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Exploring the Power of Employer Branding

Culture, Employer Branding

In recent years, employer branding has emerged as the cool kid on the HR block. While some may have dismissed it as a fad or just another trend that HR and TA professionals are chasing, savvy employers understand that the world of work is evolving. Intentional employers recognize the power of branding on both the corporate and consumer sides and have strategically invested in shaping their organizational identity. Employer branding has become a strategic imperative for organizations.

 What is Employer Branding?

Employer branding is your organizational identity related to the employee experience. It’s what you become known for as a place of employment – its word on the street! While you cannot control brand outright, it can be influenced and shaped. This also enables a greater focus on honouring the brand experience throughout the entire employee lifecycle.

In a nutshell, HR used to be a combination of programs and efforts that created and supported the employee experience. Employers with foresight know this is not enough to promote memorability, identity, and ultimately, pride. Instead, they bring together these people programs, experiences, and messages, packaging them into a cohesive identity that deepens the key associations talent make with them as an employer – not leaving word on the street to chance.

Ultimately, when thinking about their brand, they are considering how to do right by their team and deliver on their people promise. It’s a win/win/win situation. Candidates gain a clearer sense of how a career with that employer can enrich their lives. Employees feel part of something. Employers spend less time educating others about who they are and how their culture is experienced.

The Importance of Employer Branding

Infographic containing information on the power of employer branding

Builds Organizational Identity

Great employer branding unifies messaging and creates a powerful organizational identity that attracts and retains talent.

Activates the Full Recruitment Funnel

Move beyond “post and pray”. #DidYouKnow that according to LinkedIn, 72% of recruiting leaders worldwide agree that employer brand significantly impacts hiring?

Supports Employee Pride

Modern employer branding turns the spotlight on the team, celebrating their efforts and providing a “window into the employee experience” that can ignite employee pride.

Communicates Differentiation & Supports a Pull Strategy

Think of employer branding like a recruiter working 24/7 to share your organizational story. Even when you and your team are sleeping, your employer brand assets can meet talent where they are and share your “why.”

Makes Hiring & Retention Easier

According to LinkedIn, organizations with a strong employer brand not only save time and money when recruiting but also experience reduced turnover.

Assists in Broadening Market Awareness

Strong employer branding efforts can help broaden talent market awareness, critical for activating the full recruitment funnel.

In conclusion, employer branding is not just a buzzword; it’s the evolution of HR and one’s people strategy. By investing in this important work, employers set the tone for how their culture is experienced and commit to honoring their people promise throughout the full employee lifecycle.

To learn more about our full-service employer branding projects and training, click here.

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What is Employer Branding, and Why is it Important?

Employer Branding

The world of work is changing, and the days of individuals selecting a company and spending their entire careers there are long gone. Candidates have become savvy consumers, viewing their careers not just as jobs but as lifestyle decisions. Job seekers, whether consciously or subconsciously, are asking themselves, “How will this job enrich my life?”

Welcome to the captivating realm of employer branding! Here, we not only aim to answer this question for candidates but also strive to deepen a broader sense of organizational identity for everyone, including existing employees.

In the dynamic landscape of the contemporary workforce, employer branding has emerged as a crucial element supporting differentiation, a strong sense of self, and magnetization for organizations aiming to attract, engage, and retain top talent. Let’s delve deeper into the fascinating world of employer branding, unraveling its significance and shedding light on why it has become a strategic imperative for businesses.

What is Employer Branding?

Employer branding is the organizational identity of an employer—it’s word on the street! Instead of leaving this to chance, world-class employers, big and small, are becoming more strategic and intentional about how they present themselves to the world and the key associations they wish to be made with them as a place of work. While we cannot control the brand outright, we can influence and support it with a solid vision, aligned people programs, and an experience that honors our brand promise.

We like to call this the “inner work” for organizations. Just as individuals benefit from self-reflection, goal setting, and intentionality around how to move through life, so too can employers. And the benefits can be far-reaching, fostering what we call a “cultural metamorphosis.”

The Importance of Employer Branding

Vision and Identity

The foundation of an employer brand is one’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Often, employer branding projects begin with the development of an EVP for an organization. This is critical as it is a springboard for all future people program development and messaging, bringing clarity to an organization’s people promise and crystallizing its unique “why.”

