How to Build the Foundation for a Great Employer Brand?
What is an employer brand anyway? According to Wikipedia, employer brand describes an employer's reputation as a place to work, and their employee value proposition, as opposed to the more general corporate brand reputation and value proposition to customers.
While employer branding is different than corporate branding, the two go hand in hand. Much like peanut butter and jelly, they are very different but when paired together make an excellent and satisfying meal that is loved by millions. You want to employ the people who will align well with your customers. And in order to attract and retain those people, you must activate a message that will resonate your organizations values. Ipso facto, hire the right people and create a happy place to work and in return make happy customers.
But how do you ensure your alignment when your corporate brand is out of date or your CEO doesn’t see the value in either type of brand or the worst case scenario…your HR team and your marketing team don’t even know one another’s name?
Get Out of Your Silo
Walk over to your HR teams (or marketing teams) and introduce yourself. Create an alliance between your teams. You’ll be surprised at how much cross over you will find in your efforts.
Clarify Ownership
Because there is overlap in efforts, make sure that you designate 1 person to lead the efforts. This person will be responsible for driving the efforts and gaining sign off from key stakeholders.
Find Your North Star
To bring a brand to life, you need to make a promise to the people who will interact with it. This is typically referred to as a mission statement. Make one that will define your entire business and clearly explains to both your internal and external communities, your purpose. Make this mission your ultimate governing tool. Then build both the corporate and employer brands around it.
Create an Army
Once your plans are in place to build these brands, you’ll need advocates from as many departments as you can get to help bring them to fruition.
Remember Your Purpose
Your employer brand needs to evoke emotion in order to connect with the type of talent best suited for your company. And it must have deep roots in order to do this. As the brand evolves, don’t ever lose sight of your North Star.
Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate
Marketing ultimately understands how to capture the attention of an audience but HR understands the specific type of people needed to keep the company at its best. Embarking on this journey together will prove fruitful for both parties.
Your employer brand should not be an afterthought, especially once one has been established. Sure, you can eat a jelly sandwich and peanut butter sandwiches are also delicious but let’s just be honest…they are so much better together.