Employer branding for a changing world
Any brand, in any sector, lives or dies by the strength of its culture. And in today’s evermore demanding world, it’s no longer a case of simply communicating what your culture is with your people – it’s about how you communicate it.
Traditionally, ‘employer branding’ has been seen as a job for the multi-tasking maestros of Human Resources. But if emotion now needs to play as much of a part as information (which it does), some additional expertise is needed. And this is where we can step in.
A strategy to get your employees on board
The first task of any good employer branding strategy is to get under the skin of a brand’s positioning and its outward-facing brand identity. This is always task number one for us at mark-making*.
We’ll gain an understanding of what your business is; the values you hold dear; what you’re looking to achieve and how you want to get there. Then, once we’re familiar with your philosophy, values and culture, we’ll look at how these brand fundamentals are reflected in the outside world.
The key to successful employer branding is making sure that the outward expression of your brand is mirrored within your own ‘four walls’. If your people are living and breathing this same belief system, you’re already winning the battle.
One shared voice. One shared attitude. One shared mission.
The dual benefits of employer branding
A watertight employer branding strategy can be the gift that keeps on giving – both for your brand itself, and the people that sit at its heart.
On an individual level, it can turn employees into something much more valuable: brand advocates. If you can make them feel like they’re part of a movement, rather than simply a business, they’ll almost always come with you on the journey – and bring others along for the ride. They’ll love being associated with what you stand for.
From a business perspective, this spells good news. Your rock-solid employer branding strategy will make you ’sticky’ – both from a recruitment and retention point of view. We’ve already talked about your happy employees. And their advocacy will help make you just as attractive to others. Your reputation for being credible, honest and authentic will spread. And the right kind of prospective employees will swarm to your increasingly magnetic brand.
Our employer branding offering
With over 28 years of experience, all of this comes as second nature to us at mark-making*. Which means we’ve lots of different ways of creating brand loyalty from the inside out:
- Internal brand positioning presentations
- Office branding design
- Internal branding events
- Brand engagement workshops
- Brand story training
- Recruitment campaigns
- Internal brand identity collateral
One good thing leads to another
The same happiness that makes employees spread the broader word of your brand’s brilliance, is also a powerful ally for the more tactical goal of selling.
Alongside long-term brand building lies tactical brand marketing. These external campaigns provide the fuel that keeps your brand nourished. And having those in your inner circle on your side can be a game-changer.
Internal communications (if done properly) can ‘supercharge’ your external work. And if those you’re asking to get involved are already advocates of your brand, you have an incredibly powerful (and ongoing) weapon at your disposal.
Just as a fish is said to rot from the head (chinese proverb, apparently!), a volcano erupts into life from within.