Nine secrets of a successful employer brand

As big fans of The Spectacular Marketing Podcast, we were delighted to chat with Mark McCulloch about all things employer branding a couple of weeks back.

As we agreed in our discussion, you have an employer brand whether you want one or not. The question is: Is it the one you want / deserve? And is it travelling where you need it to?

If you have high staff turnover, your talent competitors are winning the war, you have lack lustre Glassdoor reviews or the number of applicants for each role is dropping off a cliff, the answer is probably no. To both.

If this is you, it’s time to start taking your employer brand seriously.

How to do employer branding?

Employer branding comes down to having a clear vision of what experience you want to create for your people, consistently working towards delivering it and then clearly and relentlessly talking about it.

How to enhance employer brand

There are nine secrets to enhancing an employer brand:

1. Start with the heart – be authentic

2. Get over yourself – talk to your people

3. Be different

4. Mind the gap between your promise and what you deliver

5. Look after your people

6. Celebrate the good stuff

7. Pinpoint the people you want to engage when it comes to marketing

8. Work your network

9. Share the love – never stop talking about it

Find out more below.

1. Start with the heart – be authentic: Your employer brand needs to be authentically yours. Start with your organisation’s purpose and values – why the world is a better place with you in it and how you are when you’re at your best.

2. Get over yourself – talk to your people: Your employer brand isn’t something you own, but it is something you can curate. If you do so with respect. Knowing what your people want and how they experience you is crucial for capturing and expressing a meaningful employer brand.

3. Be different: If you can find the sweet spot between your authentic purpose and what your people want and get from from you, you should be in clear, differentiated territory. If you’re not, think about how you can be.

4. Mind the gap between your promise and what you deliver: It’s ok to be somewhat aspirational when you’re curating your employer brand. Ie it’s ok to have a goal that is an improvement on your people’s actual experience of you as an employer. But it’s essential you really understand what that gap is and you have realistic plans for addressing it in the short term. 

5. Look after your people: It should go without saying, but if you want an employee experience that delivers on your employer brand you need to make sure you do the very best for your people every day.

6. Celebrate the good stuff: The middle row of our nine principles is all about operationalising the employer brand so it’s lived and breathed throughout the employee experience. The best organisations are purposeful and values led. And they celebrate in small and big ways when their people are on point. So how do you recognise and celebrate your people when they deliver?

7. Pinpoint the people you want to engage when it comes to marketing your brand: With your employer brand clear and the experience in line, it’s time to shout about it. But it’s a noisy world out there. Know who you want your brand to travel to rather than wasting your energy sending it into the dark.

8. Work your network: Corporate messages travel so much further when they’re shared by your people, not just marketing and recruitment channels. If your people love and believe in you, explore how you can work with them to take your brand further.

9. Share the love – never stop talking about it: Put it another way, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Your people love you? You’re recruiting the best? They have a ball working for you? They learn a lot? They make great friends? They go on to do great things? If any of the above apply, why aren’t you telling people about it?

Also check out our post How to Get your Employer Brand and Consumer Brand on the Same Page.