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Recruitment

What is Employer Branding, and Why is it Important?

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.

Images of employer branding project, the brand foundations program

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!

 

What is Employer Branding, and Why is it Important? Read More »

Article on EVP and employer brand

The Most Powerful Transformer in HR

Article on EVP and employer brand

I want to let you in on a little secret…

You might be surprised to hear me say that the biggest win related to an employee value proposition (EVP) /employer brand strategy project is not that of talent attraction, but rather the fostering of a cultural metamorphosis. A wonderful by-product of such a project is greater ease in attracting outstanding talent, as when one’s position and voice are crystallized, the opportunity for brand recall is strengthened. But again, that is simply a fabulous by-product.

When we commence these projects digging deeper and with a spirit of organizational self-discovery and intentionality around building an exceptional employee experience, we can transform more than a recruitment process. We can transform our culture.

This is not new and has always been the case. By the end of this article, you will understand why this happens. My hope is that I will inspire you to do this critical work. This does not require an agency although many organizations opt to utilize one for several reasons including expertise in this discipline, speed, ease, and objectivity. But most importantly, do not let budget constraints prevent you from realizing your organization’s best self! An EVP project is at the helm of a cultural rebirth.

Let the fun begin!

Let’s start with what an EVP is. An EVP is the “why” around your organization. It’s what attracts and retains talent. It is also your promise to your people. When we undergo an EVP project, we distill the very qualities which attract talent to us, as well as gain an appreciation for who we are not.  In this realization there is power. There is the capacity to communicate clearly to both existing employees and prospective talent around the authentic employee experience. In doing so we optimize our recruitment funnel by having those unlikely to find success at our organization opt-out while those who will thrive in our environment have their interest intensified. For example, some candidates thrive in builder environments with a higher degree of fluidity and ambiguity, while others will be met with frustration and crave deeper process maturity. An EVP is an exercise in truth-telling flavoured with the aspirational tone of what’s to come, as with each hire we advance closer to this.

Next, some mistake employer branding as an exercise in career site beautification. This to me is “veneer work”. If what is beneath the #instaperfect surface is far from inspiring and contrary to the messages being shared, credibility will be lost. When we approach this work with genuine motivation to become our best self, we can co-create an enriched employee experience and future together with our employees.  This is the business of transformation, not of selling an illusion.

For those who know that there’s something special that needs to be unearthed and are committed to this being the catalyst for positive organizational change and enhancement, this is the work that gets me fired up!

It’s important to look at this initiative with fresh eyes. It’s a paradigm shift rather than looking at it as simply another HR initiative. One needs to understand that the EVP is at the heart of one’s people strategy and brings cohesion to the full employee lifecycle.

Article on EVP and employer brand

Once an EVP has been established, every new HR program, initiative, and policy, becomes intentional and crafted to support an exceptional employee experience honouring the people promise. It is approached with a spirit of alignment to the overarching “why” of the employee experience. Rather than the employee lifecycle looking similar to a quilt with random employee programs patched together, it is an intentional and cohesive experience which aligns to this “defining why”. How we onboard, how we inspire, how we develop, how we build belonging, how we part ways, how we foster ongoing relationships within alumni networks, and how we invite those very people back into the organization as boomerang employees, all aligns with the EVP and tells a consistent story. If you’re looking for authenticity around your employer brand, this is how you do it.

An EVP is the Optimus Prime of HR. It is the transformer (80s cartoon version of course!) that leads the people strategy. Beware of the veneer, they are the Decepticons of this space.

Listen to our podcast to learn more on this subject.


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To learn how to escape the legacy mindset, foster a cultural metamorphosis, and change the energy of your organization, check out the book Peace, Love, & Meaningful Careers available in Kindle and paperback here. To learn how you can work with Powerhouse Talent on the development of your EVP, hit us up here.

Workplace culture book

 

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Powerhouse Talent's Recruiter Training

Behold…Powerhouse Talent’s Talent Attraction Learning Intensive. Our custom learning workshops are called intensives for a reason. We get in there and dig into your organization’s specific needs. We dive deep into pain points and build the path forward together while learning simultaneously. We like to say we put the “action” in talent attraction learning.

Powerhouse Talent's Recruiter Training

Powerhouse Talent's Recruiter Training

In each customized session we provide inspiration, education, and operationalization to help get you to the other side! The best part is we have a blast doing it! Our sessions are designed for team building and togetherness. They are fun and human….no stuffy theory lectures here! So much so that we have a 100% net promoter score with participants describing the training as inspiring, engaging, unique, useful, and high quality!

Powerhouse Talent's Recruiter Training

Give us a shout today to learn more. 

Join our journey on Instagram! Wishing you peace, love, meaningful careers!

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Use Social Media to Build Your Employer Brand

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Ready to put the ACTION in Talent Attraction!?!?

We work with employers who are ready to stand out in the war for talent and turn their company from “best kept secret” to “talent hot spot“. And the best part is, we make it feel easy on you as a busy HR professional, not to mention easy on your recruiting budget! We have put together a FREE employer branding webinar to help you rock the talent world! Click here to access it.

Ready to learn more? Check out our employer branding and talent attraction courses and coaching programs here.

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We work with employers who are ready to stand out in the war for talent and turn their company from “best kept secret” to “talent hot spot“. And the best part is, we make it feel easy on you as a busy HR professional, not to mention easy on your recruiting budget! We have put together a FREE employer branding webinar to help you rock the talent world! Click here to access it.

Ready to learn more? Check out our employer branding and talent attraction courses and coaching programs here.

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Ensuring employer branding reflects what you want

https://www.humanresourcesonline.net/features/perception-vs-reality-ensuring-employer-branding-reflects-what-you-want/

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Ready to learn more? Check out our employer branding and talent attraction courses and coaching programs here.

Recruitment and employer brand training

 

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According to a recent study from the Wharton School of Business, companies today fill less than one-third of open positions with internal candidates. That wasn’t always the case. During the postwar era, companies filled 90% of jobs with existing employees. But unemployment rates are at historic lows, and there are more jobs open than candidates looking for those jobs.

We work with employers who are ready to stand out in the war for talent and turn their company from “best kept secret” to “talent hot spot“. And the best part is, we make it feel easy on you as a busy HR professional, not to mention easy on your recruiting budget! We have put together a FREE employer branding webinar to help you rock the talent world! Click here to access it.

Ready to learn more? Check out our employer branding and talent attraction courses and coaching programs here.

Recruitment and employer brand training

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To learn more about Redfin, check out their website here.

Need help attracting talent to your organization? We have employer branding solutions for companies for all sizes and budgets. Hit us up here.

Join our journey on instagram.

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