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JILL SEYMOUR & BERNARD NAWRAT
EMPLOYER BRAND
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Employer brand
1st edition
© 2018 Jill Seymour & Bernard Nawrat & bookboon.com
ISBN 978-87-403-2271-2

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EMPLOYER BRAND Contents
CONTENTS
About the Author 6
1 What’s it all about? 7

Introduction 7
1.1 Corporate and Employer Brands 7
1.2 Business Case 10
1.3 Time to Reflect 13
2 What is it like to work here? 15

Introduction 15
2.1 Who to Involve? 15
2.2 What is the Scope of the Brand? 16
2.3 What Kind of Organisation Do We Want to Be? 17
2.4 What Kind of Organisation Are We? 19
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EMPLOYER BRAND Contents
3 Mind the Gap 22

Introduction 22
3.1 Building the Brand 22
3.2 Test Drive the Brand 26
3.3 Organisational Compliance 27
4 Communicating the Brand 29

Introduction 29
4.1 Have a plan 29
4.2 Identify the Audience 31
4.3 Brand Tone and Language 31
4.4 Website 33
4.5 Social Media 35
4.6 Job Sites 38
4.7 Dealing with Reviews 38
4.8 Other Media 39
4.9 Time to reflect 40
5 Making It Real 41
Introduction 41
5.1 Brand Audit 41
5.2 Brand Ambassadors 42
5.3 Recruitment and Onboarding 44
5.4 Managing Staff 47
5.5 Exiting the Organisation 48
6 Measuring and Adjusting 50

Introduction 50
6.1 Picking the KPIs 50
6.2 Monitoring the Impact 53
6.3 When to Act 55
References and Further Help 57

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EMPLOYER BRAND About the Author
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Our book on an Employer Brand has been prepared by Bernard Nawrat and Jill Seymour
of Nawrat Seymour HR Service. Drawing on our experiences, we have tried to recognise the
challenges that will be faced and to offer practical advice that is suitable for organisations
of whatever size.
We both have extensive experience of working in human resources within the public sector.
In the summer of 2015 we took early retirement. Between us we had worked over sixty
years’ in local government across the gamut of HR activity; strategic planning, industrial
relations, contract management, recruitment, payroll, training, policy and casework. Time
to make a change!
Since then we have pursued a new adventure setting up Nawrat Seymour HR Service
Ltd (www.nawratseymourhr.com) and undertaking consultancy work. In 2017 Bookboon
published our first book; ‘A Health & Well-being Strategy, For an Effective Workforce’.
And have worked with various employers, including looking at recruitment and selection,
exploring the power of an effective employer brand. Every organisation has an employer
brand whether they realise it or not. Never before have there been so many opportunities
to communicate the brand. Or get things wrong. We hope to have shown how a brand
impacts on, and is impacted by, an organisation’s ability to recruit and retain staff as well as
influencing its culture and ultimately people’s behaviour. A positive employer brand makes
good business sense.
What is next for us? We will continue to offer sound and achievable solutions to people
management issues in a broad range of organisations. And ideally, like you, continue to
learn from others. Good luck and have fun.
Bernard Nawrat and Jill Seymour

Nawrat Seymour HR Service Limited.
Figure 7 Logo: Nawrat Seymour

HR Services Ltd

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EMPLOYER BRAND What’s it all about?
1 WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
INTRODUCTION
Let’s start with a quiz. Match these statements with any brands you are familiar with:
A soft drink company that is recognised throughout the world.

A UK retailer that is ‘never knowingly undersold’.
A hardware provider, associated with good-looking IT products, that are easy to use,
simple, and high quality.
Your answers do not matter. If the companies have done their job, you will not only have
remembered their logos but you will have views about their organisational character and
what they promise to deliver. Successful brands deliver on their promises, to win customers
and keep them coming back.
Every organisation also has an employer brand, whether they realise it or not. Employees
and potential recruits will have views on ‘what it’s like to work here’. In this book, we
aim to show how an employer brand impacts on, and is impacted by, an organisation’s
ability to recruit and retain staff as well as influencing its culture and ultimately its people’s
behaviour. Establishing a positive employer brand makes good business sense, whether you
are part of a large corporation or a start-up business. But this needs to be handled with
care. If reality does not live up to brand promises, valued employees, like customers, can
move elsewhere. In the chapters that follow, we will take you step by step through employer
brand development, its management and finally its monitoring, so that it can be your secret
weapon in the competitive war for talent.
1.1 CORPORATE AND EMPLOYER BRANDS

1.1 The practice of applying a brand to a product can be traced back through history;
potters’ marks and forms of labelling can be found on Roman artefacts. Brands not
only displayed ownership but also distinguished an article so that customers could
make choices beyond price; based on reputation and quality. The modern brands, as
we know them, gained their place as a marketing tool in the 19th century; particularly
with packaged goods. Some of these brands are still familiar today: Kellogg, Quaker
Oats, Pears soap. But it was not until the end of the 20th century/beginning of the
21st century that the concept of an employer brand was discussed by academics, as
distinct from a corporate brand, and the benefits of managing the brand were explored.

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1.2 There are various definitions of ‘employer brand’. One of the most straightforward
from the CIPD, (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), is:
‘A set of attributes and qualities that make your organisation stand out from
the crowd and help you attract and retain people who feel affinity with it and
deliver their best performance within it.’ (CIPD Employer branding. Your
online companion for the journey).1
1.3 There are phrases which are linked to an employer brand that are also worth
touching on:
• A psychological contract; this concept was developed by the organisational scholar

Denise Rousseau. There is generally a written contract between an employer
and employee that lays down mutual duties and obligations on both parties. In
addition, there is an unwritten relationship that captures qualities such as respect,
trust and loyalty. When managing the employer brand, the organisation aims to
identify relevant qualities and to create an environment that engenders them in
the workforce.
• Employee value proposition; although sometimes described as ‘employer value
proposition’; this is an organisation’s employment package in return for the skills
and behaviours brought by employees. The employment package goes beyond pay
and conditions to the whole employment experience.
Once an organisation has identified its EVP it may use employer branding techniques
to promote and create the psychological contract it aims for.
1.4 We can see therefore that the potential target for employer branding is employees
largely, or to attract new recruits. As such, its reach is more limited than reasonably
could be expected when aiming to sell products to a mass market. Both, however,
wish to create a positive emotional response. Corporate brands aim to encourage
customers to buy products and keep them coming back for more. Employer brands
strive to attract candidates, retain employees and create loyalty that encourages people
to do their best for the organisation. In her paper on employer/corporate brands,
Sofia Monika notes that:
‘Product brand and employer brand are related and mutually complementary.
Strong product brand may play an important role in increasing the strength of
employer brand. Employer brand, in turn, plays an important role in attracting
and retaining employees who can add value to the company and its products –
thereby strengthening product brand.’ (Place and Role of Employer Brand in
the Structure of Corporate Brand – Sofia Monika).2

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The same author has also usefully illustrated the connection between the corporate brand
and the employer brand and who are the organisational players in developing each.
Product Brand
(brand that people buy)
The purpose of creation: to form a positive
Unique Sales Proposition experience that encourages and repeats
Marketing
(USP) purchase of goods and protects the
interests of the corporate brand.
Experience of consumer
Leadership
Corporate Brand
(values,vision, mission)
Experience of candidate/employee
The purpose of creation: to form a positive

Employee Value Proposition image of employer that encourages
(EVP) engagement, retention, loyalty and HR
involvement of staff and protects the
Employer Brand interests of the corporate brand.
brand for which people work
Figure 1 Relationship between corporate brand, product brand and employer brand (Sofia Monika 2014)2
1.5 So is the employer brand simply a continuation of the corporate brand? Not necessarily.
In some instances, the corporate brand emphasises attributes that an organisation
also seeks in its employees; innovation, modernity etc. But, if for example, your
corporate brand is reasonably, ‘cheap, no frills’, or ‘we are proud of tradition’; this
may not attract high flyers or the creative people needed to deliver these products.
Messages therefore may be different, audiences certainly are, but there is also a need
to focus on:
• How you communicate; as mentioned previously, aimed at an applicant market

and a captured employee workforce.
• Who is involved; not only HR and Marketing, as in the previous illustration,
but every employee becomes a potential advocate of an employer, whilst never
necessarily buying its products. And every manager is its champion.

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• The risk factors; whilst product marketing can go awry, not reach target consumers
or may fall short of expectations, the instances of failure can be readily managed.
Employer branding must anticipate and overcome multiple risks at multiple touch
points. The loss of data from a recruitment site. The manager who ignores staff
views in an organisation which says ‘we listen’. And so on, could detract from a
sense of trustworthiness.
• The financial impact; every consumer is a potential or lost sale. But an employee
that buys an organisational dream may achieve significant financial gains for their
employer far greater and for far longer than any individual purchase. Alternatively,
a mismatched one can cost you dearly.
In the chapters that follow we will aim to show how every organisation can identify,
develop and manage their employer brand, with an awareness of its purpose and
noting differences to general product marketing techniques.
1.2 BUSINESS CASE

2.1 In a landscape of competing demands and often tight budgets why should resources
be spent on employer branding? Even if your organisation is small, it is important
to consider the benefits applicable for your circumstances and to pull together a
business case. A well-defined business case:
• Creates clarity of purpose.

