An important tool that helps firms identify their Employment brand is an employee engagement survey based on the 10 steps of engagement listed below. These steps will help you determine why & what type of people work for your company.

This becomes important intelligence as you create your employment brand.

1. Link your engagement efforts to high performance: Employee engagement is not about employee satisfaction. The last thing you should want is a team of satisfied but under-performing employees.

2. Employee engagement starts at the top: Most studies show that a key employee engagement driver is the actions of senior leaders. Leaders must demonstrate support for an engaged company culture by personally living their company’s values.

3. Engage first-line leaders: The old adage, “employees joins great companies, but quit Bad bosses” is true.

4. Focus on communication, the cornerstone of engagement: Successful leaders recognize the power of a robust communication plan, one built on clarity, consistency, and transparency.

5. Individualize your engagement: Your philosophy should go beyond “treat people they way you want to be treated;” the new mantra is “treat people the way they want to be treated.”

6. Create a motivational culture: Leaders cannot motivate employees long-term. Leaders must create motivational cultures with an engaged workforce where employees can flourish and motivate each other.

7. Create feedback mechanisms: Companies need to ask employees what they think; Employee engagement survey is a great tool to assess an organization’s pulse.

8. Reinforce and reward the right behaviors: Employees are incredibly motivated by achievement, not money. Money can disengage if employees perceive unfairness.

9. Track and communicate progress: Employees are no different than leadership — they both want to work for a ‘winning’ organization. Leaders need to reinforce “line of sight” by telling their employees where they’re going, how they’re performing, and where they fit in.

10. Hire and promote the right behaviors and traits for your culture: Although we place much emphasis on one’s educational background and skills, people generally succeed or fail because of their behaviors and traits (remember that – soft skills count.)