Employer branding is one of the most strategic parts of a business and the way it should be executed depends much on the kind of industry said employers are involved in. There is no formulaic or singular agreement on what an employer brand should be like for any particular industry. As a matter of fact, even within the same industry, many enterprises and startups use different branding strategies to distinguish their employer brands from their competition.
The following is a run-through of four of the most popular professions that came to prominence with the advent of technology and innovation in Myanmar. Employers within these fields use different branding strategies to distinguish and highlight the upsides of their work environments. Please note, these branding tactics may also vary according to the nature of job conditions and task requirements.
1) Banks and Financial Institutions
Banking and finance has become one of the most pursued and lucrative areas of business in Myanmar and the competition for jobs in accounting or auditing firms is one of the most fierce in the vocational industry, where our Q2 Salary Survey shows that four out of every five applicants is a female. Such financial institutions can be generally split into banks and non-bank financial institutions. In Myanmar, AYA Bank, CB Bank, KBZ Bank and Yoma bank are top local employers within the banking segment while Deloitte, PWC, Ernest & Young, KPMG and McKinsey Myanmar are the top international non-bank accounting firms based in Myanmar with strong job attractiveness amongst locals.
Employer branding for banks, accounting firms, and financial institutions is mostly formalized due to the administrative and clerical nature of the job. Despite being one of the most interesting job functions with a high potential for career advancement and diversification, many millennials nowadays presume that working at banks or accounting firms can usually be monotonous and the tasks are uniform, only acting as a bean counter instead of the myriad of other functions in the corporation. This is why employers are working to place emphasis on changing the perspective of a formal corporate workplace usually portrayed as repetitive and bureaucratic.
In Myanmar, as a general rule, local banks like KBZ and Yoma appear steeped in tradition and formality, with employees stationed in such a way to continually serve the customers as the number one priority. Flexibility is traditionally not a common workplace element while non-bank international accounting firms can be less strict in comparison. However, employers within all financial, banking and accounting sectors should prioritize flexibility of hierarchy, leadership opportunities, and career progression as workplace incentives because they count as much as monetary benefits for such vocations.
2) Marketing and Creative Agencies
Marketing and creative agencies are emerging as the one of the most popular job functions in 2019 (see report). This industry encompasses two general job regions – marketing and visibility as well as creative direction; the former mainly concerns with the technical aspects of promoting people or businesses while the latter does with the artistic and creative elements of a project. Ogilvy Myanmar is one of the leading international advertising and marketing agencies offering many attractive job opportunities for both marketers and creative professionals. There are also many freelance design firms in Myanmar offering high-end creative direction and marketing services for more boutique projects on a different budget.
Employers branding their businesses within these job functions should take note that formalizing their employer brand may not be a good idea because many professionals pursuing a career especially in creative functions prefer to engage in flexible work settings that facilitate creativity and autonomous thought process; much the opposite of a static and formulated approach. A quiet and relaxing work environment conducive for brainstorming would be a great incentive for such professionals. Furthermore, the employers branding for marketing and creative businesses should be open to contingency staffing like the use of freelancers, gig workers, and contract employees. Making the best out of non-traditional employee market is an efficient way to boost the business.
Creative personalities are mostly attracted by this industry and the employer branding should be more or less outside the box to match the background of the target candidates and appeal to them. Many marketing and creative employers in Myanmar mainly use social media platforms especially Facebook to reach out to target job seekers. Design, visual elements, and aesthetic value of the marketing collaterals also play a vital role in drawing the attention of potential employees.
3) IT and Software/Hardware Companies
Information technology and computer engineering fields rank as some of the most highly paid as well as a challenging choice of profession. IT jobs usually demand very high level of technical expertise and there is a wide range of employers in Myanmar offering global standard work opportunities for IT professionals. Potential employers in Myanmar include telecommunication corporates like MPT, Ooredoo, and MyTel. Phone companies like Oppo, Huawei, and Samsung also provide enticing job options for competitive employees.
Employer branding can be moderately formalized but not as much as financial or legal corporates. STEM professionals are enticed by projects that call for innovation, challenge, and research and accordingly, employers should always place emphasis on the kinds of projects the employees will be engaged in and their level of challenge. Boring or repetitive job requirements can be a dealbreaker for IT professionals and it is important to design the work environment in a sophisticated way to motivate the employees. Although a formal work environment is not intolerant, a less bureaucratic and open-ended job responsibilities can enhance the performance of employees in this field.
4) Engineering and Architecture Firms
Engineering is arguably one of the most diverse work fields, encompassing a range of professions from civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, biochemical engineering, and more. Petroleum engineering is one of the most popular engineering branches in Myanmar, with PTTEP and Petronas being some prominent hiring companies today. Engineers are also one of the highest paid professions in Myanmar with many employers offering competitive salaries to qualified candidates with a good educational qualification, work experience, and a decent mix of work attitude and aptitude. Large automobile dealers like Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda are also highly marketable names in the mechanical engineering industry in Myanmar. Architecture, a fair blend of arts and technicality and a sub-engineering discipline, also proves to be an emerging career pursuit.
Engineering professionals value the ownership of their work especially when it involves designing new projects or buildings. Project and job diversity is important and the employers should always showcase their portfolios and past commissions to give the candidates a brief idea of what their projects should be like.
Engineering is also a profession that calls for cooperation with other fields, making synergy and teamwork an integral part of the vocation. For example, a civil engineer needs to work with architects to accomplish the aesthetics and functionality of the building, with electrical engineers to set up the electric cables and communication networks, and probably with mechanical engineers to fixate some equipment and home utilities. There are also many engineering professions that call for more individualistic tasks as part of the greater whole. Whatsoever, employers should also consider showcasing the collaborative and team working nature of engineering jobs, when applicable, to differentiate their brands.
It is important to note that there is not one magic bullet in employer branding. Each company must consider its reputation, industry, candidate profile, the image that company wants to portray, and most importantly an honest look into who they are and what they stand for for the employer branding to work. If you’re starting a business or looking to break into one of these fields, using the above framework is a good idea for becoming and maintaining a high standard of branding.