• Is a touchstone for future monitoring of achievements.
• May be essential to persuade senior managers to not only commit time and money
but to change behaviour.
Few organisations tackle employer branding as a start-up organisation. Most have a

legacy of ‘what it’s like to work here’ formed by years, if not decades, of organisational
approaches. As we will see in the chapters that follow, identifying and changing a
brand can be tough. So, it is essential that you can explain what the objectives are,
who will be involved, potential costs, and how success will be measured.
Define Your Objectives

2.2 A strong business case will include objectives that reflect the needs of the organisation.
Talk to colleagues beyond the boundaries of HR to find out what pressures managers
face in recruiting and retaining staff. Use data. Most recruitment sites will record

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the numbers of visitor views and how many are converted to applications. Is there
information on how many candidates withdraw during the recruitment process and
why? Is there a retention problem? Are there problems in recruiting and retaining
people in key roles? Or maybe, negative aspects in culture of the organisation do
not fit the aspirations of the leadership team; impacting on productivity and quality.
2.3 In drawing up the business case, unless you are very confident on the organisation’s
employer brand, avoid statements such as; ‘an employer of choice’, ‘empowering
people to be the one that empowers millions’ (Microsoft), etc. An early stage in this
journey should be to consider and to challenge rather than assume the content of
the brand. Instead, a model top line objective may be:
‘We will develop an employer brand that fits the ambitions of our organisation.
Our employer brand will be managed and promoted to increase our attractiveness
to potential and existing staff. In doing so, we will save time and money
and create an environment where people are willing to work harder for the
organisation’s success’.
2.4 How far you link the creation of the employer brand with the success of the
corporate brand depends on the organisation and its circumstances. As we have
explored previously in this chapter they are distinct but have a two-way influential
relationship. Poor media reports on staff experiences, whether it be a taxi firm, sports
shop or clothing company, can shape consumer views. Albeit the circumstances may
be minor compared to other organisations, Virgin Media have tackled the problem
of lost sales through poor candidate experience. They are a huge multinational
company with 130,000 job applicants in a single year. In a case study published
by Ph. Creative Digital Marketing Company, Virgin media projected a potential
loss of £4.5m in revenue through over 7400 recruitment candidates with poor
experiences also cancelling their Virgin subscription. Consequently, Virgin have
brought their recruitment back in-house enabling them to manage the brand and
its experience more effectively through every stage of the candidate journey. (Virgin
Media – Improving Candidate Experience for all Candidates – Ph. Creative Digital
Marketing Company)3.
Targets and Measures

2.5 In creating the business case it is essential to set some top line targets and describe
how you will measure these. It is not unreasonable for the detail of the targets to
change once the project commences and its possibilities are fully explored. However,

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the senior sponsor will generally want to know what the objectives mean in practice,
before agreeing to support a business case.
2.6 It will be important for all organisations to show that an employer brand will lead
to greater efficiency thus a reduction in costs. One way to divide these is:
a) Reduction in Direct Costs

For example, a target may be:
• Through promotion of our brand we aim to recruit to Engineer vacancies
three times a year instead of four, with a 90% fill rate at each campaign
instead of the current 60% fill rate.
b) Reduction in Associated Costs

A target here may be:
• Through management of our brand we aim to reduce vacancy levels from
10% of the establishment to 5% of the establishment with an associated
reduction in agency cover.
c) Reduction in Lost Revenue

A tricky area to explore, but as we have seen previously through the Virgin Media
example, potentially important. A target could be:
• In recruitment surveys, respondents will be ‘more likely’ or ‘very likely’ to
buy one of our services having applied for a job with us.
2.7 Other targets appropriate for your organisation may have no direct financial link,
instead with an emphasis on increased productivity and positive commitment. Targets
could be:
• Increase in staff advocacy of the organisation, measured through staff surveys and
external platforms that enable people to express views, e.g. Glassdoor, Indeed,
Facebook etc.
• Increase in experienced workers, measured through early leaver statistics, (one
year or less service), leading to greater productivity.
2.8 It would be unwise to suggest that introducing a positive employer brand will
address all organisational ills as there are many factors that impact on candidates’
and employees’ behaviours. For example, a downturn in the economy can slow down
candidate activity as people are reluctant to move from security of their current job.
An effective employer brand will, however, always give your organisation an edge
over other, less astute, competitors.

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Create a top line plan

2.9 It is going to be hard to sell your business case if there are fears that employer
branding will consume multiple resources for an extended timescale. At this stage
therefore, it is essential to outline:
• Who the players are. Generally, this will be HR plus, if the organisation is of
sufficient size, Marketing/Communications specialists. There should however
be recognition that a change in brand, or how this is experienced, may require
input from everyone across the organisation, with essential senior management
leadership. If there is a need to engage an external marketing firm, options are
discussed in later chapters; this should be determined as part of the business case.
• The potential costs. Should there be a need to bid for a dedicated budget, it
should pursued at this stage. Any costs must be reasonable against the expected
return on investment and will generally be less if work is completed inhouse, if
this is practicable.
• The proposed timescale, ideally with stages for achievement. Attracting more
candidates to your website can probably be achieved more quickly than changing
attitudes of existing staff. Being able to show momentum with some quick results,
(and successes), will be valuable.
2.10 Senior managers and decision makers need to support employer brand development
and its ongoing management. But be realistic. There are a multitude of demands
on their time, so ensure that their input is measured and has purpose; whether it is
championing its inception, or cascading implementation throughout the management
hierarchy. It’s potentially an exciting topic. An enthused senior sponsor will be a
great help in tackling the challenges described in the chapters that follow.
1.3 TIME TO REFLECT

3.1 This chapter has introduced employer branding. It has shown how corporate brands
have developed over time, with the identification of employer brands, and their
management, a relatively recent addition. Corporate and employer brands have links
but may be distinctive, with different audiences and management demands. We have
shown the need to create a business case before embarking on the tasks ahead and
have suggested areas for inclusion.
3.2 Before moving on, take time out to reflect on how you are impacted by ‘brands’ and
how you would make a case to review the employer brand in your organisation. Spend

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a few minutes on the internet or glancing through a newspaper at the advertisements

or business articles. Don’t worry about the news items or products on sale, but how
do you feel about the sellers or organisations in question? Would you like to work
for them? What information led you to these views? Can you identify their product
or employer brand?
3.3 Considering your organisation, is there an overriding issue that would ‘sell’ a business
case for employer branding? What benefits may arise?
3.4 The following chapters look at areas of activity that you may want to include. Not
everything will suit every organisation. Pick and mix to suit your needs.

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EMPLOYER BRAND What is it like to work here?
2 WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK HERE?
INTRODUCTION
‘All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences
did I cheat myself’.
– Pip, Great Expectations – Charles Dickens 1860
The collective views of an organisation can be as inaccurate as Pip’s in Dickens Great

Expectations; believing what is desirable rather than facing up to the facts. In this chapter
we will explore how an organisation may define its employer brand through honesty and
awareness. Then test out how far this vision of ‘what it’s like to work here’ matches with
reality. Gaining organisational understanding may be uncomfortable but it is an essential
step to achieving and managing an authentic brand.
2.1 WHO TO INVOLVE?

1.1 In creating a business case for employer branding it is necessary to identify who the
players are (Chapter 1 – Business Case). It is now time to put these people to work.
As previously explored, who gets involved will depend on the size and complexity of
an organisation, e.g. whether there is a Marketing team. Involve people in addition
to HR so that the brand is more likely to be widely accepted and can be managed
on a day to day basis.
1.2 Regardless of the organisational type, there are some common roles in brand
development and management. In small organisations people may hold more than
one. Common roles are:
• Opinion givers, these may be employees, job applicants, staff consultative

bodies or in some cases the public. The latter probably only applies to large
commercial organisations.
• Researchers, normally in-house but could be an external organisation. They will
find out how the organisation compares with its competitors, consider sector
norms, assess the impact of potential options. For example, an organisation that
aims to ‘invest in its people’, needs to understand and consider the consequences.

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• Decision makers, able to sign off a proposed employer brand and make its
management happen. Dependent on organisational arrangements decisions may
rest with the Chief Executive, Board or a Committee.
• Opinion formers, services who implement the brand such as HR or Communications
or managers and employees, whose actions support or denude brand values.
Without their whole-hearted buy-in, the positive opinions of the targeted audience
may be lost.
1.3 Ideally, communication with these people should occur at multiple points. This
to include:
• Researching brand attributes, receiving views on what it is really like as an

employee or candidate.
• Consultation on the proposed employee value proposition.
• Feedback on the ‘success’ of the developing brand.
With new technology, gathering people’s view is not difficult if people feel safe and
their contribution has purpose. What’s said may be surprising, (good and bad), but
knowledge is a sound platform to create and manage the employer brand.
2.2 WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF THE BRAND?

2.1 In their paper, Employer Branding and Market Segmentation, Moroko and Uncles
examine how the ideas of market segmentation can be applied in an employer branding
context. (Employer Branding and Market Segmentation, Lara Moroko and Mark
D Uncles)4. Product brands are often shaped to fit a target consumer, making use
of characteristics such as; lifestyle, age range and geography. In a large organisation
employee types may be so different from each other that different employer branding
messages may be ideal. This could be seen in: large organisations which span continents
and where different cultural values mean employees’ expectations consequently vary;
or where roles are distinct (e.g. research and sales); or where there is a need to target
a specific audience or a specific demographic, such as new graduates.
2.2 Reflect on your business case to decide whether:
• To develop and manage a whole organisation employer brand, or

• To separate to reflect distinct areas of the workforce where values and qualities
may reasonably differ.

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A word of warning if you follow the segmentation route. Employees must perceive an
employer brand as truthful and relevant. Different messages to different employee groups
risk confusion and alienation from what is said. Generally, it is recommended that
the organisation decides upon messages that are consistent throughout, (i.e. a golden
thread), but tweaks promotion according to desired outcomes. This could be stressing
career opportunities for entry level recruitment or flexible working arrangements to
retain job holders in hard to fill roles. Fundamentally, craft the employer brand to
work for your organisation but keep it simple.
2.3 WHAT KIND OF ORGANISATION DO WE WANT TO BE?

3.1 Before asking people their views on the organisation, involve decision makers in
describing what kind of organisation they are striving for. This will provide a baseline
when you ask for employees’ and candidates’ views. The proposed employer brand,
discussed in chapter 3, will be shaped by this feedback. It is important that decision
makers know that this is only the first formative stage for their input, iterations will
be reported throughout the development stage.
Figure 2 – Flipchart What’s your ideal company?5
3.2 To structure this conversation for decision makers it is worth posing two questions:
• What are the most attractive attributes of the organisation to current and
potential employees?
• What do we want to be famous for?

