Is your employer brand working as hard as it should?
What were your real goals when you established your employer brand… if in fact your organization has already gotten there? Was it to simply attract talent with a catchy phrase? Did you hope to stand apart from competitive employers? Or maybe you needed to carefully qualify talented candidates BEFORE they hit your applicant tracking melting pot?
If you sought to achieve any of these goals, congratulations, you’re on the right pathway. But also know that you should expect MUCH MORE from an employer brand.
What’s that, you ask?
Well first, let’s all agree that you don’t really own your employer brand. Sure, you reap reward or feel pain from the position it has… but the real owner is the public… the people who see and hear your promise and who live with the experiences you provide.
You have the power to move people with your brand. That movement will come both from inside your organization and outside. But it really BEGINS with the real experiences of your existing employees. Those experiences, positive or negative, connect with potential candidates through a wide range of interactions (word-of-mouth; third-party Web sites like Vault or Glassdoor; employee referral; or even recruiting events).
When you build rich and rewarding experiences—consistent with your brand promise—and give them life at EVERY stage of the employment cycle, you create a brand that engages employees, attracts qualified candidates, and even connects with impressed customers.
Don’t be content with a catchy phrase… Make your brand work hard. It’s the fastest way to the results you’ve been hoping for!
Ray
