Had an amazing time at the first Talent Brand Summit in London. I felt so blessed to be part of the 60+ practitioners from all around the world discussing and challenging current best practices in employer branding. Overall, there was one quote by employer brand guru Simon Barrow which literally burnt into my head.
“Consumer Branding is about lifestyle, employer branding is about life itself.”
For me this quote is super powerful because it describes that employer branding is having a deep impact on employees' and candidates' life rather than trying to create a superficial brand image or reputation. Even though I love our consumer brand colleagues and know we both have an impact on people's lives by adding value.
Reflecting on the event, I took three core learnings home, which may not be super new but super relevant to reflect on.
1. Invest more in employer branding than in consumer branding
Why do companies spend billions in consumer branding, build big consumer-focused branding teams and state they are "customer-centric" or "consumer-obsessed" but neglect employer branding or do not value it as important as the consumer brand?
It is so simple, our employees build, provide, and drive the unique experience for customers and not a great consumer brand by itself. Investing in true employer branding initiatives which add value to employees' lives may create positivity, happiness, recognition - you name it. But it will definitely create a smile on your employees faces and this will influence customer satisfaction & loyalty as well. So, better invest on employer branding in addition to consumer branding.
2. Put your employees in the spotlight, celebrate & make them shine
Nobody is interested in your corporate mouthpiece bla bla bla. It's time to put your employees in the spotlight. Educate and empower them to spread the brand message across channels and among their peers. This approach is probably not super new since we are all aware that peer to peer communication works better but somehow a lot of organizations still struggle with this.
However, make sure when creating a brand ambassador program to put your brand evangelist in the spotlight and let them strive with their own ideas, their own way of execution and their own spirit to bring the brand to life. Don't overdo it and please, don't be fu**ing boring. Create content with your brand ambassadors that breaks through the void of all the communication out there.
3. Be different and avoid general sales pitches
It sounds so easy to identify a unique differentiator for your employer brand, but it's easier said than done. Just have a look at Employer Value Propositions or advertisements, strip off the taglines and look again.
Not so different anymore, right? The whole HR lifecycle is a relationship business. So, lets focus on the human approach in it, let's be authentic, honest & true to uncover the real differentiator. Forget the sales pitch of recruiters for a moment and focus on how to really uncover the uniqueness in your company.
My tip: This time, have a look at your consumer brand colleagues. How do they uncover the brand, what methods do they apply? Maybe we should go beyond a simple EVP and invest more resources on the research into what makes our organization truly different in the markets we operate in and in the talent markets we recruit in. This may help you to bring your uniqueness to the forefront and make you and your organization shine.
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About our TBA Member: Marian Jarzak is in love with Employer Branding and on a mission to build the best Employer Brand at Taxfix. He previously worked as an Employer Branding Manager at the venture capital firm Project A and as a Communications Manager at the company builder Rocket Internet. Marian has is own blog at www.talentcrush.de featuring content all around employer branding.