Look at it this way: The EVP is the band leader in a jam session. Imagine an employer without an EVP as a rock band where every musician is jamming independently, playing different riffs, and creating musical chaos. It’s like a band with no shared musical direction. Introduce an EVP, and it’s like a charismatic band leader, guiding the broader vision for the tune—culture, benefits, and messaging—bringing them together in a tight groove.

Without the EVP, it’s disorganized noise, where each element competes for attention, instead of a clear rhythm, a shared melody, and an understanding among all players. It can transform the workplace identity into a cohesive and collaborative jam, both internally and externally. The result is not just noise; it’s a harmonious and tightly woven anthem that resonates with the team and echoes out into the world, creating a memorable and impactful performance.

Let the Creative Inspiration Begin!

Once the EVP is established, meaningful creative development of messaging can begin. This helps align all communication channels, deepening key associations talent make with an employer. Instead of random thoughts and actions, employers stand confidently knowing their “why” and sharing their story in a clear and consistent fashion while also doubling down on people programs that honor this “why.”

Not only does this bring clarity to talent both internally and externally, but it can also bring precision to one’s budgetary philosophy. Rather than chasing shiny objects, there is a vision for the employee experience and a roadmap on how to get there.

Signals to Attract Top Talent

An employer brand is a magnet. It signals to talent who you are as an employer. Great brands both attract and repel by design. They are strategically crafted to help optimize the recruitment funnel, intensifying interest in those who would thrive at the organization and repelling those who would be better suited elsewhere. This is what a great candidate experience is all about. Don’t sell an illusion or try to be all things to everybody. Use your employer brand as a communication vehicle to draw in the right talent for your organization.

Employee Identity, Retention, and Pride

We all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and employer branding can be that conduit. When employees are part of this work and co-create this shared identity that factors in the mission of the organization, its values, and behavioral norms—essentially how you uniquely roll—you come out the other side motivated and more closely aligned to realize the broader organizational vision.

This is not an overnight transformation. This work is strategic and requires a genuine belief that how we show up in the world matters. When employees resonate with the company’s “why,” factoring in its values, they feel part of a collective mission, thus part of something bigger than themselves. Employer branding helps wrap up programs, people, experiences, opportunities, etc., into a unique identity, helping employers move from just another generic paycheck to a distinct career experience.

Awareness and Reputational Wins

A positive employer brand doesn’t just benefit internal stakeholders; it also contributes to an enhanced overall organizational reputation. In fact, we often say that embarking on an employer branding project is an exercise in organizational self-discovery. When we find ourselves, we help others find us.

This work can also be the catalyst for positive change. If you are dissatisfied with where your organization is at presently, embarking on such a project can bring clarity to the current state as well as your aspirational culture. This is the starting point for a better tomorrow. It’s impossible to get to a better place without this critical self-reflection. A strong employer brand can positively influence customers, investors, and other external partners, creating a ripple effect of positive perceptions.

Cost Savings

A well-established employer brand can lead to cost savings, as it helps cultivate a pull strategy. Rather than only chasing talent, draw them in. Additionally, rather than always following the competition, find you, own it, and invest in what truly matters to your team. This too can create laser focus on what your organization invests in.

Strategies for Building a Strong Employer Brand

Define Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Clearly articulate what sets your organization apart as an employer. Highlight the unique benefits and opportunities that employees can expect. Conceptualize this work in a creative way.

Need a hand with the development of your employee value proposition (EVP)? Check out our Brand Foundations Program. This full-service end-to-end employer branding project not only lays the foundation for one’s employer brand but also skills up the team simultaneously. Click here to learn more.

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A Co-Created Philosophy

At Powerhouse, we believe in a co-created people philosophy, including when shaping one’s employer brand. To find the genuine attraction and retention drivers that exist for your organization, bring the team into this work. From focus groups to real employee images, from testimonials to testing messaging, embarking on this work shoulder-to-shoulder with your team can produce an outcome with far greater authenticity and an increased likelihood of adoption and advocacy downstream.

You can read more about this co-created approach to one’s people strategy in our book Peace, Love, & Meaningful Careers.

Workplace culture book

Share Your Story

At Powerhouse we often say that great employer branding is not stock images and corporate speak, but rather providing a window into the employee experience. This can be done by leveraging the team and numerous free communication channels including social media to help share your story and broaden awareness. Not only does this help perspective talent enter the recruitment funnel but often the act of storytelling serves as a point of connection and unity for the existing team especially in situations where there is a distributed workforce.

