How to Activate Your Employer Brand

A successful employer brand establishes confidence, loyalty, and enthusiasm throughout the organization by bringing to life a distinctive organizational culture and brand identity that will attract great talent. The product of exhaustive research, comprehensive benchmarking, testing, and validation a robust brand is effective across many channels, both internally and externally and promotes your organization’s position in a competitive marketplace to source and retain talent.

When you go to all the trouble of defining and articulating employer brand it is worth effort to ensure that it is launched successfully and has the hoped-for impact. Check:

• Authenticity – an employee’s perception of authentic business leadership is the strongest predictor of job satisfaction, commitment to the organization and happiness at work
• Transparency – a values-based approach to business is increasingly popular
• Employee-centred – the best employers provide a positive environment that encourages employees to deliver their best performance
• Employee advocates – willing to share their positive employer brand stories
• Ongoing learning – to adapt your strategy for optimum performance.

Adapt to thrive

Focus on great employee experience – employer of choice status brings many advantages to employers (Herman & Giola, 2001). It lowers marketing costs, as the organization becomes more attractive to customers and investors. Employee performance increases, as both the employer and employee are more engaged and less stressed. Planning processes are facilitated due to improved retention of employees.

If you take the trouble to collect and collate data alongside external input it’s important to remember to interrogate and use the information that you garner. An adaptable employer branding strategy is important in a competitive landscape. Evolving employment trends mean organizations must be agile and alive to the social media environment in order to build a culture that creates a great environment for all employees, staff and contractors, temps and management.

Think about the channels used to promulgate the brand message and content carefully tailored to your population. According to John Graham Jr., the Global Talent Acquisition Social & Digital Strategy Lead at Merck:

“We have a strong focus on user-generated content because we realize that people don’t respond to the polished-type of content that you usually see. People connect with people, and the content we provide reflects that reality. Everything from live events to spotlight a series of employees that enable our employee base to share and express their culture. We are very much employee-centered; our employees are the best source of hire for us”.

Creative and innovative

Other activation methods to consider include live or online roadshow type events to create awareness and interest among your current and potential employees. Perhaps a look-book or mood-board approach might work via a careers website or recruitment page.

Video and social media are increasingly popular with applicants and webinars offering virtual tourist activities for interested parties are relatively inexpensive and easy to organize, offering creative and innovative opportunities to have a wide-ranging impact while increasing awareness among your audience segments.

When you activate an employer brand strategy, you can ‘t know upfront exactly what will work at every level, especially in terms of what will work culturally. Be prepared to be agile and responsive.

Measurable impact comes from confident activation of employer brand, bringing it to life across the whole recruiting strategy, through employees and recruitment marketing channels, for the whole employment journey.

A compelling employer brand facilitates the attraction and retention of quality hires. A meaningful experience of your employer brand will resonate with stakeholders while promoting the organization as a top-class employer with a brilliant team driving great results.