Ericsson has
helped attract its next generation of board members by highlighting the firm’s
brand values during its management recruitment process.
The
company’s Excellerate scheme specifically identified four areas of the
corporate brand that meant most to consumers, which were international reach,
technological excellence, intelligence and innovation.
Ericsson
then recruited from the world’s top 25 business schools to find the candidates
most closely aligned to its brand values.
As a
result the company has managed to cut the overall cost of recruitment to 25 per
cent of salary and reduced staff turnover among its top management recruits to
6 per cent compared to an average of 56 per cent.
Speaking
at the conference, Sven-Ake Damgaard, director of Excellerate, Ericsson CLO,
told delegates that the company intends this group to form the basis of their
board within the next 10 years.
He said,
"Brand equities structured the content and participants in Excellerate.
"After
two years of the course we found the values of the brand inside the people.
People had brought into the brand and become part of the brand."
Mark
Ritson, assistant professor, Department of Marketing, London Business School,
also told delegates that a better appreciation of consumer branding enables HR
to target potential employees with similar values.
This, in
turn, leads to better retention rates and lower recruitment costs as both
personal and professional concerns are so closely matched, he explained.
"There
are two things that are needed to win the war for talent. You need to get to
know your brand and use that as a lighthouse for your HR strategy," he
added.
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