Simon Rutter
Global Strategic Employer Brand and Communications Director
Takeda
Sitting in the room at World Employer Branding Day in Prague last Thursday, and two days earlier at the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s inaugural Employer Branding Forum, a familiar theme emerged. While companies are starting to get their heads around what employer branding is, why it’s important and how it differs from (and yet complements) corporate branding, few are getting it right. And some organizations are struggling to know where to start. But I get it.
There is so much being written about candidate experience, personas, journey mapping, ATSs, employee advocacy etc that often employer branding ends up confusing the hell out of Talent Acquisition/Recruitment, HR, and Communications/Marketing teams. They often don’t know where to begin, and/or narrowly focus on their own perceived part of the pie. As a result, employer branding ends up being confined to either the ‘too hard’ or ‘another meeting needed’ pile. Lots of conversation, little action.
As employer branding professionals we need to be leading the charge on addressing the three biggest issues affecting its success, which are:
1. Mindset of senior leadership
2. Silo’d thinking
3. Industry cohesion
So what can we start doing, right now? (All the below require little/no budget)
1. Mindset of senior leadership
a. Strategic thinking – Link the employer brand strategy and associated activities to the delivery of the business strategy. If senior leadership see this, they will sit up and take notice.
b. Go armed with data – Show execs the numbers, educate them on the trends and emerging themes, and provide insights that drive action.
c. Clearly outline the why, what and how for senior leadership engagement and role modelling – Too many of them don’t understand any one or all of these.
2. Silo’d thinking
a. Communication – Talk to your people. Talk to your Talent Acquisition/Recruitment, HR, Communications/Marketing colleagues. They will tell you what your EVP really is. Ask questions, seek opinions and listen intentionally. Keep doing this.
b. Cooperation – Accept you won’t have all the answers and neither will your agency, if you even have one. Go and find internal experts who can help you and involve them from the start.
c. Collaboration – When you’ve found these experts, get them involved in creating the solutions – not just the design of your EVP, but the activation and ongoing embedding.
3. Industry cohesion
a. Sharing is caring – This is an incredible industry with fiercely passionate people doing amazing work. Let’s share as many of our successes, and fails, with each other as we can.
b. Reach out for help – Don’t be afraid to ask for help. We’re all learning. Chances are someone, somewhere will have a similar challenge to you. Crowdsource. Co-create the solution. No one does it on their own.
c. Stand proud – We are all ambassadors for employer branding. Be unashamed when you talk about it with your colleagues, family and friends.