Employer branding is not just the hot buzzword, it’s a must do and a strategic necessity in today’s competitive talent landscape. By investing time, energy, and resources into one’s employer brand, organizations can better distinguish themselves, share their story in a more consistent fashion, and ignite employee pride helping to turn disparate music notes into that rock anthem that folks can’t help but to sing along with!

Don’t be shy or settle for vanilla, find your voice together with your team, design an experience and identity that you can be proud of, honour it throughout the employee lifecycle, and play that anthem loud! Make some noise!

 

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How to Build an Employee Ambassador Program

Culture, Employer Branding, Recruitment

Graphic for an article on employee ambassador programs

Ever wonder how some organizations have the coolest employer branding content? There is spirit, fun, and personality…so what makes it so interesting? It’s the authenticity shared through images and video that depict the organizational energy. This can’t be manufactured. So how do they do it? Enter the employee ambassador program…

Employee ambassador programs have become increasingly popular in recent years as companies recognize the value of having their team capture the real deal. By empowering your employees to be social scouts and brand ambassadors, one is better able to provide what we like to call “a window into the employee experience”. This can ignite employee pride, connect distributed teams, and magnetize prospective talent to the organization.

Here are 8 steps to help you get started in launching your very own employee ambassador program:

1) Determine your goals

You are a busy HR/TA pro. No one has time for “busy work” that doesn’t move the needle. Before you start designing your program, define your objectives. Determine what you want to achieve by launching an employee ambassador program. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive engagement, grow candidate leads or increase team connection? Once you have a clear understanding of your goals, you can tailor your program to meet your specific needs.

2) Design the program

Next up is designing how the program will work. Is it an annual program where ambassadors sign up for a year term or will it be more free-flowing? How many ambassadors will your organization need? Will ambassadors submit content for curation and publication or will they also be mobilizing their networks to share the company’s story? There is not a one-size-fits-all answer here. Either approach can work. Should you wish the team to share on their social channels, will they be using their personal social handles or creating branded company ones, for example: @SeemaForXYZCompany?

Will ambassadors be trained and if so, how and by whom? How will ambassadors be selected? Will is be a sign-up process or will individuals be invited to participate (still kept voluntary)? What volume of content do you require and in what geographic locations? Will the program be enterprise-wide or business unit specific? How will you manage consent for content? These are just some of the parameters that you’ll want to think through as you design your program.

3) Select your tool/s of choice

Now it’s time to talk tools! There are several ways to collect the content. You can designate an EB lead and have content emailed in, set up a shared file and provide access to ambassadors to upload, or use a content management tool to capture content, curate, caption, and schedule all in one place! At Powerhouse, we love the simplicity of the latter.

After using Later for years, we are thrilled to be an Official Later Partner. Later is a social content scheduling tool with several other superpowers. When using Later for ambassador work, we add each ambassador as a contributor for them to have the ability to upload content into Later’s backend interface. You can also set up a custom content submission e-mail where one does not need a Later account. This works great for employee-generated content contests independent of an ambassador program. These are just a few of the reasons we love Later and are so happy to be partnering with them. Later has a ton of social platforms that it publishes to including LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, and more.

To learn more about Later, click here.

* We are a proud Later partner which means not only do we use Later but we may receive a commission from them at NO additional cost to you. Later does this as a thank you to us for helping to share their awesomeness with the world.

4) Promote the program

Now that we have our program designed and tools ready to go it’s time to spread the word. Here’s where you can unleash your creativity to design compelling posters, splash pages, and other graphics that invite your team to become an ambassador. You could even connect with your marketing department and pick their brain on suggested approaches to broaden reach and inspire employees to become an ambassador.

5) Select your ambassadors

The success of your employee ambassador program hinges on having the right people on the team and their commitment to sharing the “window into the employee experience”.  Look for employees who understand the vision of this work, want to broaden their skills, and who are committed to sharing your organization’s story.

6) Provide training and get the team pumped

To be effective ambassadors, your employees need to understand your consumer and employer brand’s key messages, values, and objectives. Providing training and resources will help your ambassadors to be confident and effective advocates for your brand. Consider creating a brand ambassador playbook or cheat sheet that outlines your program’s objectives and provides tips.

