People ultimately work where they belong.

Top performers like working with other top performers.

Hungry people work with other hungry people.

Lazy people work where their style will be tolerated.

People who love to write reports and make presentations, but can’t make a decision, end up at slow-moving companies.

All of these situations are natural result of the “employer brand.”  My definition of employer brand: what comes to mind when a current or prospective employee hears your company name.

When the CEO doesn’t understand why her executives, managers, or employees don’t do the things that she expects them to do, it’s often because the company is full of the wrong people. And this is her fault, because as CEO she owns the employer brand.

Questions to consider:

• What is your employer brand?
• What kind of people want to work at your company?
• What kind of people stay at your company?
• What kind of people have left your company?
• What companies in your industry are the ones that “A” players want to work for?  Follow up question: what needs to change at your company for them to consider working for you?

When recruiting, it is critical to keep the answers to the above-mentioned questions in mind and ensure that the successful candidate belongs in your company.

Note: In some companies, the employer brand could be different at different levels (executives vs. employees) and different departments (sales vs. admin).