Demystifying the Employer Brand

One of the things that happens in marketing is when something new comes up, we tend to make a big, huge deal about it and turn it into something that requires specialization.

I believe that’s part of a deeply-seated inferiority complex we have in this field. We feel like we need to build this stuff up so people don’t do it themselves.

Which they would do at their peril.

A good example was the advent of social media. Of course, there are technical requirements for social media that are different—just like TV ads, Magazine ads, radio ads, billboards, direct mail, placemat ads, whatever.

What doesn’t change is people and their motivation. Successful marketers understand people. (More on this idea here.) Everything else is in the manual. (See the Ultimate Guide for External Stakeholder Management).

Which brings us to the newest thing: employer brand.

It is clearly important. The competition for talent is at the heart of today’s business challenges. It was a challenge before The Great Resignation began and it is a bigger challenge now.

So the term starts to enter conversations where people look thoughtful and stroke their chin.

Even with all that thought….

“The problem with most employer branding is that it is disconnected from the corporate brand and the core drivers of the business.”

— Harvard Business Review

Like social media, (and magazine ads or a press release), there is nothing here that we aren’t ready to deal with. What happens when we apply the most basic brand fundamentals to this “new discipline?”

Your Communication People Should Be Part of the Team

As HBR notes, the HR department usually owns this process and their observation is that the process “too often becomes associated with superficial perks, such as free lunch or unlimited vacation.”

The first step is to have the right people around the table. Similar to the overall corporate brand, creating and managing your employer brand requires skills from around the organization. That especially includes communications. We need to apply the same creative rigor to this process as we do to winning customers and in my experience that rarely happens. (Also, HR should be at the table when we discuss our corporate brand).

It Should Grow Out of Your Core Brand—and vice versa

In fact, HBR suggests we remove the idea of employer brand from our lexicon. “We advocate abolishing the ‘employer brand’ label and [focus] instead on building out a talent dimension as a key part of the corporate brand."

The implications for this are important. If you are going to attract and retain talent, you need to do it by finding people who can support your purpose and are energized by what your company does. That only happens when the two ideas are considered in tandem. Put another way, what are the chances of success of a brand that can’t attract talent? (This is also the core idea behind the messaging in Reslient5, where best-in-class stakeholder communication replaces traditional crisis preparation and crisis planning.)

You Need a Relevant Brand Promise

A relevant brand promise is the glue of any brand. Yet, it would appear that doesn’t make it into action (see above re: vacations). (See also that Dilbert has its own page for potluck humor).

As we are talking about relevance, studies show that employees are interested in more than pay. Research shows that employees want to know they are growing in their position. This is smart—a broader skillset creates a more resilient career.

Differentiation and Proof Points

Brands are about differentiation. The same is true for employer brands. What can you do to differentiate the employee experience at your organization from other places where people with the skills you need work? Hint: it won’t be potlucks.

Brands also have to be true. All your former mission statements and core value statements need to be translated into things that can be demonstrated, managed, and proven. You need proof points for a successful brand.