7) Shout out, recognize, and gamify

One of the best ways to incentivize your employee ambassadors is to establish a leaderboard or rewards and recognition program. By recognizing your ambassadors’ efforts, you can encourage them to continue promoting your brand. Rewards can include things like exclusive access to company events, gift cards, or other incentives.

8) Measure progress 

Like any initiative, it’s essential to measure your employee ambassador program’s success. Define what success looks like from the outset. Does it mean increased employee engagement, team recognition (as perceived by employees), content consumption in the form of impressions, candidate research (as noted by candidates, thus serving as a conversion tool), etc. Like with any program, it’s an evolution and you will need to tweak as you go.

Launching an employee ambassador program is not only a great way to kick off your employer branding efforts, but it is also a fantastic way to bring your team into this work — supporting a co-created people philosophy. This can lead to much more interesting content, employees who feel part of the journey, and a team that celebrates all sites, roles, and levels…not simply the executive ranks.  It’s time to power up your content and empower your team to share the ride internally and externally. Now go on out there and make some noise!!!

Starting an employer brand project?

Land Your Brand is more than a course, it’s an EB project toolkit!

www.LearnEmployerBranding.com

Employer Branding course

 

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HR storytelling content saying

HR Storytelling & Employer Branding – Connect Through Content

Culture, Employer Branding, Recruitment

HR storytelling content saying

Content is Queen! In the world of people and culture, one might be wondering how content is relevant to our discipline. Unlike any other time in the history of our profession, storytelling is helping to set organizations apart, providing a window into the employee experience, igniting employee pride, and magnetizing others to join the journey.

As exciting as this time is, a large gap remains in our discipline. So what is the gap? It is the knowledge gap. There are many HR pros hungry for growth, change, and advancement within our discipline and to all of those who subscribe to this philosophy, we applaud you! There is so much that we can learn from other disciplines and domains even outside the business world that we can take inspiration from to fuel our advancement. 

So understanding the time is now to double down on our efforts for progress, what can we learn about content to help better our organizations?

  1. It all begins with self-discovery

When we uncover who we are as individuals, the world opens up to us. When we discover who we are as an organization and own it, the same is true. It all begins with an employee value proposition (EVP). An EVP brings intentionality and cohesion to the full employee lifecycle helping to honour our people promise and increase the likelihood of brand recall in market. If we don’t take the time to understand who we are, how can we expect others to be invested in the mission and join the journey?

  1. Aligning content to goals

Before designing a content strategy or building any content/creative, it’s important to get clear on one’s goals both organizational business objectives as well as people and culture. The two should go hand-in-hand, as only through our people and a strong and vibrant culture can we achieve our full potential and realize our business objectives.

  1. Designing a channel strategy

Next up is developing one’s channel strategy. There are so many places to distribute content to but that doesn’t mean we need to be everywhere. By understanding our business objectives, audience, and where we would like to expand awareness to support broader workforce inclusivity, one can select the appropriate content channels. This can range from Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Reddit, blogs, YouTube, podcasts, LinkedIn, Medium, other discipline-specific niche sites, events, and more. We don’t need to try and boil the ocean. It’s about being selective but committing fully.

  1. Keeping it real!

Let’s lose the corporate-speak and stock images. Nobody wants to consume self-serving and artificial content. Let’s instead focus on highlighting the people within the organization, celebrating their unique stories, and who they are as people beyond their job title. Let’s show up with personality and build community at work!

  1. Showing up consistently

Time to commit to the process. It takes time to see the impact of ongoing effort but don’t be fooled, we are planting seeds and below the earth, they are getting ready to sprout. The harvest will come in time through consistent effort and showing up for our audience.

The benefits of content

  1. Market awareness

Content helps tell our story beyond a single job posting on our career site or internal chatter that’s happening within the organization. It can help activate the full recruitment funnel and optimize the efforts of our recruitment team. It can help us reach under-represented populations and build a more diverse and inclusive workforce. 

  1. Employee engagement and pride

Content can ignite employee engagement and pride across geographies and remote teams. It can also serve as a form of recognition celebrating the day-to-day achievements of our talented workforce. It can build a community that deepens ties internally and helps us share our story more broadly thereby inviting others to join the mission.

  1. Recruitment and candidate research

Content is by far one of the most powerful candidate research tools. It allows for multidimensional storytelling and helps bring to life our key messages. It also rounds out the information available on our organization, giving candidates more to consume than simply employer review channels and our career site.

 

So go on out there HR pros, let’s empower our organizational storytellers, and build more than a content strategy, let’s build employee pride and share our story more broadly!

To learn more about Employer Branding, EVP development, or content strategy, hit us up at www.powerhousetalent.ca. We build award-winning employer brand strategies. Will your organization be next?

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5 Ways to Make Your New Hire the Star of their Employee Onboarding Story

Culture, Employer Branding

Vintage typewriter for article on employee onboarding

Many of us remember our childhood story time and being read to by our parents and teachers. Storytelling has been part of how we learn, acclimatize, and relate to the world since we were young.  

As children, stories helped us learn to read and write. As adults, they allow us to share knowledge, our journeys and life experiences. And who doesn’t love a great story? So why not learn from the hero’s journey and weave this concept into the onboarding process as we welcome a new hire onto the team.  

As we can see from novels and screenplays, there are many elements to a great story. For our onboarding journey, we will focus on the hero, supporting characters, point of view, setting, and the goal.  

1) Hero 

Starting a new job can feel daunting, but it can also feel like an exciting adventure with the right support in place. Place your new hire in the starring role. View them as the hero of the story and help them learn, grow, and become as they embark of this next chapter of their career …pun intended. 

2) Supporting characters 

Next, have your new hire meet with other key players within the company or their area of business, from the leadership level to individual team members. Foster an environment rich in support with the voluntary sharing of personal stories of working at the organization or their career journey. These interactions deepen trust, accelerate rapport building, and help your new hire build relationships founded on a personal connection vs. simply a surface level meet and greet. Some employees will generously share their journey while others may prefer to start slowly but creating conditions ripe with psychological safety from the outset helps both parties connect in more meaningful ways helping to make the onboarding experience a more human one. 

3) Point of view 

With our hero (new hire) top of mind, design the onboarding experience from the perspective of what they need to know and how they would want to feel to have a successful ramp-up into the organization. Gone are the days where the company is at the center of the design process. Build an onboarding roadmap optimized for user experience not solely knowledge transfer.  

Like everything we do at Powerhouse, we recommend a co-created approach to design a process with meaning. Connect with team members to better understand their experience. From there, layer empathy into each milestone to ensure the new hire’s needs are at the forefront. 

Let’s Put the Action in Talent Attraction Strategy!

The Talent Attraction Strategy Framework Course is here!

graphic for online recruitment and Talent Attraction Strategy Framework course

 

4) Setting 

Next up is context. Bring your new hire into the story by sharing and demonstrating the values, mission, and vision of the organization. It is important for the new team member to understand why the organization does what they do and what their value system is. Take them on a visual storytelling journey of how the organization was built and how it grew to be where it is today. Use casual images and videos but keep them unfiltered and real for authenticity and credibility. Add employee stories and experiences to demonstrate how people have grown with the organization and the value of a shared sense of purpose. This helps our new hire see how they fit into the story and empowers them to make a difference as they become part of the organization’s future success. 

5) Goal  

Like any great tale, there is a story arc. In onboarding, we are setting the stage for what’s possible. Our new hire may be the creator of the organization’s next product innovation, they may tap into new markets, or further reengineer a process, freeing up valuable capacity for even more meaningful work to be completed. Incorporating buddy systems or shadowing within the onboarding process encourages team members to work through and/or share challenges they are facing further optimizing the process for the next hire. 

While the complete hero’s journey is yet to be written, the goal of onboarding is to set this individual up for success. This means more than simply sharing processes and granting platform access. It’s about inviting the new hire into the story…celebrating its history, sharing its vision, and encouraging our hero to help write its next chapter of success. 

Great onboarding is not a nice to have, it is a business imperative. #DidYouKnow that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for 3 years if they experienced great onboarding? While many organizations are investing in their EVP and employer brand strategy, it’s important not to lose sight of how we honour our people promise and deliver our brand experience. Exceptional onboarding is one critical component of doing exactly that. 

Need help standing out in a sea of sameness? We got you. Hit us up over at powerhousetalent.ca or [email protected] to learn more about our award-winning employer brand strategies. It’s time to POWER UP! 

Ready for more Employer Branding?

