Federal agencies need to establish a brand for effective recruitment, MSPB has said, defining branding as a statement of “the essence of who you are, who you want to be and how you want people–in this case potential job seekers–to view you.”
In a recent publication, MSPB examined how they present themselves to prospective employees, based on an analysis using a market research technique. That identifies key branding messages as focusing on competence, excitement, sincerity, ruggedness or sophistication.
Reviewing 62 agency and sub-agency sites where agencies describe their mission and priorities, MSPB found that 60 percent emphasize competence–specialized knowledge needed to accomplish their missions–while only 18 percent emphasize how exciting their work can be and only 12 percent emphasize fair and honest administration of the resources under their control. Three emphasize physically demanding aspects of their work while none emphasize their sophistication, MSPB said.
“Federal agencies have been advised to create brands which are not only relevant to their missions but which also help them differentiate themselves from other prospective employers.Most of the agencies we examined seem to be doing this correctly–emphasizing both their ‘specialty’ in public service and the importance of performing this service at the highest standards of knowledge and ability.
“MSPB believes that agencies should continue attending to how they market themselves–particularly to the brand they communicate to potential job applicants in vacancy announcements. Applicants should see what kinds of competence an agency values and deems necessary for mission accomplishment,” it said.