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Avoid discussions about remuneration packages or terms and conditions in detail

unless these really define your organisation’s employment practices. A CIPD paper,
(Employer Branding – a no nonsense approach)6, describes attributes as:
‘They’re what you are, your individuality, the key to your uniqueness, the
colour of your corporate eyes, your corporate ‘soul’, if you’ll forgive a brief
excursion into metaphysics. Every other aspect of the brand – every piece of
talent attraction material, every induction programme, every employee referral
scheme, every campus presentation – will grow from and depend on these
attributes or stem cells’. (CIPD Employer Branding – a no nonsense approach)6
3.3 These attributes are important to get right; to match what the organisation wants to
be and this to be accepted by the staff group. As previously, make sure that everyone
is prepared to amend, further down the line, as feedback is received from opinion
givers. Be challenging if what is being said is far from reality. Even at this early stage
ensure that what is produced:
• Is realistic. Look at the market in which the organisation operates. Consider

the restrictions posed by your industry or sector, e.g. ‘creative’ may be suitable
for a publisher, but not for auditing.
• Is what you wish for. Identifying an attribute of ‘democratic’ may, for example,
not be suitable if the organisation restricts employee consultation input to
minimum statutory requirements.
• Is brief and easily understood. For the attributes to be integral to management
and employee activities they need to be remembered and written in clear and
simple language. Aim for no more than five or six core attributes.
3.4 An example of attributes published by the John Lewis partnership on their web page
‘Partnership Spirit and Behaviours’ notes, “we:
• Take responsibility for our business success

• Build relationships powered by our principles
• Create real influence over our working lives
So, by treating people as individuals, creating rewarding experiences at work

and rewarding them with exceptional benefits, we’ve crafted a company that’s
different. And in return, our Partners are expected to take responsibility for their
performance, by looking at ‘what’ every individual has done and ‘how’ they’ve
done it. This allows the business to set clear expectations and our Partners are
happy to be measured against them.” (John Lewis Partnership web pages)7.

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Whilst brief, this gives a clear picture of the organisation’s unique character, their
commitment to their workforce (partners) and expectations on each one.
How far your decision makers’ views on the organisation marry those of employees’
and candidates’ must then be explored.
2.4 WHAT KIND OF ORGANISATION ARE WE?

4.1 Prior to signing off and starting to manage the employer brand it is important to
find out what people feel about the organisation. This may:
• Raise questions on whether proposed or any existing brand attributes are realistic.
• Illustrate the gap between the organisation’s intentions and people’s experiences
‘on the ground’.
• Highlight the level of employee and candidate awareness of the organisation’s
unique characteristics.
Views must be sought from existing staff. Where practical, also try to get input from
those external to the organisation; candidates and, if possible, those working in similar
industries or recent leavers.
4.2 There are multiple methods to manage employee feedback; internal surveys, focus
groups, team meetings, e-mail ‘voting’, supervision sessions. In all instances, the
employee must feel secure to express views without fear of recrimination, be reassured
on anonymity and be clear on the purpose of input. The organisation must also
give feedback; either to individuals or through communication to the whole staff
group. Keep the questions simple, avoid too many questions that rely on free text
answers, (these are difficult to collate and analyse meaningfully), and keep brief.
Some examples of survey/focus group questions follow; core organisational attributes
will be those identified by the decision makers (see the previous section):
1. I am proud to say that I work for this organisation. (Scale; Totally agree,
agree, do not agree)
2. We have identified four core organisational attributes; how far do these agree
with your experiences. (Scale; Totally agree, agree, do not agree). We are:
• Creative
• Fun
• Democratic
• Supportive

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3. If you had to identify four attributes that describes your experience of working
for us what would they be. Please give single words, you may use the attributes
in the previous question or others. We are:
• --------------
• --------------
• --------------
• --------------
Unless your organisation is very small it is useful to collate additional information

to help analyse responses further. This would normally include data about the
information giver, (job type, grade, gender, age etc.) or the organisation such as
location or department. Where analysis identifies different views across the staff
group this may suggest the need to tweak the brand attributes. For example, where
the views of young employees are at odds with others. Or it may highlight the need
for different management approaches when introducing the brand.
4.3 The potential to gain external feedback is more limited. At minimum, survey job
applicants or visitors to the job site. As previously, keep questions simple and seek
feedback on how they view the organisation. Dependent on resources, you may
undertake telephone interviews either as a follow up to a survey response, market
research style or ‘cold calling’. Where used, consider the engagement of a specialist
agency and weigh up any negativity that direct approaches may engender. You could
also consider:
• Inviting feedback through social media, but be prepared to respond quickly,

positively and comprehensively.
• Analysing organisational reviews on ‘job sites’ such as Glassdoor and Indeed. Posts
will not be structured to your questions but may give honest and illuminating
views on how the world sees you.
4.4 Getting feedback from staff and the public may be uncomfortable or inspiring.
There are not right, or wrong views; it is about gaining knowledge and insight. It
is an essential step to map the brand in its current state and the gaps in perception
between decision makers, employees and the external world. With this knowledge,
and an understanding of what decision makers want to achieve, you are ready to
define the brand attributes, the employee value proposition and to consider how to
get the organisation on board; areas explored in the chapter that follows.

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2.5 TIME TO REFLECT

5.1 Thinking about your own organisation, who would you involve in the development
of the employer brand? Specifically, who would be the brand formers and who would
help provide opinions?
5.2 Imagine that you are in a lift going to the top floor of your organisation. Two people
get into the lift and one asks the other, ‘what’s it like to work here?’.
• In a few short sentences what would the colleague say?

• Are there parts of the organisation where this would differ, if so why?
• Would the description fit with what the organisation is striving for?
The lift test is a good way to begin a discussion about what your organisation stands
for and what employees think. If you don’t know what the colleague may say, that’s
telling too and may highlight the need to go and ask. Gathering the information arms
you for the task ahead; including, brand definition and managing the gap between
current views and the organisation’s intentions.

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EMPLOYER BRAND Mind the Gap
3 MIND THE GAP
INTRODUCTION
At this stage of the employer brand’s development you will have identified what the
organisation aims to be as an employer and have gathered information about what the
workforce really thinks. There may be a considerable gap between the two. Now it is time
to reflect on what has been learned, build a meaningful brand that reflects the organisation’s
ambitions and to create buy-in by its key ambassadors: the whole workforce.
3.1 BUILDING THE BRAND

1.1 The previous chapter looked at the need to understand how the employer brand
is perceived by various stakeholders. These stakeholders will at minimum include
the organisation’s decision-making team and the existing staff; ideally you will also
have captured feedback from an external audience such as candidates and staff of
competitors. Use existing knowledge of your organisation to analyse the feedback. In
most cases it is useful to know whether staff views vary according to their age or their
gender, but you may also consider according to department, geographical location,
service length, job type or function. This may be particularly pertinent where, in
the history of the organisation, different cultures have conjoined; for example, in an
acquisition or merger.
1.2 The analysis of feedback may identify inconsistencies between where the organisation
wants to be and how it is perceived. The extent of the gap will dictate the type of
actions required. This may include:
• Challenging the proposed brand attributes that were identified by decision makers,
if these are significantly at odds with staff perceptions. It would be a brave, or
foolish, person to suggests that the initial attributes identified by a Board or
Management team are torn up, but it is reasonable to ask in the light of feedback
whether it is ‘where we realistically can be’, or, ‘how do we get there?’
• Challenging how the brand is communicated and specifically, the language used
to describe the brand, rather than the methods; that will be considered in later
chapters. Jargon is an inevitable feature of communication within an organisation,
service or profession, such as HR. It is often useful to express ideas in a shortened
format. This book will be littered with examples! But the brand attributes must
be meaningful across the whole workforce and to an external audience. The

22
identified gap could be simply an issue of miscommunication. For example, the

organisation may stress opportunities for ‘career enhancement’; the employee does
not recognise this albeit there are training opportunities. Or the organisation is
seeking everyone to be ‘service ambassadors’, expressing pride in their employer
and talking in a positive way about their job; employees do not recognise this
role. Examples are numerous. Brand attributes may make catchy strap lines on an
advertisement, but the approach will be flawed if misunderstood or misrepresented.
• Challenging how managers and employees act. For example, all stakeholder
may agree that it is good to work for an organisation that engages with its staff,
(without the jargon – talks to and listens). But if this attribute is alien to the
experience on the ground, it may require reemphasis or dedicated work to shift
behaviour to the culture that is sought. Question whether this shift is worth it,
or realistic. If it is not, do not include the brand attribute.
1.3 The agreed attributes of an employer brand must be tailored to the organisation, as
explored in Chapter 2:
• What are the most attractive attributes of the organisation to current and
potential employees?
• What do we want to be famous for?
Alongside the feedback from staff, there may be multiple ideas of attributes to be
included in the brand. In their paper; Berthon, Ewing and Hah identify five factors
that make up an employer brand. (‘Captivating company: dimensions of attractiveness
in employer branding’ – Berthon, Ewing and Hah, 2005)8. Reflecting on these factors
will help structure the feedback that you have received. The factors are as follows.
Factor 1 – interest value

Does the organisation offer interesting and varied opportunities? Employer brand
attributes that could be linked to this factor are; innovative, exciting and allows creativity.
Factor 2 – social value

The extent that the organisation meets an employee’s social needs and provides an
environment that people want to join and stay. Examples of attributes may be; fun,
work as a team and happy.