For full-service support – Building an employer brand strategy or EVP? We can help. Hit us up here. 

We build award-winning employer brand strategies with heart.

As a result… our clients transform their cultures and magnetize incredible talent to their organizations.

It’s time to POWER UP!

 

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Eight Ways to Show Your Team Some Love on Employee Appreciation Day and Always

Culture, Employer Branding

employee appreciation day

Did you know that March 5th is Employee Appreciation Day? While this day of recognition is a wonderful idea to show some love to your team, employee appreciation should be a year-round affair. 

Think of this day as you would Valentine’s Day. If you only show your partner you care once a year, you will likely find yourself in a hollow relationship unable to withstand the inevitable storms that we face in life. The same is true for the employment relationship. One day of cupcakes or a gift card will not make up for 364 days of under-appreciation and/or disregard for the people helping to power your organization.

For all of the people-first leaders out there, here are some ways to send some extra warm and fuzzies to the team on Employee Appreciation Day:

1) Fun work awards: Many organizations have formal award programs but does your company have an award program that is actually fun and interesting for employees? If you’re a fan of the TV show The Office, then you’ll know how meaningful the Dundies were to the team at Dunder Mifflin.  These funny and wacky award categories were both an office tradition and an opportunity for bonding on a deeper level. While the Dundies may serve as the inspiration for this tip, it is still a TV show so keep your award categories respectful. Together with your employees (remember we believe in a co-created employee experience), come up with a handful of fun informal awards. Next, create bizarre-looking trophies (physical or virtual) to honour these not-so-polished moments and see your team light up in new ways. Come up with categories that celebrate the individual uniqueness of your team and share the categories before the big day.  Have your team vote on finalists to further make this a shared experience. Embed this annual tradition within your employee experience and have your team come together to celebrate, laugh, and go down in history with their very own fun award. 

2) Pay it forward – team style: With this tip, every employee is provided a fixed dollar amount electronic gift card that they can direct to a colleague who helped them the most, supported them the most, or just made the last year more manageable. This encourages a spirit of gratitude amongst your employee population and empowers your team to be thoughtful and aware of the positive impact others have had on them.

3) Pay it forward – social good: Set a fixed dollar amount and add it to your next pay cycle. Next, encouraged the team to make a donation to a registered charity or not-for-profit organization of their choice. Better yet, check out sites like Canada Helps for charity gift cards that make doing good that much easier. Research has shown that we feel better after spending on others versus ourselves. To learn more about this and other ingredients for a thriving workplace culture, check out our book Peace, Love & Meaningful Careers.

4) Theme of the year – SWAG: Create an annual tradition of setting a theme for the year and continue this idea into Employee Appreciation Day with customized SWAG that commemorates the theme. Think back to summer camp and the song of the summer, the sweatshirts, and t-shirts that marked that moment in history forever. Rituals and traditions are an important part of building a strong workplace culture and deepening the ties that your team has with your organization.  Pair this idea of an annual theme with an awesome playlist curated by your organization. This further helps to unite your team and can also be a fun tool on the recruitment marketing front.

5) Virtual party with door prizes: While this year has been unlike any other, it has helped bring much-needed progress to the workplace.  We are now comfortable and perhaps too familiar with every video conferencing tool out there. Pick your fave and throw a virtual party! Depending on the size of your organization, this could be by department or as a broader organization. Have awesome door prizes to help celebrate the day.

6) Our team rocks (low budget fun idea) – Invite your team to sport their favourite rock or musical artist t-shirt. This is an amazing way to see the person beyond the job title. Get the team together for virtual drinks, add some door prizes, and rock Employee Appreciation Day with fun games like Name That Tune and music trivia. You will catch me proudly sporting a Grateful Dead t-shirt and keeping it real!

7) Time off – Let’s face it, your team, like the rest of the world has had a rough 12 months. Tell your team how much you love them by giving them some time for self-care. This can be done in numerous ways depending on your operational needs. Perhaps it’s a morning or afternoon off where you rotate between half your workforce being off in the morning while the other half is off in the afternoon. Let the team know that your intention for the day is for them to use this time in a way that rejuvenates them, thus recognizing all of their hard work especially over the course of the last year.

8) Gift cards with personality (thanks a latte) – When in doubt there’s the much-loved gift card. While this idea runs the risk of feeling impersonal, you can combat that by adding some personality and linking your gift card to a fun theme. 

