CBRE, the largest commercial real estate company in the world, understands the importance of an employer brand. How can a B2B firm like CBRE attract talent outside of the real estate sector and stand out on a crowded talent marketplace?
We interviewed Debbie Celado CBRE’s global head of talent marketing to shed some light on the subject. Celado is a seasoned employer branding expert who has navigated successfully the challenges in building and maintaining a powerful employer brand.
The Unique Challenges A B2B Employer’s Brand
CBRE is a multi-faceted company, offering services in outsourcing, real estate leasing, sales and workplace consulting. This diversity presents many opportunities but also unique challenges in terms of employer branding.
Celado says, “We’re a B2B company so our people are important.” Our people are our services, and they provide those services to our clients. They are also our brand.
The biggest challenge is to increase awareness outside of the real estate sector. CBRE must position itself as a desirable employer for roles in technology, engineering, and corporate functions.
Set clear goals and measure impact
CBRE’s employer brand strategy has three main goals to address these challenges:
- Raising awareness about CBRE’s brand among external candidates: This includes promoting CBRE’s employer status to those who are not in the real estate sector.
- Improve First-Year Retention: By focusing on employee engagement and experience, CBRE hopes to retain top talent while reducing turnover.
- Improve Employee Engagement Scores As a strong employer brand is directly related to employee engagement, CBRE strives to increase overall employee satisfaction.
CBRE uses the Employee Brand Index from Link Humans to measure the impact of its employer brand initiatives. The EBI gives valuable insight into CBRE’s reputation as a brand and employee sentiment. CBRE can make informed decisions by tracking metrics such as brand awareness, employee engagement and retention rates.
The Importance Of Data-Driven Determination Making
Celado stresses the importance of data driven decision making when it comes to employer branding. CBRE can assess the effectiveness of its marketing campaigns by analyzing metrics such as impressions, traffic to their site, and signups.
Understanding the cost of vacancies will also help you quantify the ROI for employer branding initiatives. Celado’s team can communicate to management the value of their work by demonstrating the financial advantages of a strong brand.
Communication of the impact of employer branding to leadership
Celado uses data to tell a compelling narrative in order to gain leadership buy-in. She does not present raw data but instead highlights the impact that employer branding has on important business outcomes such as improved talent acquisition, employee retention and brand reputation.
Celado empowers business leaders by transforming complex data into actionable insights. This allows them to make strategic decisions about employer branding and makes it a priority.
The Key Takeaways
- Your People Are Your Brand: Employees are the face and voice of your company in a B2B environment.
- Set clear goals: Define specific SMART (specific, measurable and achievable) goals to guide your employer branding strategy.
- Leverage data: Use data for measuring the impact of initiatives and making data-driven decision.
- Communicate effectively: Tell an engaging story using data to get leadership buy-in.
- Employee Experience is the Key: Building a strong employer’s brand requires a positive employee experience.
CBRE’s employer brand has been elevated by following these principles. It has also attracted top talent across a wide range of industries. You can build a strong employer brand by leveraging data and understanding the challenges faced by B2B companies.