23
Factor 3 – economic value

Essentially how far staff members’ pay and conditions are a selling point. However,
be wary not to over-emphasise. Remember, unless clearly targeted towards a sector of
the organisation, stated attributes should be true for the whole workforce. It will be
rare for an organisation to be entirely made up of high earners. Too much attention
on conditions or pay may also raise questions from the public or shareholders. Where
used examples may be; ‘we pay for the best’, or ‘great rewards for great achievers’.
Factor 4 – development value

How far does your organisation support employees in their career development? This
factor recognises that people will be attracted to an employer that not only trains their
360°
staff, but gives recognition, listens to their views and helps people in their careers.
.
Many brand attributes fall into this factor and could include; listening, thanking staff,
thinking
grow with us, engender pride, etc.
360°
thinking . 360°
thinking .
Discover the truth at www.deloitte.ca/careers D
© Deloitte & Touche LLP and affiliated entities.
Discover the truth at www.deloitte.ca/careers © Deloitte & Touche LLP and affiliated entities.
eloitte & Touche LLP and affiliated entities.

Discover the truth
24 at www.deloitte.ca/careers
Factor 5 – application value

This factor is described as:
‘the extent to which an individual is attracted to an employer that provides an

opportunity for the employee to apply what they have learned and to teach
others, in an environment that is both customer orientated and humanitarian.’
(‘Captivating company: dimensions of attractiveness in employer branding – Berthon,

Ewing and Hah, 2005)8.
It is reasonable to extend the attributes in this factor to capture ethical values which
describe the organisation’s approach on environmental or social issues and therefore
the behaviours that it expects from employees. In their paper Berthon (et al)8, suggest
that equalities and diversity issues may be a separate category, but it is fair to consider
here. ‘An equal opportunities employer’, is such a familiar statement that we may
overlook it as a brand attribute, but it is. Other examples may be; giving back to
society, caring for the environment.
1.4 Remember, do not identify too many attributes. The Linked In, ‘Employer Brand
Playbook’9 provides a useful way to check the development of the brand is on course:
• Be real,
• Be personal
• Be brave
• Be consistent.
(Linked In ‘Employer Brand Playbook’, ‘5 Steps to Crafting a Highly Social Talent

Brand’)9
Staff must believe the brand to be authentic and meaningful to the individual;
promoting the brand using real employee stories is powerful tool. It is also okay to
admit to the world that everything is not perfect. As the Linked In paper suggests,
‘admit some negatives, people will believe you more’. For example, rather than saying
‘we value staff views’, the organisation may say: ‘we listened to our staff and we will
continue to seek and take notice of our staff’s views’. Consistency in the Linked In
example relates to the corporate or product brand. As touched on in chapter 1, this
does not mean that an employer brand cannot have its own characteristics, dependent
on the organisation type this may be desirable, but must be realistic and credible if
divergent from the corporate brand.

25
1.5 Having identified the brand attributes you may wish to describe associated behaviours.
For example:
Attribute, democratic
Behaviours; prepared to listen, values people’s views, transparent decision
making, gives feedback.
Attribute, courage
Behaviours; prepared to break new ground, sense of justice, do not necessarily
go with the flow.
How far you add detail to the brand attributes will depend on your own organisation
and its receptiveness. If in doubt, keep things simple and trust in the attributes to
convey meaning.
3.2 TEST DRIVE THE BRAND

2.1 Having defined your employer brand it is tempting to immediately promote to the
world. Instead be cautious and always do one last field test with a variety of audiences
within the organisation. This must include the organisation’s decision makers but
also, where appropriate, Marketing colleagues. Ideally also check out with a sample
of employees from different areas, job role and of various ages, gender etc. The
methods to collect feedback have been explored previously but will include; focus
groups, team meetings, e-mail shots and electronic voting, for example ‘like’, ‘don’t
like’ responses. Checking that the language is not misunderstood or misinterpreted
is key; we don’t want own goals! Use feedback to do some final tweaks to the brand
attributes and any associated information, before releasing to the organisation and
an external audience.

26
Figure 3 Picture of workforce10
3.3 ORGANISATIONAL COMPLIANCE

3.1 Even in the smallest of organisations it is good practice to draw up an implementation
plan to launch the brand and to put in place arrangements to review and manage the
brand in the future. In chapter 4 we will consider in detail communication methods
and how to control them. In chapter 5 we will look at the impact of the brand on
various processes, such as recruitment. Getting organisational awareness and buy-in
to the brand is an essential first stage in its roll-out.
3.2 As a golden rule, promote the brand first to the internal audience. Even if the
organisation’s major reason for branding is to attract candidates, unless current staff
are on board any gains from new recruits will be lost if they find an organisation at
odds with, or ignorant of, brand values. To encourage brand awareness and compliance:
• Undertake some formal launch, even if this is quite simple, so that staff members
are aware a change is occurring. Ideally, involve senior figures of the organisation
and people with whom colleagues can identify, to endorse the brand. Where
unionized, getting trade union representatives to endorse is a plus.
• Explain why the brand is being introduced or revised. Be honest whilst being
positive. For example, if a lack of good quality applicants is the driving force for
brand development you may say; ‘we know that we haven’t always been good
at explaining to the outside world what we can offer as an employer. We have
therefore considered what makes us unique and an attractive place to work’.
• Explain how the introduction of the brand may impact on how things are done.
In some organisations, there may be ‘family friendly’ policies but they are not
universally applied. If behaviours need to change this must be communicated
effectively, not only globally but to specific parts of the workforce and to individuals.

27
3.3 Where the culture of the organisation differs according to department or staff group,
and thus adherence to brand value is not consistent, consider whether there are
training needs to be addressed. This may be relatively light touch discussions with
teams or managers on ‘how we do things around here’; with the backdrop of brand
attributes. Or, for some managers, you may need a more in-depth look at how they
approach their role. Don’t shy away from difficult conversations, divergence can
scupper the initiative by even a small number.
3.4 A brand audit of policy and procedures will also give a good indication of how
far day to day practice differs from the brand attributes. This will be considered in
more detail in chapter 5, but it is important to know whether key processes, such
as recruitment, encourage managers to live and breathe the brand. If they do not,
successful organisational compliance will be at risk.
3.5 Should an organisation seek public recognition on ‘great place to work lists’ or similar?
These lists offer great opportunities to promote employment with the organisation,
not only with current job seekers but the target audiences for future jobs. If this is
something your organisation seeks, consider timetabling. An application as part of
a branding launch may be precipitous but could be something that you can more
reasonably work on once the brand is launched, embedded in policy and procedures,
and people recognize the attributes to be truthful characteristics of the organisation.
Areas that we will look at in the following chapters.
3.4 TIME TO REFLECT

4.1 Using the five-factor structure, (interest value, social value etc), think about brand
attributes in your organisation. Are there any attributes that are particularly striking
that you would wish to emphasise?
4.2 Considering the Linked In test, ‘be brave’, are there any areas in your organisations
where improvements are needed, how would you express?
4.3 Taking a common brand attribute ‘equal opportunities employer’, what would be
some of the associated behaviours?

28
EMPLOYER BRAND Communicating the Brand
4 COMMUNICATING THE BRAND
INTRODUCTION
In 2017, Facebook had 1.7 billion monthly active users, with 75% of Facebook users
being outside the United States11. Okay, however well your brand is communicated it is
unlikely to be the first thing that Facebook users will jump to. But there has never been
a better time when it is relatively easy to reach very large numbers of people. This creates
huge opportunities but there is a health warning. You don’t want your messages to be lost
in daily plethora of internet noise. Neither do you want a social media storm because of
an embarrassing error or misjudged response to user criticism. Managing communications,
including social media, could be a lengthy book on its own. In this chapter, we aim to
introduce some key issues for communicating the brand and other areas to consider. Getting
the communications right is important, getting it wrong may be disastrous.
4.1 HAVE A PLAN

1.1 As touched upon in chapter 3 it is important to plan the launch of the brand, even
if the launch is very simple. Equally it is essential to plan brand communication over
an extended period. Brand communication cannot be a one hit wonder. It needs to
be repeated, reinforced and refreshed; based on feedback and on its measured impact.
1.2 The content of your plan will vary according to your organisational arrangements
and the methods of communication, these will be explored below. As a guide, an
eight-step plan may include the following, some are explored in more detail in the
pages that follow:
1. Be clear on why you want to communicate. Your business case for brand development,
(Chapter 1), should provide the answers. For example, if the underlying reason
is to increase the numbers of good quality applicants, your choice of media and
the content of messages will differ from the aim to retain existing staff.
2. Identify your audience.
3. Identify your resources. This may be about allocating responsibilities in-house or
commissioning specialist expertise to provide activities, such as the design of a
website. Also, do not assume that the use of social media is very low cost. For
example, it may be free to sign up for a Twitter account or a Facebook page but
managing them well will always require somebody’s time and effort. There may
also be training costs to enable people to use various media. Whilst personal use

29
will be a great advantage, do not assume that people will write for web-based
communications in the way that the organisation wants. In the same way as people
need skills to write for business, they may need training to write on the web.
4. Plan your messages.
5. Consider media routes; looked at in detail below.
6. Create an action plan, i.e. who will do what and when.
7. Decide on methods to the monitor the effectiveness of both the brand and how
it is being communicated. This is looked at in detail in chapter 6.
8. Create a Risk Management strategy. This is a common feature in project management.
Risks here can be broadly divided into self-inflicted and external. It is useful to
brainstorm potential risks and to identify ways to mitigate. These may depend on
the communication routes used, but potential self-inflicted risks could include:
• Messages lack authenticity. One of your brand attributes may be a ‘great
communicator’; but this is undermined where job candidates do not get a
response to their applications.
• Your messages come back to haunt you. For example, the brand shouts, ‘we
develop careers’. But if the reality is the training budget is exhausted in quarter
1, this attribute will be undermined.
• Transcription errors, particularly on web pages, can undermine a sense of quality.
• Inappropriate tone of voice – this is explored in detail below.
• Personal social media profiles of employees contradicting the face of the
organisation. Where employee stories are used to communicate ‘what it’s like
to work here’; be sure that the nominated person’s private life does not become
the focus of attention.
• Attempts to be amusing, controversial or to link the brand to current news events.
Readers do not necessarily understand the intention and it can badly backfire.
• Not being respectful of users’ views. Of course, what people post on social
media may be wrong or seemingly malicious. Getting into war of words is not
the answer; we look further at dealing with bad reviews below.
‘External’ risks may be from within the organisation but outside the control of HR/
the brand management team. Examples could include poor financial results, with
threats of job losses. A public-sector scandal that has the potential to spill over to
your area of service. Bad news for you if your brand attributes include job security
or a caring organisation. Whilst you may not be able to predict, still consider who
will be responsible for assessing the impact on the brand, the potential courses of
action – such as suspending twitter feeds or encouraging a senior management
statement aligned with the brand but specific to the circumstances.
As with all plans, do not file but execute and review regularly.

30
4.2 IDENTIFY THE AUDIENCE

2.1 Some of this will have already been done when considering the scope of your brand,
(Chapter 2). By default, we would recommend a whole organisation approach when
developing and communicating brand attributes. Always be aware of the impact to
the internal audience even when reaching out to the wider world. As previously
emphasised, if the brand is not authentic there is a real risk that this will be exposed
by the current employees either at the workplace or increasingly through social and
other web media, such as Glassdoor where people can readily post reviews.
2.2 If your brand attributes do, however, vary substantially for different employee groups,
consider whether different communication methods need to be used and whether
the content needs to alter so that it speaks directly to each group. This is relatively
easy to achieve on a web site where you may wish to create individual pages for a
specific audience, such as apprentices. It may also be useful to create a microsite
that focuses on the target group.
2.3 Understanding your target audience will help you select the appropriate media to
communicate and the tone of voice to be used to accurately represent the brand and
to capture attention. Listening, for example to social media chat, can reveal how
your audience speaks and can help you use their language to meet them on their
terms. Get the tone of voice right.
4.3 BRAND TONE AND LANGUAGE
Figure 4 – Hand with a Megaphone12

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3.1 Your tone of voice affects how people respond to you. In this instance, brand tone
is how the character of your brand comes through in the written and spoken word.
To make sure that a brand is consistently and correctly expressed it is important to
manage the tone used on the web, in organisational literature, e-mails, stationery,
signage, and in recruitment advertisements. A brand’s tone should be recognisable
and ideally distinctive through, for example, the use of repeated expressions. There is
also a strong link between familiarity and trust. Consistent use of messages will do
much to embed the brand and enforce it as genuine. It will also ultimately influence
how people within the workplace, who buy into the brand, subconsciously choose
their language when describing their employer.
3.2 When translating brand attributes into an appropriate tone of voice, think about how
you react to or feel about the same messages written in different ways and what they
may tell you about an organisation. For example, two different styles, from formal
to informal when confirming receipt of an enquiry are illustrated in the examples
that follow. They are giving the same information.
Example 1; I write to acknowledge receipt of your e-mailed enquiry about

the Finance role (job number 444232) sent to this office today, i.e. 11:00
hours on 21st June. We will investigate the matters described therein and will
communicate our response ideally within 2 working days. Please quote reference
xyz221 if you have cause to contact us further pending a reply, failure to do so
may create delays in identifying the case. Yours Data Enquiry Team
Example 2: Steven – thanks for your enquiry about the Finance role which I
received earlier today. I’ll need to check a few details and will aim to get back
to you by 5pm on Thursday. In the meantime, if you need to contact us please
could you quote reference xyz221. We will then be able to find all your details
quickly and without you having to repeat. Regards Julie, Data Enquiry Team.
Using these examples, if one of the organisation’s brand attributes is ‘fun to work
here’, the first e-mail suggests otherwise.
3.3 When you are defining your writing style and the links to brand attributes it may
be worth considering where the organisation sits on a continuum such as:
Formal Chatty
Impersonal Engaging
Conventional Creative
Serious Fun-loving

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It is useful to prepare written guidelines on the choice of words. For example, if a

brand attribute is a listening organisation, people should not only be encouraged to
seek feedback in all communication routes but to write in an open, clear style that
suggests a great communicator. As we touched on previously, repeated use of phrases
will also increase the awareness of the message. So, an organisation that places great
importance on employee career advancement may take every opportunity to state ‘we
build careers’ or similar byline.
3.4 It is easy to post information on the Web. It can be difficult to write content.
Cliched communication styles can make your message sound inauthentic or lack
originality and the same as other recruiters. Think about how many organisations
use the message, ‘we value’ staff.
Apart from the very large or well-resourced organisation, most will need to manage, in
house, brand communications such as social media or recruitment advertisements. But
for core and longer lasting copy, such as the website, consider engaging professional
writers. If you are writing for the web, there are multiple guides that are available.
Ten tips specifically on communicating the brand are:
1. People start viewing web pages from the top left corner.
2. Unlike books, people skim read all types of web communications.
3. Avoid jargon – if you have tested the brand as previously described, this shouldn’t
be a problem?
4. Keep it brief.
5. Lists are better at keeping your reader focused rather than long paragraphs of prose.
6. Tell as it is. If everything isn’t perfect, admit it and stress what you are doing
to change.
7. Aim to meet the reader’s expectations, not the organisation’s. Most people won’t
be interested in, for example, how you’ve developed your brand.
8. Images should enhance and never contradict the brand values.
9. White space is good visually.
10. If you need to re-read, you need to re-write.
4.4 WEBSITE
4.1 Nearly every organisation has one. Some hold employment information on a dedicated
career site. But whether employment details are held on the main organisational
website, or separate, it is essential that the brand attributes are clearly promoted. A
great example is the Apple US site where brand values are clear and briefly stated

33
whilst giving the reader the potential to get more information, https://www.apple.
com/jobs/us/, (January2018). For example, ‘at Apple, we believe inclusion inspires
innovation <Learn more>’13.
4.2 Sometimes, career websites will include some social media options, particularly Twitter.
There are some views that the career website is a dinosaur amongst new technology,
being replaced by organisation pages on Facebook, Linked In etc. however career
webpages/websites can:
• Offer organisations total control on content. This is not the case for social media
pages which contain advertisements and chat feeds.
• Provide space to communicate a deep and compelling message.
• Often host functionality that allows potential candidates to apply. Of course,
that functionality needs to work effectively. The best website messages will fail if
candidate application pages and processes are poor. Websites with pages ‘under
construction’ or ‘being reviewed’ will also discourage readers to engage.
• Allow you to capture in depth web analytics about potential candidates. This may
include: what areas of the site interests them, how many apply at what point,
data on when they stop scrolling through the pages. All useful information to
evaluate the success of messages and the site itself.
Corporate eLibrary
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Management Time Management
Problem solving
Project Management Goal setting Motivation Coaching

34
4.3 We previously looked at key considerations when writing for the web, in addition
when promoting your brand via the website:
• Make it mobile. It’s fair to assume that most job seekers will browse jobs, and
therefore links to careers sites, via phones or other mobile devices. Check what
it looks like on a small screen.
• Make it meaningful. For the potential candidate, for example only include
information about the development of the brand if it gives a strong statement
about ‘what it’s like to work here’, democratic, involving etc.
• Join up the dots. Make sure that all statements, photos and videos are on
brand message.
4.4 A social networking presence is therefore increasingly essential to ultimately drive

potential candidates to your career site or to source passive candidates. The site
therefore needs careful thought and constant updates. Also, don’t forget about your
existing staff. Communication with staff is explored in depth in chapter 5. But it is
worth stressing here that internal, intranet pages must both push the brand and be
consistent with your external facing careers site. If you don’t achieve, new recruits
will become disillusioned quickly and potentially terminally.
4.5 SOCIAL MEDIA

5.1 Different platforms have different audiences and are geared to different types of
interaction. The first step is therefore to research which channel fits your target
audience(s); put simply – who are you are trying to reach, where do they visit and
how do they engage with. Start small and build a presence. At a minimum build a
company page. With the rise of job sites which encourage feedback and engagement,
(for example, Glassdoor), it becomes more important to have a positive presence
and the facility to respond to any criticism. Millennials especially, are most likely
to research potential employers through social media.
5.2 Different social media is considered below. They are powerful tools and it is
worth emphasising:
• Don’t try to use all the popular tools that are available. It is just not necessary,
and it is better to focus on those that best fit your organisation.
• Don’t start to use social media if you cannot give it on-going attention. It’s great
to capture people’s interest but they will notice if the communications stop and
will form judgments.

35
• Don’t publish in haste, everything has the potential to be scrutinised, shared or

held against you. If in doubt hold back.
Key sites
a) Facebook
Facebook has the largest reach of all social media platforms. It has a broad demographic,
although its primary use is for social interaction. You may have a company site, but
this needs to be expanded to include employer branding specifically. Your ‘wall’ should
be full of content, (news features, stories), and you must regularly post images and
updates. If possible, video adds richness. An option is set up Facebook live sessions
and closed groups which allow you to reach key audiences and to interact directly
with them.
b) LinkedIn
LinkedIn is aimed at professionals and is geared to work related interaction. Create

a company page to showcase your brand; the organisation, its values and culture.
Add news, blogs etc to your page to create richness. There is freedom to customise
the company page and there are plenty of tools to assist in developing high quality
content and to develop a careers section. Adverts can be produced and targeted to key
audiences. Encourage your employees to have their own pages that tie in with brand
messages and assist them to ensure consistency and high-quality content.
c) Twitter
Twitter is a conversation tool and its use for recruitment needs to be considered in this
context. Because it is an open platform, the potential audience reach is uncapped and
largely unmanageable. It is most powerful if you research how best to hit the target
audience and use hashtags effectively; there are tools which help with this. Create links
to other social media and your own website. Then write content which is engaging
and relevant; including, organisation culture, information and news items. It is not
advisable to simply advertise vacancies. To work effectively you need to be set up to
respond to tweets and to regularly post content – it is a conversation after all. Do not
under-estimate the demands that this may create. Old tweets just do not work and
may say something about the organisation that you would not choose. Twitter also
provide some analytics which can help you track how successful you are.

