When we talk about employer branding, it’s usually overwhelming. It makes sense… this idea of employer branding is rather new, allusive, and confusing. So here is the simplest way to start – with a story. The good news is that your story as an employer already exists. It has existed from the moment you hired your first employee. But, you’ve probably never taken the time to cultivate how you want people to read your story and how you can make it work for you. That is what we are going to do. This is the start to building any reputable employer brand.
BUILD YOUR STORY
RESEARCH (internal)
Deep dive with your employees in 1:1 interviews, focus groups, surveys and team meetings. What are consistent things that matter to your people? What do they love about their work and their workplace? Additionally, what isn’t going well? Ask the same questions to every person and keep detailed notes of all answers. Then, pull out the themes.
RESEARCH (External)
Understand the employer brands of companies that are similar to you and are great places to work. These should be companies and brands that you admire. The “similar to you” is a key factor here. If you do not have a remote workforce, do not study the employer brand of a company with 100% remote workers. Their strategies will be completely different than yours. Take the best ideas, narratives and strategies and keep them handy as you build your own story.
BUILD IT
I use the above research and write my employer story in 3 parts:
- Brand Narrative: Reading the brand narrative I should understand what matters to employees at this company. I should know what it feels like inside of the walls. What makes employees tick? How do they make an impact everyday? This is where your employer brand develops it’s emotional connection.
- A Brand Personality Profile – If your brand was a person, how would friends describe it? What style do you have? Attitude and temperament? This is where you can start to see your employer brand visually coming to life – when I read this I see who your brand is.
- Pro’s & Con’s list: The goal of the pro’s and con’s list is to keep your employer brand authentic. In short what are the 3 – 5 things employees LOVE that you want to highlight? What are the things employees not love that you should stay away from?
Eventually, your employer brand story and personality profile will merge into your company brand book working together seamlessly. The pro’s and con’s list should be ever evolving as your workforce grows and changes.
Building a story allows you to keep consistent messaging in every employer ad, job description, blog post, etc. This is the first step to building your employer brand because the story keeps you consistent and genuine in your messaging.
Have you ever built an employer brand story? What worked for you? Do you prefer a brand story, an EVP, or both?