If nothing else, be sure to take the time to extend a heartfelt thank you to each member of your team. As small as the gesture may seem, it feels great to know we are appreciated.

The logistics:

  1. Set a budget.
  2. Start the work early.
  3. Create a “care crew” made up of employee representatives to ensure you hit the mark. This is an important point for any activity you are working on within the employee lifecycle. My firm belief is that the future of the employee experience (and the here and now for progressive employers) is a co-created one. Having our team by our side as we shape the employee experience, ensures that it is meaningful, collaborative, and united in its approach. 
  4. Spread the love: Shower your team with the recognition they deserve. Now more than ever, our team needs us. Send some extra special love to your “care crew” for their support in shaping an awesome employee experience.
  5. Rinse and repeat: Every day may not be Employee Appreciation day but every day we should be showing gratitude and recognition to our team for living our values and helping to power our mission

The key to a thriving culture and an exceptional employee experience is intention. Setting a regular practice of gratitude and recognition tells your team they are valued…not one day of the year, but always. 

To learn more about a thriving workplace and sparking a cultural metamorphosis, check out our website at www.powerhousetalent.ca (Employer Brand & Employee Experience Strategy Firm).

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5 Steps For Spreading Good Vibes And Weaving Purpose Into The Employee Experience

Culture, Employer Branding

We often hear that the recipe for true happiness and success is when your passion meets your purpose. In his book, Start with Why, Simon Sinek echoes the fact that everything you do should always have a ‘why’ behind it and should always be done with intention. If you are one of the lucky people that have found the why in your job or in your company, then you have truly hit the jackpot. Companies who prioritize and advocate for social good create a richer and more engaging employee experience.

There are several ways to weave social good into the everyday culture of an organization without it feeling like a hollow gesture. Here are 5 key ingredients to what I like to call “The Social Good Recipe”! In equal parts, blend purpose, prioritization, passion, planning, and production. And as a special bonus treat, add a sprinkle of party as you celebrate wins together.

The Social Good Recipe

1. PURPOSE – Survey your employees asking them for organizations and causes close to their heart. Provide context and ask them to consider your values, the communities you serve, and underserved sectors. Being part of the journey from the very beginning will help them feel seen, heard, and more engaged in the process. This will also give them the opportunity to reflect upon their contribution in life, both personally and professionally. When employees come together, working towards the same goal, they are bound to develop creative ways to realize that goal.

 

2. PRIORITIZATION – Select around 3 to 5 causes that align well with the fabric of your organizational culture. Prioritizing down to this level shows intentionality and brings a strong focus to your overall goal. Too many options will muddle the process and may overwhelm your employees, causing them to become disinterested.

 

3. PASSION – Create a group of social good ambassadors representative of the world around us. Next, hand over the reins to the people that make up your organization, so they can own different aspects of the process. If you are a company that is dispersed regionally or globally, it is important to select a social good ambassador in every region who then belongs to the larger group at the head office level. This helps with consistent and seamless local execution of initiatives within the respective regions, helping voices across geographies to be heard.

 

4. PLAN – Develop a plan for execution and come up with different ways to achieve your goal. When social ambassadors put their heads together and create an all-encompassing plan, it helps them become more invested at a personal level. This may sometimes mean partnering with a consulting agency that focuses on not-for-profits. Clothing/Food drives, volunteering at the local food bank or soup kitchen, participating in walks/runs, and building a home are just a few ways to make this happen. Provide flexibility for employees to be part of other causes outside of the top 3 to 5 that the organization has selected. Some organizations have woven volunteerism into the employee experience by offering days off to support community enrichment and/or philanthropic efforts to charities of their choice.

 

5. PRODUCTION – Making it happen. This part will likely be the bulk of the hands-on work. Seeking out vendors, coordinating and promoting events, and communicating key messages across the organization. Encourage employees to include their family and friends wherever they can. This will not only deepen a sense of belonging, but it will also demonstrate to your employees that you truly care about them and their families. And don’t forget to share your journey and pictures across social channels to further unite the team, deepen the meaning of the mission, and attract purpose-driven talent to the organization.

 

Last but certainly not the least, celebrate your wins (the bonus treat “P” PARTY)! Recognize employees or groups that have contributed their time and energy to serve these causes that matter. There is nothing like seeing your purpose and efforts come to life!

