The #1 Thing Employers Miss When They Build A Brand

The 1 Thing Employers Miss When They Build A Brand While fax machines and voicemail are becoming obsolete in the workplace, employer branding is moving in the opposite direction. Now, more than ever, employer branding is a crucial part of companies growth and survival. Not only does it play a key role in how consumers view companies, but it also largely dictates how companies will fare in the recruiting process.While fruchtwein employers are well-aware of the importance of employer branding (...and if theyre bedrngnis, they may be in for a rude awakening), many cant quite figure out what their strategy if they even have on at all should be.Thats why weve checked in with Crystal Miller Lay, whosejobit is to help employers develop a brand that resonates. As an employer branding strategist, she knows whats up and shes been kind enough to share her insight on what companies need to focus onfruchtweinwhen building a brand, what employer branding might look like in 5 years, and the 1 th ing employers miss when they build a brand.Fairygodboss Why is employer branding more important now than ever?Crystal Miller LayBranding is psychology. Its science and art woven together to embody reputation and promise. Frequently we read articles that position branding being more important now than times past, be it consumer or employer branding. Im not koranvers I fully agree with that.I think whats really happening is the marketing of brands, both employer and consumer, are becoming more sophisticated and prevalent. As it does, people become more aware of brand identity and the reputations tied to them. It certainly reduces the grace and margin for error those managing brand have, but Im not really sure it makes it any more important to ensure your brand is meticulously maintained, relatable and accurately represented. We buy brands. Rarely do you hear people say theyre buying bandages, they buyband-aids.Same with tissues we more often hearKleenex.Those are brands. But its not t he name people care about, its the promise thats been created behind them and instilled into the public. We dont care about what things and companies arecalled, per-say we care about what theyre supposed todofor us the impact theyre able to have in our lives and the extent to which we believe in a brands promise to fulfill our needs, to make the desired impact, dictates their reputation and subsequent brand strength.Which leads intothe 1 thing employers miss when they build an employer brand building a strong, reputable brand depends on sound employee/candidate psychology. Employer Branding is psychology... focused on those that currently work for an employer, and those that want to (candidates). Yet employers most often focus on themselves, what the employer wants, what the employer needs when they need to be focused on how they can improve the lives and address the needs of their employees.FGB What forms of communication do you think are most important for employer brands?CMLWhen it comes to forms of communication by employer brands, your audience should be your guide. How do they like to communicate? Where do they spend time? EB managers and teams should be putting together a strong mix of messages in the mediums embraced by their audiences, on the channels they frequent (i.e. social media, publications, email, etc). In terms of rich media, a well designed video can be incredibly impactful and a nice augment to written copy.For companies that have limited resources, what is the first / most important thing tothink about?CMLThe most important thing to think about is actually something that can be done regardless of the size of your budget what IS your brand identity? What can you actually promise candidates and deliver on once theyre employees? How will working for you impact their lives, their career development, relationships and sense of social responsibility? Do not answer these questions aspirationally. What are the answers based on who you are now to day. If theyre not where they need to be, you can acknowledge that and let the world know your plan to improve it but you have to act on whatever you share or your reputation in the market will suffer. Employer brand communication should be reflective of your overarching organization - the promises you make as an employer on this level should be generally applicable across the organization. Tweaks and adjustments to EB messages should be made to address cultural differences across regions. Some organizations do segment by age group and/or gender, to address differences in each of these groups in conversational tone and style. Otherwise, the majority of segmentation is done at the recruitment marketing level, where separation can and should be done by job family, locations and level. Be careful of creating a special segments for diversity groups - too often its only one segment thats created, lumping diversity initiatives into one communication group, creating further teilen rather than the inclusion that should be the goal.FGB How at all do you think employer brand communication needs to be segmented? Is there a different way to communicate with women than with men?CMLWhen it comes to communicating with women, its not just what issaid, but what is binnenseen. Too often, EB teams put a slew of women on their career sites, in stock photography or in group employee photos - but when you look at the bios shared... its quite often about men. Men in leadership ranks shared on the about us or meet our team pages, men in press releases about promotions, men in impactful employee highlights. Mix it up. Share photos and stories of people at various ranks. Make equal representation a goal, if not a commitment... so women have an equal opportunity to see themselves reflected in the images and stories about employees in your company. FGB Which companies do EB really well?CMLI might be a touch biased having worked with them, but I loveATTs employer branding. Its reflecti ve of who they are as an organization, has a fantastic dedication to inclusion, they communicate to candidates using their own technologies (you can search for jobs right from your TV as a U-Verse customer), share stories across rank and job families and LifeatATT was, and still is, one of the pioneers in the social space. Its fully adopted and embraced by employees because they tell stories of who they are not who they want people to believe they could be. GE is another great example of amazing employer brand storytelling and for an example of what can be done on a very modest EB budget, look at American Heart Association. Their employees have fully embraced their messages, are huge advocates of the brand and they have built a very effective grassroots program.FGB What will EB look like in 5 years?CMLI really enjoy the see the future questions... mostly because were so often wrong I jest, but in all seriousness, five years from now I expect to see more sophistication in employer br anding a better grasp on the metrics needed to measure EB efficacy and impact, richer storytelling and some headway into predictive analytics in employer branding. And thats just for starters. We are still decades (plural) behind our consumer brand counterparts theres a lot of ground to cover and explore. Thats exciting for people like me who have focused their career in this fascinating intersection of HR/TA and marketing... and its a fantastic opportunity for all companies committed to building their employer brands.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer