EMPLOYER BRAND.

THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO

STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND.

strengthen employer brand • engage people • cut the cost of talent

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EMPLOYER BRAND. THREE IMPERATIVES.

©2014 l all rights reserved

THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND

Authenticity is the new paradigm.

Authenticity is the new paradigm. In the past, organizations could get by with well-produced recruitment, on-boarding and employee

engagement communication messaging, materials and campaigns. It was a time when we, as communication professionals, only

had to define our statements; achieve a high standard of production quality; and then execute marketing and PR campaigns. The

world has changed.

Today’s world is one where we all instantly search for, and find, information on whatever piques our interest at the moment. The in-

formation we find informs, makes an impression, shapes decisions or validates previously held beliefs. And through it all, the collec-

tive impact of the information we find gets us to “the real story” of what interests us. Today’s message for workforce communicators:

you can’t hide.

Your people—current and future talent—will see and hear your messages within the context of this new paradigm of self-

investigation and validation. They’ll connect with organizations that are authentic while disconnecting from those that aren’t. There-

fore, we see three imperatives that organizations should consider when managing recruitment and engagement communications in

today’s new paradigm. The good news is that each works to strengthen the employer brand.

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IMPERATIVE ONE IMPERATIVE ONE IMPERATIVE ONE Infuse employee engagement data

IMPERATIVE TWO IMPERATIVE TWO IMPERATIVE TWO Simplify employer brand messages

IMPERATIVE THREE IMPERATIVE THREE IMPERATIVE THREE Align external and employer brands

EMPLOYER BRAND. THREE IMPERATIVES.

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THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND

IMPERATIVE ONE IMPERATIVE ONE IMPERATIVE ONE Infuse employee engagement data.

This may sound tactical but the strategic intent is to peer into the eve-

ryday experiences of your people. That’s where you will find the real

story of why people join, stay and give their all to you as an employer.

Getting to the “street-level” of your employees’ experiences and then

using that perspective to shape your employer brand and employee

communications adds authenticity.

One way to get your employees’ perspectives related to their everyday

experiences is to look at the employee engagement data that you may

be collecting. (As intuitive as this may sound, we’ve found that many

organizations don’t do this simple step when working on their employ-

er brand.)

Typically, employee engagement data will look at the very questions

we ask in employer branding. These might include questions found in

engagement dimensions like:

Intent to stay

Intent to leave

Overall satisfaction

Manager/supervisor satisfaction

Confidence in leadership

Recommend as an employer

Weaved within the results of your engagement survey data you’ll find

the narrative of your authentic employer brand story. In addition to

having statistical proof-points, many engagement surveys also collect

employee commentary. This commentary is honest and raw content

that could be applied to employer brand and employee communica-

tions.

Remember, authenticity is the new paradigm. Infusing employee en-

gagement data—and having the mindset to do so—ensures that your

messages will connect with talent.

The Additional Benefit of Infusing Employee Engagement Data: Visible Action

AonHewitt found that companies who transform employee engagement data into visible action will increase employee engagement scores by up to 31%.

Conventional wisdom is that up to a third of your workforce is actively disengaged. What would be the impact if you moved 31% of your actively disengaged

employees to being more engaged? Infusing employee engagement data into your employer brand communication is visible action.

EMPLOYER BRAND. THREE IMPERATIVES.

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THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND

IMPERATIVE TWO IMPERATIVE TWO IMPERATIVE TWO Simplify employer brand messages.

We’ve all been there. As business executives and communicators, we

are committed to writing mission statements, statements of purpose,

vision statements and so forth. As employer brand strategists, we also

develop employer brand promises, attributes and architecture. And,

since we’re intensely involved in human capital communications we’ll

delve into narratives about employee value propositions, employment

deals, total rewards and healthcare benefits.

It’s no wonder that what comes out of all of this is confusing. From an

organizational viewpoint, we’re colliding many perspectives—and ob-

jectives—into what we hope will be a compelling and understandable

message. You’ve seen the result:

“Our company is a place where individuals thrive independently while

placing high value on customer care fostered by a performance culture

in an environment driven by innovation and family focus. Our 25 core

values represent …”

A little hyperbolic, yes? Here’s the point: while it’s important to develop

mission, culture and employer brand messages in a structured way,

it’s equally important to stop and translate the findings into employer

brand messages that connect.

Employer brand messages that connect are authentic and simple.

They are messages that your audience will easily and quickly under-

stand. They are messages constructed from the outset with the goal of

“getting it” as the communication’s mission. When all is said and done,

will our intended audience get it?

Now is a good time to say we’re not talking about a slogan or a logo.

Masking overly complicated or untrue messages with a slogan will do

more harm than good. We’re talking about clear, direct and simple em-

ployer brand messaging that is rooted in authenticity.

EMPLOYER BRAND. THREE IMPERATIVES.

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THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND

IMPERATIVE THREE IMPERATIVE THREE IMPERATIVE THREE Align external and employer brands.

There is little room for confusing communications in today’s world. We

just don’t have the time or patience to deal with confusion anymore.

This is particularly applicable to the relationship between your external

and employer brands.

Confusion between these two brands occurs when there is poor align-

ment. One brand says one thing while the other says something com-

pletely different. One motivates and inspires while the other just sits

there. But, does it really matter?

The answer is multi-dimensional. On a practical level, communication

behavior has changed. What now happens is that people quickly jump

from one source to another and then back to the first and so forth. To

illustrate: a candidate might start at your career page (drawn by a

posting), check out your corporate site, jump over social media sites,

talk to friends, visit you (in-person and/or online) and then go back to

your career page. Unaligned brands risk confusing those who are trav-

ersing you across multiple channels.

The second aspect here is that unaligned brands might compel talent

to not trust you. They’ll ask the question: what’s the real story? Trust

is garnered through consistency. Talent is more apt to believe in what

you say if they see and experience it consistently every time they

“touch” you.

Perhaps the most compelling reason to unite your external and em-

ployer brand is the belief in your people as extensions of your brand.

“We are our brand.” That’s a powerful place to be.

Think about your everyday experiences. Which brands do you connect

with and why? Chances are that you’re connecting with brands where

the employees really embrace and embody the spirit of the enterprise.

And chances are that you are more likely to return, engage and pur-

chase more from those enterprises.

On the employee side, employees who are connected with their com-

panies—committed, know what to do and are empowered—through

their external brands are more engaged, less likely to leave and pro-

vide better customer experiences.

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THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND

About usAbout usAbout us.

The David Group’s Workforce Communications Practice is an emerging force in employer brand and employee communications.

Our mission is to work with North American organizations to strengthen their employer brand, engage their people and cut their

cost of talent.

We bring creative and innovative thinking to make employer brands stronger. Our focus is to engage people through their experi-

ences. We’re guided by a belief that when a workforce is united by mission, culture and shared experiences the cost of talent goes

down.

Contact

N. Robert Johnson

Practice Leader, Workforce Communications

nrjohnson@davidgroup.com

216.685.4486 (direct) 216.410.5258 (cell)

www.tdgworkforcecommunications.com

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