36
d) YouTube
The popularity of home-made video seems relentless and tends to appear high up
in search engine results. To make best use of, will need some investment of time if
not money; creating a company channel on YouTube and investing in solid video
content. A spotlight on working for an organisation is a good way of providing realistic
expectations, highlighting organisational culture and values. Big budget productions
are not the essence of the channel so there is no need to invest heavily; home-made
can appear more authentic.
e) Google+
Is emerging as a route for recruitment and engagement but as yet for niche markets
due to user uptake. It will work well for the passive market. An advantage for its use
is that it will improve your search results in Google.
f ) Others; Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest
Some large companies are using these other platforms to promote their organisational
culture. Some have been used innovatively, for example using Snapchat to get candidates
to produce a short video to accompany a CV. They offer opportunities to be creative
and fit well where innovation is a strong characteristic within an organisation but,
as yet, do generally not form part of a core employer branding roll-out. New and
interesting developments are emerging all the time. For example, PathMotion, offers
a platform that enables candidates to learn about employers by talking directly to
their staff in a private forum. It is a great way for applicants to self-select whether
the organisation is right for them. Not every development will fit every organisation,
but it is important to be open to new opportunities.
5.3 Employee storytelling is more authentic and engaging for many social media users.
Consider your employees as “brand ambassadors” who can generate content on
social media. Consider developing internal programs that encourage employees to
share their knowledge and expertise in online communities where you recruit. By
increasing their visibility in certain professional circles and establishing themselves
as experts in those communities, your employees can expand their own professional
networks while helping you identify and attract talented prospects.

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4.6 JOB SITES

6.1 There are thousands of job sites. These can be:
• Job boards, that restrict searchable opportunities to that board.

• Others, that enable the reader to search many job board, career sites etc. Some,
such as Indeed and Glassdoor allow members to see company-specific ratings
and reviews.
• Those attached to an organisation or professional body that allows recruiters
to target a niche audience. These may be useful when trying to reach a passive
audience who may look through current opportunities whilst using the site for
another purpose.
6.2 The choice of a job site needs to deal with practical issues; cost, applicant reach
and reliability of the functionality. You should also consider; what the choice says
about your organisation and the ability to shape the content to reinforce your brand
values. For example, career pages attached to professional associations may offer a
great opportunity to showcase your organisation, reach hard to fill applicants and
post employee video. Have a conversation with website owners and explore what
is possible.
4.7 DEALING WITH REVIEWS

7.1 Reviews on public forums, (social media and some job sites), can support or damage
your employer brand. How you respond to them can be equally significant. Most
people know that sites will often contain the odd bad review and will often accept this
if its content isn’t wholly damaging and if the organisation has dealt with the points
raised – however questionable these may be. Every review will tell you something.
Even if it’s that your communications need to be sharper. Six tips on dealing with
reviews are:
1. Actively decide whether to reply. A glowing review may stand on its own
merits, but you may want to increase coverage by for example tweeting with
thanks. Or add to your own website. Generally, it’s good practice to respond
to negative reviews. There are dangers if you don’t; not least sometimes things
gain traction and “me too” responses need to be addressed quickly.
2. Reinforce the brand in your message content. As previously, get the tone right
and use the opportunity to push your message. But, speak like a person –
avoid organisational jargon and ‘brand speak’ – get the balance right.

38
3. Don’t take it personally and never get into an argument. This has the potential
to be far more interesting to the casual reader. The reviewer may also be
‘known’ to the organisation and potentially could have left under a cloud.
But a public form isn’t the place to re-live. Be professional.
4. Don’t make excuses, the reviewer does not really care, for example, that you
didn’t have the resources to respond to their application for two months.
Apologise for your mistake, take accountability for the specific issue and show
how things will be different in the future.
5. If there are details to be sorted with the review, encourage them to contact
separately to work out in a private conversation.
6. Look for patterns. If, for example, people are posting complaints about your
recruitment service, this may give you information far quicker than internal
performance reports.
7.2 Do not be frightened of reviews. If your organisational brand gives importance to
the employees’ voice you may want to positively encourage people to express what
they like about the organisation. At the recruitment stage and as a way for people
to act as brand ambassadors during employment, as previously touched upon. Like
them or not reviews are here to stay, and they are actively sought by job seekers and
employees, therefore take the opportunity and manage them positively.
4.8 OTHER MEDIA

8.1 In an environment where we are immersed in web-based messages it is easy to
overlook the impact that traditional media has on an employer brand. Tone of voice,
considered earlier in this chapter, and content that is appropriate to the brand should
be expressed in e-mails, letters, signage, policy handbooks and organisational brochures.
8.2 It is natural to spend money and give attention to outward facing resources that
showcase the organisation to new recruits. But what a disappointment for the
applicant when waiting for an interview to glance through old materials at odds with
the dynamic brand that has been promoted! Materials used within the organisation
must; express content that is consistent with an employee’s experiences, be in line
with brand values, be regularly updated and refreshed. As previously explored, it is
easy to post information on line; it can be a lengthy process to design and produce
printed stock. It is important therefore to get this right and ensure that what is
produced is not too time bound.

39
8.3 It is difficult to influence how people communicate within an organisation.

Communication and branding guidelines assist; including font type, use of logos and
consistent colours. All create a reaction in the reader. People also pick up the tone
used within an organisation and begin to replicate its style. It is important therefore
that organisational messages, whether from senior managers or HR departments,
are crafted to adhere to the brand. Ultimately, however, it is what people say and
do that will have the greatest impact. How HR services and manager can live the
message is explored in the chapter that follows.
4.9 TIME TO REFLECT

9.1 Thinking about resources; who is going to lead communication of the brand in
your organisation? Consider whether they have a dedicated budget and if have they
got spare capacity to pay ongoing attention to the demands of social media. What
training might they need to communicate the messages that you want to promote?
9.2 What tone of voice would best describe your organisation; serious, light hearted? If,
for example, your organisation places great value on listening to staff and potential
applications write down how might this influence your choice of media, its content
and how you express key messages. Also consider how this tone may influence your
response to poor reviews – they are going to happen.
9.3 As we have explored there is wealth of social media options available, as well as
the organisation’s website. Create a grid of; what benefits the site and social media
options offer (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc.), what audiences are being reached
and how often you are likely to have to give attention to. Your choices on what to
use may become clear.

40
EMPLOYER BRAND Making It Real
5 MAKING IT REAL
INTRODUCTION
Throughout this book we have stressed the need for the brand attributes to be authentic.
If not, like the tale of the emperor’s new clothes, the true situation will be revealed; much
to the discredit of the organisation. In a new organisation the employer brand may readily
drive behaviours. For some, brand attributes will be a total reflection of the organisation’s
character. For most, however, making the brand real will be a mixture of promoting what
is already in place through effective communications and amending behaviours where the
organisation, or where particular areas, fall short. This chapter looks at ways to make the
brand real for existing staff and for potential candidates; by describing areas of high visibility
so that organisations can take the necessary action at key touchpoints.
5.1 BRAND AUDIT

1.1 The previous chapter explored communication channels and how brand attributes
can be promoted. It is essential that HR policies and procedures are considered too.
There must be consistency between what the organisation says it will do and the
employer experience.
‘The strongest brands are those that achieve a high degree of consistency in
whatever context they appear, and at every kind of experience the individual
has of the brand’14. (Employer branding; Your online companion for the
journey. CIPD 2008).
Looking at the staff handbook, or its equivalent, critique whether:
• Underlying policy principles uphold the brand attributes. For example, if an

organisation ‘values its staff ’, it may be questionable to cover recruitment
gaps with workers from the gig economy.
• The process steps reflect the brand. An innovative organisation will not be
requiring employees to submit paper forms in triplicate!
• The style, language and media used to communicate policy and procedure.
Unless the brand is a revolution for the organisation, and the merit for such a
significant change is questionable, the alterations required should be manageable.
Often, they will be essential. Clear brand attributes also provide useful guidance when

41
setting out new policy and procedure, by providing a set of principles to structure
HR processes. As such, new policies should be welcomed.
1.2 As well as looking at the content of in-house training programs, a brand audit should
also consider what training is on offer to enable managers and employees to live
and communicate the brand. This may be around building skills, for example, on
writing for the web or more delegation to empower employees. But it may also be
about refreshing messages. Being an equalities employer is a familiar brand attribute,
but what does it mean to a multi-cultural 21st century workforce? It may be time
to refresh the debate, e.g. on sexual harassment in the workplace or to introduce
concepts such as unconscious bias, etc.
1.3 It is necessary to scrutinise facilities to see whether they match the brand. Loft
style offices in an edgy part of town may not convey ‘traditional values’ – if they
are important to your organisation. It may be unrealistic for the employer brand to
dictate accommodation requirements but where a review is being undertaken, audit
the options against the brand. Even if an organisation must make do with current
arrangements it may be possible to reorganise an office layout to support the brand.
For example, how desks are placed can impact on team working. A small breakout
area can facilitate better engagement. Consider what’s there, see how the physical
surroundings can detract or enhance, and make changes to support.
1.4 HR may take the lead in the brand audit. Involving other people will however add
different perspectives, spread the brand message, add richness to solutions and ideally
identify a wide range of brand ambassadors.
5.2 BRAND AMBASSADORS

2.1 In an ideal world, an organisation’s employees will live and breathe the brand.
Getting close to this situation does however need to be managed and can be a lot of
hard work. Chapter 3 considered how it is necessary to launch the brand internally
first, being clear why it is being introduced or revised; and how this may impact
on behaviours. Where necessary, supplement the launch with training in new skills,
or ways of managing, or ways of acting as an employee. For example, not every
employee will have the skills or confidence to work ‘collaboratively’. Reinforcing the
desired character of the organisation may mean supporting people at every level.

42
2.2 Identifying and promoting brand ambassadors will help embed the desired organisational
behaviours:
a) Start with the organisation’s leaders.

