Simply put your employer brand is your companies reputation as a great place to work.
It can include elements such as your companies culture, values, testimonials from current employees, benefits and more.
An employer brand provides candidates with a glass window into your companies culture showing candidates what it is like to work there. It allows them to see themselves as a fit.
Just like any other brand a company must provide unique selling point and differentiate themselves from the competition.
Companies are continually strengthening their employer brands to give them a better position in the market when it comes to attracting top talent. But also to attract future talent in the process.
Company Brand vs. Employer Brand
Your overall company brand is the combination of your reputation and visibility among potential clients and referral sources. It is typically optimized for attracting new clients and growing the firm.
Your employer brand is your reputation and visibility among potential employees and talent referral sources. Its purpose is to attract, retain and motivate the desired talent to support growth. Your employer brand is a subset of your overall firm brand, so it should be consistent with the overall brand.
The company attributes that are of interest to potential clients are likely different than those of potential new hires or current employees. That said, there are also likely to be areas of overlapping interest to potential clients and employees.
For example, a company that has a reputation for specialized expertise in a particular industry is likely to be of interest to both potential clients and new hires.
Employer branding in a nutshell
Effective employer branding is the combination of market research, advisory services, communications and marketing to achieve both a credible and desirable brand position.
Being a cyclical process, constantly measuring performance and adjusting activities and strategies to continuously improve.
It begins by understanding unique employer qualities and continues into sustaining the employer brand as a living, vibrant and attractive entity.
“ Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.”
– Jeff Bezos, Amazon
The alternative to employer branding, and perhaps even catastrophic scenario, is to be considered as a generic employer, unspecific in offerings and unnoticeable to promising career seekers.
Finally, through talent acquisition and retention, the end purpose of employer branding is to stimulate business growth and achieve strategic business goals.