 

Well there you have it, social good can bring greater meaning to the employee experience and enrich your overall brand, both employer and consumer. And when your employees come along this journey with you, they become your greatest ambassadors.

 

Are you a company that is on a social good journey? This recipe might be a good one to follow so you and your employees can find that perfect blend of purpose and passion, as you enjoy every bite of success.

 

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Need help designing an employee experience that matters? Hop on over to www.powerhousetalent.ca to learn more about our award-winning employer brand strategies.

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How To Write Employee Communications With Heart In Five Simple Steps

Employer Branding

Have you ever received a corporate email laced with jargon and wondered why communications can’t share information in a more human manner? We got you. Not only is it possible, but there is also a helpful formula to make sure you don’t put your readers to sleep. Are you ready for it?

1) Determine what you want the audience to know and how you want them to feel

Start by understanding your communication goals. What do you need the reader to learn from this communication and how do you want them to feel while reading it? When we are intentional, not simply about information structure, but also the emotional response, we improve the output. Rather than a vanilla communication, compose heart-centered messages that share not simply the desired information but also enrich the employee experience.

2) Speak to one person and do so with transparency

Stop writing to the masses. The best way to hit it out of the park with your communication is to imagine your reader, not your readership. When you move from a generic mass communication to a custom-crafted message that can still be shared broadly, you increase your odds that it will feel human, connected, and sincere. 

Don’t forget to be transparent. If you need to gloss over the facts with jargon, don’t bother including them. Employees want to be informed, trust their leaders, and this is built with transparency. Share the journey and help employees understand the landscape. Let them know what is keeping you up at night and what you are doing about it.

3) What’s in it for them

While speaking to your reader, ask yourself, “what is in it for them, or what is the impact?”. It’s human nature to focus on our personal impact, positive or negative. Shifting our thinking to the reader’s questions helps build messages which convey what is needed while addressing the elephant in the room. This helps communications land well, reduces noise, and assists the team in digesting the information. 

4) Add images or video

Tell stories, don’t just regurgitate facts. Bring the reader into the story with visual elements. Did you launch a new product? Share images of the product team including the journey leading up the launch (the pizza boxes, the goofy moments, the product demos, and team shots). Bring the reader into the experience of the message with informal images and video. Highly produced scripted video or portrait shots won’t usually win over hearts. Keep it real!

5) Use modern channels

Communication is simply the sharing of information. Break those predictable communication patterns and experiment with new channels. From live streaming to internal podcasting, there are plenty of ways to break up with the “office memo”. Kick it new-school. Consider the criticality, confidentiality, and scope of the message when determining the appropriate channel.

There you have it, employee communications delivered with intention and heart! Now go on out there and build an awesome workplace!

Need help communicating with your team in ways which inspire connection? We got you! Powerhouse Talent builds meaningful employee communications, compelling employer award submissions, and social media content which unites. Hit us up at i[email protected] to learn more. Contact info here. 

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The Difference Between An EVP And An Employer Brand

Employer Branding

Being an employer brand and employee experience strategy firm, we often get the question, “what is the difference between an employee value proposition (EVP) and an employer brand?”. Let’s dive right in…

What is an EVP?

An EVP is the “why” around your organization – It’s what attracts and retains top talent and your promise to your people (authentically conveying what you are and also what you are not). 

employer brand agency EVP

What is an Employer Brand?

An employer brand is the organizational identity related to the employee experience – it’s ultimately what the organization becomes known for as an employer. We use tools such as logos, taglines, colours, typography, content generation, social media, etc. to convey messages, improve brand recall, and highlight personality, but those are simply tools, not your brand. In the end, an employer brand is a company’s reputation as a workplace.

An EVP is critical to carving out an employer brand that is authentic, compelling, and memorable. If you don’t know your “why” how can you expect others to want to join the journey?

An EVP and brand are fundamental elements to a comprehensive people strategy, as a great brand not only attracts your ideal talent but also unites your current workforce. It can be the catalyst for what we like to call a #CulturalMetamorphosis.

Employees want to feel part of something bigger than themselves. An energized employer brand strategy with a high degree of employee participation yields pride and advocacy.

#HumanBeforeResources

 

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For full-service support – Building an employer brand strategy or EVP? We can help. Hit us up here. 

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