Employees are more likely to embrace the brand if the organisation’s leadership
demonstrate its attributes in how they act. Conversely, if they don’t, acceptance
across the broader management team will be tricky. Communication professionals
can assist by encouraging senior managers to constantly communicate the brand
and to share examples of how they can bring the brand to life.
a) Capture hearts and minds in the workforce

Product brand ambassadors are not unusual. There is value in considering pulling
together a group of committed employees, at different levels of seniority, to also act
as employee brand ambassadors. Work with these employees, ideally throughout
the brand’s development, but certainly through roll-out to:
• Understand what the brand means for their role, their level of seniority or
their part of the organisation. If people can express the brand attributes
in their own words and apply to their own situation they are more likely
to be willing and able to spread the message.
• Listen to what they say, these staff may be well placed to really understand
how the brand is being received. Do not discount their feedback, even if
some of their messages are painful. Recognising problems will not only
be valuable in the long run but acknowledging their input and keeping
them on side will offer a range of long term benefits.
• Get them involved in social media promotions of the brand. This may
include, responding to online comments or participating in marketing
events on employment opportunities with the organisation.
2.3 To empower brand ambassadors across the organisation, it is important to have a
social media policy that is positive. Do not just focus on what could go wrong.
Think about the benefits to be gained when employees are encouraged to share
online. Provide social media training when needed and ensure that employees have
content to share. Create specific hashtags for employees to use and encourage them
to use it across all platforms.
2.4 Ultimately, recognise that every contact that an applicant makes, and every employee
experience supports or detracts from stated brand attributes. Being aware will help
you critique HR processes. Key events are looked at below.

43
5.3 RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING
Figure 5 People Waiting for an interview15

44
3.1 Chapter 4 looked at communicating the brand and how to use different media to
attract candidates. The candidate journey is, however, more than the initial contact.
It is the experience of the processes and how representatives of the organisation
behave. Every touchpoint is a further demonstration of the brand; its attributes,
messages and character. This captures everything from making an application, to
how candidates are invited to interview, the selection methods used and style of the
post-interview follow-up.
3.2 Organisations’ brand attributes will be different. In this respect there is no right or
wrong way to shape processes or for people to behave. To help you consider what
typical touchpoints may say about your brand we have noted five stages. Using
example brand attributes, we have shown some possible negative indicators and some
positive reinforcements of the brand.
a) Making an application.
Example brand attribute, innovation.
• Positive reinforcement of the brand. A quick process that can be
completed on the move; the ‘application’ is a video: short, recorded and
submitted via a phone.
• Negative indicators of the brand. People have to fill in a paper based,
lengthy application form and where the purpose of form’s categories
are unclear.
b) You’ve been shortlisted!

Example brand attribute, fun to work here.
• Positive reinforcement of the brand. Next stage in the process is a
breakfast brunch meeting with colleagues so the applicant can make
decisions whether the environment suits them and to enable potential
colleagues to meet applicants.
• Negative indicator of the brand. A compulsory maths test, even if the
potential role does not require numerical abilities.
c) Attending interview
Example brand attribute, we value diversity.
• Positive reinforcement of the brand may include: checking whether
applicants have any special needs and offering support to help people
do their best. Involving organisational colleagues from different profiles
in the selection process.
• Negative indicators may include: locations that are inaccessible for
people with mobility restrictions, asking questions about family plans
or commitments.

45
d) Post interview feedback.

Example brand attribute, building careers.
• Positive reinforcement of the brand; pointing internal candidates to
suitable training options, (successful and unsuccessful candidates), putting
forward candidates for roles that better suit their potential.
• Negative indicators of the brand; we don’t give feedback beyond hire
or reject!
e) Onboarding
Example brand attributes, we listen to staff.
• Positive reinforcement of the brand; surveying new staff about their
applicant experience, involving colleagues in stakeholder meetings
of candidates.
• Negative indicators of the brand; setting a global, immovable commencement
date, not being in contact with applicants between offer and start date –
regardless of timescale.
3.3 It is essential to factor the brand into the induction process. The process may start
from contact with the appointed candidate before their commencement date, how
they are welcomed on their first day, as well as the support given to them in the first
weeks to months. In large organisations, it is likely that induction arrangements will
differ according to location, service and job. Methods of inductions will also vary and
may include; senior management attendance at induction sessions, video, mandatory
training and scripts for managers. It is essential, however, that some key messages are
consistent, and that the organisation explains to newcomers ‘the way we do things
around here’. This will include, the organisation’s aims and commitments as well as
the defined set of on-brand employee behaviours. The brand is at the centre of the
‘psychological contract’ between employer and employee. The induction programme
is a great way to give employees an idea of what their side of the bargain involves.
If the organisation doesn’t take control of this, the gap will be filled by the new
recruit through copying others’ behaviour, (good or bad), or finding their own way
through. Such options present risks, with the learnt behaviours being at odds with
what the organisation aims for and which may take considerable effort to change.
As part of induction, consider assigning a buddy from the peer group, this can be a
powerful message of support but also empowers existing staff. Investment in informed
induction may pay dividends.

46
5.4 MANAGING STAFF

4.1 Recruiting staff is costly and resource demanding. It is disappointing when a promising
new recruit, or a valued member of staff, decides to leave. People resign for multiple
personal reasons, e.g. a house move. It is, however, important that the organisation
takes control of areas it can influence, including ensuring that management activities
live up to brand attributes.
4.2 In a similar vein to recruitment, it is impossible for this book to say how an
organisation should manage its staff to achieve its brand attributes. An organisation
that ‘pays for the best’, will rightly manage differently than one that ‘nurtures new
talent’. There are some key areas that all organisations can consider.
4.3 It is important to not only look at the content of procedures, considered earlier
in this chapter, but to step back and consider whether the overall offer made to
employees is coherent and aligned with the brand attributes. The employee package
offered to employees may, for example, place emphasis on being ‘family friendly’. If
all the organisation offers is statutory entitlements this attribute will not ring true.
Instead challenge what management practices would demonstrate this commitment
and what measures the organisations could offer. For example, flexible start times,
working from home, child related benefits and paid carers leave. Involve brand
ambassadors and other informed staff to test out what is happening on the ground.
4.4 Work with senior managers on how they may cascade the brand to their managers.
Hopefully, senior managers will have invested time in the identification and agreement
of brand attributes and they will be keen to realise the investment. They are best
placed to ensure that adoption across the organisation has impetus. Look at how
management techniques can be used to create brand related performance targets in
work plans, appraisal and even links to financial rewards. A manager who supports
the team to ‘fulfil potential’, for example, may score highly on periodic salary reviews.
4.4 Consider HR statistics to highlight any obvious areas that are at odds with the
brand attributes. These may be different from key performance indicators (KPIs)
that are used to monitor the effectiveness of the brand itself and which are looked
at in more detail in chapter 6. For example, if an area of the organisation has high
levels of staff grievances this may indicate a problem at odds with an attribute of
staff engagement. High levels of dismissals may be questioned where the organisation
places importance on developing staff. It may be necessary to fix the problem and
put in place a management style that suits the organisation’s character. There may
not be a quick resolution but one that needs sustained efforts; used well, the brand
attributes will provide clarity on desired goals.

47
5.5 EXITING THE ORGANISATION

5.1 ‘It was a pleasure to have you as a boss, because you sent all my worries for a toss.
As I leave my heart is laid bare, managers like you are sadly rare. Goodbye and
thanks’ (Anon).
Would that all employee feedback on leaving on organisation was so positive. It is

important to recognize that those leaving the organisation play an important role in
communicating the brand and are a source of information on how well it is working.
5.2 The circumstances in which people leave will vary widely. Sometimes the exit is
initiated by the organisation. Whatever the circumstances, how an employee is
managed during the exit period will speak volumes about the organisation’s character
and its values; and will be of interest to colleagues who remain. If, for example, the
organisation prides itself on ‘thanking staff’, it would be damaging if a long-standing
employee leaves with no recognition of service given.
5.3 People leaving the organisation may be more willing, than current staff, to express
views on how well the organisation lives up to the brand. Use exit questionnaires
and exit interviews to gather information on how well things are going on the
ground, (explored further in the next chapter). Increasingly former employees also
have a powerful voice through social media. Ideally, an ex-employee who posts on
Glassdoor, Facebook, Indeed, etc., will speak positively of the organisation. If they
don’t, as explored in chapter 4; decide whether an organisational response is necessary
and if so, recognize that there may be things to learn. And, frame a response with a
cool head. Even the most unperceptive comments from an ex-employee may contain
useful information.

48
5.6 TIME TO REFLECT

6.1 This chapter recognises brand attributes must be an integral part of the day to day
management of staff. If they are not, the brand will not be considered authentic and
it is likely to fall into disrepute.
6.2 Considering your own organisation:
• Who would act as brand ambassadors? What support may they need to undertake
this role?
6.3 Considering your current or proposed employer brand and a key attribute, for
example ‘we value diversity’:
• What policies and procedures support this attribute?

• Are there any negative indicators in how the organisation, or managers, behave
that may undermine its authenticity?

49
EMPLOYER BRAND Measuring and Adjusting
6 MEASURING AND ADJUSTING
INTRODUCTION
You wouldn’t go on a diet without measuring the effect. Whether this a reduction in weight,
looser clothes or an increased feeling of fitness. Similarly, to be able to say that employer
branding is a success, and potentially justify investment, you need to measure the effectiveness
of what has been achieved. Many employer brand managers think that measuring any kind
of return on investment is just too hard. But it does not need to be, and in this chapter,
we present areas to consider and what the information may tell you.
6.1 PICKING THE KPIS

1.1 Deciding on the key performance indicators, (KPIs), could be viewed as very simple.
Return to the targets and measures that we looked at in chapter 1. Consider the
baseline and compare before and after. However, as well as the achievement of the
top line target there may reasonably be various KPIs that show areas of success on
a journey towards achievement of these targets; and where work still needs to be
done. One of the potential targets that we gave as an example was:
a) Reduction in Direct Costs

For example, a target may be; through promotion of our brand we aim to recruit
to Engineer vacancies three times a year instead of four, with a 90% fill rate at
each campaign instead of the current 60% fill rate.
In this example the organisation would certainly want to measure the fill rate but
may also want to look at how this was achieved. Areas are considered below but
may include; click rates from advertisement to applications, completed applications,
drop-out rates, etc.
1.2 Whatever KPIs are selected there are some basic guidelines that may seem obvious
but are worth reflecting on. Do the KPIs:
• Provide evidence of progress towards achieving the target.

