • Change Country/Region
  • Page Personnel Hong Kong
  • Page Executive
  • Investor site
  • PageGroup corporate site
  • Email Disclaimer
  • Site map
  • Site terms
  • Privacy policy

Jobs by function

  • Banking & Financial Services
  • Construction
  • Digital
  • Education
  • Engineering & Manufacturing
  • Executive Search
  • Finance & Accounting
  • Healthcare
  • Human Resources
  • IT
  • Legal
  • Life Sciences
  • Marketing
  • Procurement & Supply Chain
  • Property
  • Retail & Sourcing
  • Sales
  • Secretarial & Business Support

Contact

  • Feedback
  • Looking to hire?
  • Submit your CV

Our Offices

  • Central Tower

Michael Page International (Hong Kong) Limited 米高蒲志國際(香港)有限公司 (Company No.176887, EA Licence No.54225) is part of the PageGroup. Registered Office: 17th Floor, Central Tower, 28 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong
© PageGroup plc