As the world’s largest commercial real estate company, CBRE understands the power of a strong employer brand. But how can B2B companies like CBRE stand out in a crowded talent market and attract top talent outside the real estate industry?
To shed light on this, we interviewed Debbie Celado, CBRE’s global talent marketing director. Celado is an experienced employer brand expert who has successfully built and maintained a strong employer brand challenge in Citizens Bank and CBRE.
Unique Challenges for B2B Employer Brands
CBRE’s business is multifaceted, including outsourcing services, real estate leasing and sales, and workplace consultation. While this diversity offers many opportunities, it also presents unique challenges in employer brands.
As Celado explains: “We are B2B, so our employees are everything. They are the services we provide, they provide those services to customers, so they are our brand.” This means that attracting and retaining top talent is crucial to CBRE’s success.
One of the biggest challenges is to raise awareness among individuals outside the real estate industry. For roles in engineering, technology and company functions, CBRE needs to cut noise and position itself as an attractive employer.
Set clear goals and measure impact
To address these challenges, CBRE has established three key goals for its employer branding strategy:
- Increase external brand awareness: This involves raising awareness of employers of CBRE as a potential candidate, especially candidates outside the real estate industry.
- Improve first-year retention rate: By focusing on employee experience and engagement, CBRE aims to retain top talent and reduce turnover.
- Improve employee engagement score: A strong employer brand is directly related to employee engagement, so CBRE seeks to improve overall employee satisfaction.
To measure the impact of its employer brand initiative, CBRE utilizes Link Human Employer Brand Index (EBI). EBI provides valuable insights into CBRE’s brand reputation and employee sentiment. By tracking key metrics such as brand awareness, employee engagement, and retention, CBRE can evaluate the effectiveness of its strategies and make data-driven decisions.
The importance of data-driven decision-making
Celado highlights the importance of data-driven decision-making in employer brands. By analyzing metrics such as impressions, on-site traffic, and registration, CBRE can evaluate the performance of its marketing campaigns and identify areas of improvement.
Additionally, understanding the cost of job openings can help quantify the ROI of employer brand programs. By demonstrating the financial benefits of a strong employer brand, Cerrado can effectively convey the value of the team’s work to leadership.
Communicate the influence of employer brand to leaders
To get a buy from leadership, Cerrado focuses on telling a compelling story with data. Rather than simply introducing the raw data, she highlights the impact of employer brands on key business outcomes, such as increasing talent acquisition, improving employee retention and enhancing brand reputation.
By turning complex data into actionable insights, Cerrado enables leaders to make informed decisions and makes investing in employer brand investments a strategic priority.
Key Points
- People are your brand: In the context of B2B, employees are the face of the company.
- Set clear goals: Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-limiting (intelligent) goals for your employer branding strategy.
- Utilize data: Use data to measure the impact of your plan and make data-driven decisions.
- Effective communication: Tell a fascinating story with data to gain support from leadership.
- Focus on employee experience: Positive employee experience is essential to building a strong employer brand.
By following these principles, CBRE successfully improved its employer brand and attracted top talent from a wide variety of industries. By understanding the unique challenges of B2B companies and leveraging data-driven insights, you can also build a strong employer brand to drive business success.
