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Exploring the Power of 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?

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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HR storytelling content saying

HR Storytelling & Employer Branding – Connect Through Content

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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What Is An Employer Brand And How Is It Different From A Consumer Brand?

neon sign saying here for an article on employer branding

Employer branding is an emerging discipline within the world of Human Resources. While many are familiar with the term branding from the world of consumer marketing, employer branding is its own unique domain and requires a shift in perspective to truly get it right. 

So let’s start with what an employer brand is by definition. An employer brand is the organizational identity related to the employee experience. It’s not a logo or a tagline…those are simply branding tools. Rather, it’s what an employer becomes known for in the marketplace. It’s the associations that current, past, and prospective talent form about working at that organization.  

Your organization has an employer brand today whether you realize it or even more importantly, like it or not. You may just not be in a position of influence over your employer brand. Notice the word influence and not control. You can help influence your organizational identity but you cannot control it outright.  

The authentic stories employers share help build influence. When those stories are employee-generated, this influence increases even more as credibility grows. 

Savvy employers are becoming more strategic and intentional around how they show up in the world and the quality of the employee experience they wish to offer. Thank goodness! 

Many confuse the art and science of employer branding as an exercise in career site beautification. It can and should be so much more.  

The employer branding projects we have the delight to lead have allowed organizations to truly crystallize the essence of their existing employee experience and set out goals for what they wish to become. Rather than sharing an image of perfection, they share the journey and in doing so, build trust with their existing team and those ready to join the journey in the future. 

So how is employer branding different from consumer branding? 

While many branding principles are transferable, we are dealing with a completely different relationship where the stakes are much higher and the level of intimacy in the interaction must be thoughtful. It’s not simply a different audience. 

For example, when buying a pair of shoes, if you select the wrong brand and make a poor choice, you write off the purchase as a lemon, possibly return the item or leave a one-star review and move on with your life. In the world of employer branding, you cannot return the job. You may have uprooted your entire professional life and/or family thus creating far-reaching negative impacts. The stakes are much higher. Candidates need credible information and an employer with a clear sense of self to be able to make a strong and positive career decision.  

Enter employer branding… 

As mentioned above, employer branding is not a career site makeover or selling an illusion. It’s about reflection, strategy, intention, and commitment to who you are as an employer and who you wish to be.  

Employees provide their unwavering commitment. They deserve the same dedication to building an exceptional employee experience and one that can be proudly shared with the world. 

 

Ready to learn more about employer branding? Join my free HRDQU webinar on May 26th, 2021 to dig into Employer Branding in the New Normal. Hope to see you there! 

To learn more about Powerhouse Talent and our employer branding projects, click here. Don’t forget to check out our Employer Branding training and certification program, LAND YOUR BRAND.

Employer Branding course

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

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employee engagement

Deepen Employee Engagement

Deepen employee engagement - Employee Experience Infographic

The workplace continues to change and progressive employers are deepening employee engagement by recognizing the paradigm shift that is occurring.  

You can read more about escaping legacy behaviours, sparking a cultural metamorphosis, and changing the energy of your organization in our book Peace, Love, Meaningful Careers.

Looking for support on this journey? Hit us up here or at [email protected] to learn more about our award-winning employer brand strategies and programs designed to help your organization realize its best self. 

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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.

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How to Create Brand Champions at Your Organization

How to Create Brand Champions at Your Organization

When you think of your employer brand, you may first envision reviews on Indeed or Glassdoor. But your employer brand affects far more than just hiring – candidates and employees are also potential customers. And when they have positive experiences with your company, they become influencers.

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.

Recruitment and employer brand training

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It’s Time To Stop Staffing For Yesterday’s Banks

It’s Time To Stop Staffing For Yesterday’s Banks

For the last few decades, banks have followed the same standard for hiring employees. Times have changed, and today, banks have to look beyond hiring tellers or account managers. In 2019 and for the foreseeable future, it’s imperative banking institutions identify talent that has a diverse skillset to keep up with the rapidly changing times.

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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Ten Great Recruitment Videos

These companies have set aside vanilla and opted for a more flavourful preview into the employee experience. Here you will find 10 recruitment videos that don’t suck and actually leave an imprint. Let’s take a look…shall we?

Fiverr – We start with Fiverr. This video pokes fun at all of the cookie cutter recruitment videos that likely cost thousands if not tens of thousands to shoot and yet still leave no mark in the job seeker’s mind. Remember, everyone is at a different stage of the recruitment funnel and the video’s job is to create enough of an impression that brand recall occurs.

 

 

 

Vimeo – This one is an oldie but a goodie! It also shows you that you don’t need a serious production crew to film a human, funny, and memorable video. To top it off, this video is credible. Job seekers get to see real employees literally lying on a couch working or figuring out lunch. No smoke and mirrors here…just the raw and real employee experience. The viewer learns so much about the culture through one video. Well done Vimeo!

 

BBH London – “You cannot make a difference if indifferent!” True that! This video is so unique and powerful. Remember that great brands are designed to both attract and repel.  This is what optimizes your recruitment funnel. Opening the floodgates is old school thinking. Let your recruitment marketing do some work for you and that is exactly what this video does!

Natural Light – Relatable, fun, funny, and memorable! This company doesn’t take itself too seriously and as a result builds excitement around their summer intern opportunities. Move over stuffy corporate videos, hello #NattyIntern!

 

Starbucks – Real employee stories never seem to get old. The link to future career aspirations is also a key highlight of this video and a career at Starbucks. Walmart is doing something similar to help launch the careers of emerging talent.

 

Discover.org – This one is human and informative, a wee bit wacky, yet relatable. It tells a story of the company journey and hits all of the key considerations such as commute in the video. Well done Discover.org! 

 

Chewy.com – Chewy rocked this recruitment video! It demonstrated a customer centric workplace that is fun, wacky, and high-performing. Great recruitment marketing helps optimize the recruitment funnel by giving a realistic preview of the employee experience thus helping people opt in or out. Anyone not looking to go the extra mile for customers will understand this is not the workplace for them. There was a strong use of color for a consistent visual identity thus increasing the likelihood of brand recall. If you don’t want to work at Chewy after this video, you will certainly want to be a customer. LOVE! 

 

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department – Take a massively popular trending topic like Game of Thrones, throw in a reference to your field, use your creative mind to bridge the two and you have a solid and playful recruitment video like the one from the Las Vegas police department. This video demonstrates passion for the field…so much so, Sophie Turner is considering a career in police work. This video not only highlighted that the work is interesting but that Las Vegas is the place to do it. Help job seekers answer the questions that are in their minds.

 

Soda Stream – Save the planet, join the revolution! Soda Stream highlights the qualities that enable one to thrive while being playful and funny at the same time. They weave in purpose and environmental conscientiousness allowing job seekers to see how their discipline specific talents may be put to use in bigger ways.

 

Dell – If you are going to create a corporate video, Dell does it right. It doesn’t feel scripted. It discusses the relevant topics on job seekers minds such as flexibility. While it may not scream funny and playful, it is successful in building the ever-sought after “know, like, and trust”. 

Well there you have it! It is possible to create recruitment video assets that are human, provide a realistic picture of the employee experience, and help job seekers descend in the recruitment funnel.

Now go on out there, hit record, and show the world your awesomeness!


Ready for more Employer Branding?

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

Starting an employer brand project?

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