Employer Brand Value at the Moment of Choice
An employer brand has many duties through the employment lifecycle…it can trigger discovery among new candidates, build engagement among your workforce, stimulate advocacy and referral among successful employees. One of the most critical roles it will play is to influence the most qualified candidates at their moment of choice—that’s the moment when they accept or decline the offer you put in front of them.
No, I’m not suggesting that we need to flood selected candidates with promotional materials while they’re in the grips of what may be a challenging selection. That would be pretty flaky, even coming from an ad guy like me. Nor should we underestimate the powerful impact that a memory of your unique value proposition could have.
How will that help, you ask?
Because, as logical as we all think the human animal is, most of our toughest decisions (and some would argue our best) come from the gut…the center of our emotional choices. (See Malcolm Gladwell: Blink).
Noted Canadian neurologist Donald Calne reminds us that “the essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusion.” To me, that means emotion trumps reason. And so, provided you are also a “rational” choice, your candidates will take action based on “emotional” conclusions like confidence or social acceptance or pride or, yes, even coolness.
If your employer brand truly sets you apart in a unique and emotional way—as it most certainly should—then it WILL bring you success in those most critical moments when candidates choose your company or someone else’s.
Find ways to remind candidates of those key emotional differentiators within your offer letter. Enable their due diligence with supportive collateral material or with credible brand stories from employees. Help them remember why they were drawn to your organization…from the gut.
Need ideas on emotional connectors in your business and with your target candidates? Leave a comment below…or, for a more proprietary response, drop me an email.
And, please, as always, share your thoughts and ideas with a comment on this page.
Ray