• Measure what is intended.
• Be able to provide a comparison that can inform the level of effectiveness over time.
• Have the potential to be influenced by other factors that impact upon the target.
This may be unavoidable; there may be multiple reasons why the quality of

50
candidates increases, such as changes in the recruiting market. Be aware of these

factors and as far as practical separate or recognise the impact on the brand and
the need for measurement over a longer timescale.
• Require so much input to compile that it is questionable to pursue. KPIs are
an aid to decision making and should not be an end in themselves. Be realistic.
1.3 The KPIs chosen must fit your organisation. However, we have listed areas to think
about and what they may tell you.
a) Brand Awareness
At its most basic, consider asking people to name the organisation’s brand attributes.
Questions should be pointed at different groups; a cross section of staff of different
levels of seniority and/or location, new recruits and possibly candidates, through on-
line, short surveys. Internal staff members’ ability to name brand attributes should
improve over time. Failure to do so would point to problems with communication
or real experience. Similarly, new recruits or potential candidates should be able to
identify the attributes through the recruitment materials. The goal is to determine
if your target groups assign the same brand characteristics as you are striving to
communicate.
b) Brand Experience
Find out ‘what’s it really like to work here’. Using a point scale, measure how far
people agree or not with the brand attributes. Include in annual staff surveys, but
also conduct some, sample in depth telephone survey or focus groups, to not only
produce the scale results but understand the underlying reasons for the scores. Do
not forget to capture information through exit questionnaires. Getting feedback will
confirm whether the selected brand attributes were correct, have longevity or if there
needs to be further work to embed.
c) Third Party Feedback
As an organisation you may use external firms to handle your recruitment, aspects
of the process, (e.g. executive search) or to fill agency opportunities. They are a great
source of information. Conduct interviews with external recruiters and search firms
to determine their probability of promoting your company as an employer of choice
and how they would describe your organisation to a potential candidate. What they
say may be different than what is intended.

51
d) Digital Presence
There should be multiple ways that your brand’s effectiveness is evident:
• Clicks on your recruiting pages, increased traffic to your employee video stories.
The numbers of people that continue through to making an application.
• The number of employees with an optimized social presence goes up.
• Your company ratings on employer review sites (e.g., Glassdoor etc.) are more
positive and ideally are capturing the brand attributes that the organisation stands
for, such as good teamwork. Also, where applicable, consider Best Places to Work
lists to see how you rank against your competitors and in your industry.
• Conversations on social media emphasise the good things about working for your
organisation rather than the problems.
Figure 6 – Various Charts16

52
e) Numbers and Quality of Applicants
At its simplest, measure the volume of applicants who apply before and after a branding
exercise. There should be a notable increase. Cost per hire is another useful measure
and one, ideally, that is captured at two stages; total cost/numbers appointed, and
total cost/number of related staff still employed six months from start date. If your
employer brand is working, you should see a decrease in the cost per hire. Quality will
be also measurable by numbers appointed, those remaining with the organisation after
a given period or via feedback from recruiting managers. If there is a sharp fall in the
numbers remaining with an organisation, it may reasonably suggest that recruitment
attraction promises are not being experienced in practice.
f ) Retention/Wastage Rates and Performance Management
Track how many employees stay/leave every year and what is their average length of
service. Examine areas where there is a high proportion of high performing employees.
Determine if there are any identifiable trends or common characteristics and test out
brand attributes in those areas. With a well-executed brand, high performance and
retention should be increasing.
None of the example KPIs should be overly burdensome, but as explained in the
sections that follow, will take time and may require some bold interventions if things
are going wrong.
6.2 MONITORING THE IMPACT

2.1 As touched on above, KPIs are not an end in themselves but need to be used to help
identify changes or to add weight to continuing a course of action. Who considers
the KPIs will vary from organisation to organisation, but if your senior managers
have been involved in preparing the employer brand it is a reasonable expectation to
report back on how things are going. When monitoring, some areas to consider are:
• Be realistic about timing. Some aspects of the brand will show results relatively
early. This is particularly true for internal awareness. If you have communications
right, there should be knowledge about the brand around its launch. Changing
perceptions of an external market may take far longer.
• Stay with it; not only will some audiences be harder to reach but others may
lose key messages if they are not repeated or are not experienced by staff on a
day to day basis. The effectiveness of the brand may be whether in six months

53
or a year post-launch, people cannot recognise or only have a vague memory of.
Monitoring needs therefore to be ongoing.
• Being clear to decision makers what the information is saying. If an organisation
is committed to ‘enhancing careers’ you should see an increase in job applications
from a younger demographic; the strength of the brand will be enhanced if
this outcome is seen across all advertisements rather than simply the annual
apprenticeship programme. Do not jump to conclusions based on the immediacy
of evidence just to support the concept of the brand.
• When to ask decision makers for help and being clear what this means for them.
Using the above example, if staff survey information suggests the organisation
is not committed to career development there may be problems in a particular
area; find out and present the problem and work with other HR/management
colleagues to suggest solutions.
• Adjust your brand strategy based on what is working. Looking at social media
to reflect on what has earned the most views, likes, shares and comments. Do
not forget to learn from what communication has not done so well. Is it the
language that is being used, or method of communication, or even doubts about
the authenticity?
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It is unlikely that an organisation will launch an inauthentic brand if it has followed

a systematic approach to brand development, including testing out attributes with a
broad range of staff and ideally external audiences. The quality and longevity of the
brand will however be enhanced if there is a willingness to tweak its content and
challenge how its communicated. Both with ensure that investment has been worth-
while and the brand is sustainable.
6.3 WHEN TO ACT

3.1 If the KPIs are indicating outcomes that are at odds with the intended targets;
investigate the causes and take appropriate action. There are, however, other occasions
when it is important to reconsider the brand, distinct from the KPIs. In a very few
cases this may require a refresh but, more frequently, demand recognition that things
have changed and an explanation how this impacts on the brand attributes.
3.2 Some examples when action is required include:
• When an organisation merges with another; this may be in any sector; including
where there is a new acquisition.
• Where the type of services or product that is being delivered changes leading to
alterations in the workforce make-up.
• Significant changes in the senior management team; where it is recognised that the
new cadre bring different priorities which impact on the culture of the organisation.
• There are external events that may damage brand attributes or put delivery at
risk. For example, a downturn in the economy may undermine an organisation’s
commitment to offer a ‘job for life’. Tracking external analytics is important to
ensure the weight of external changes.
• Another organisation emerges as a competitor for precious staff resources. On
such occasions it may be necessary to challenge the attractiveness of the brand
or how it is communicated.
3.3 Putting aside any events described above, it is good practice to review the authenticity
and reach of the brand on a regular and structured basis. For a few organisations,
brand attributes will become to viewed as part of its DNA, but for most there is a
need to review, tweak and refresh. In these ways, the employer brand will remain a
powerful tool that enhances organisational effectiveness over the longer term.

55
6.4 TIME TO REFLECT

4.1 You cannot manage what you do not measure is an old management adage that
remains accurate. Unless you measure something, you don’t know if it is getting
better or worse. Whilst there are challenges in measuring the success of the brand
we have suggested KPIs that could be used and occasions when there is a need to
actively review the brand. Thinking about your own organisation:
• Identify three KPIs that could be used to measure your brand.

• How frequently would the KPIs be considered?
• Who would you consider the KPIs and what authority would they have to act?
4.2 This complete our journey on the development, communication and monitoring of
an employer brand. We hope that you have enjoyed reading this short book and
feel able to confidently tackle its introduction or review; whatever the size of your
organisation. Have fun!

56
EMPLOYER BRAND References and Further Help
REFERENCES AND FURTHER HELP

There follows a list of materials that we have quoted in the book and which give useful
information when considering the topic.
1. CIPD Employer branding; Your online companion for the journey. Paul Walker,
Head of Employer Branding 2008. www.cipd.co.uk
2. Place and Role of Employer Brand in the Structure of Corporate Brand – Sofia
Monika. pp. 136-148. DOI:10.14254/2071-789X.2014/7-2/11 (2014).
3. Case study; Virgin Media – Improving Candidate Experience for all Candidates –
Ph. Creative Digital Marketing Company, https://www.ph-attraction.com/work/
virgin-media
4. Original article – Employer Branding and Market Segmentation, Lara Moroko and
Mark D Uncles. Received (in revised form) 19th May 2009, https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/247478730_Employer_branding_and_market_segmentation
5. Figure 2 Picture; ‘Ideal Company’,
Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_netsay’>netsay/123RF Stock
Photo</a>
6. CIPD paper; Employer Branding – a no nonsense approach Paul Walker, Head of
Employer Branding circa 2006. www.cipd.co.uk.
7. John Lewis partnership web pages; ‘It’s that certain something. Partnership Spirit
and Behaviours, (November 2017) http://www.jlpjobs.com/about/partnership-spirit-
and-behaviours/
8. Captivating company: dimensions of attractiveness in employer branding Pierre
Berthon, Michael Ewing & Li Lian Hah. International Journal of Advertising Vol. 24,
Iss. 2,2005 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02650487.2005.110729
12 Published on line January 2015
9. Linked In ‘Employer Brand Playbook’, ‘5 Steps to Crafting a Highly Social Talent
Brand’, www.talentlink.com.
10. Figure 3 – Picture ‘Workforce’ –
Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_rawpixel’>rawpixel/123RF Stock
Photo</a>
11. Statistic Brain, Facebook company statistics compiled May 2017, https://www.
statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/
12. Figure 4 Picture Megaphone Hand, business concept with text We Need People Like
You, vector illustration. Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile__fla’>_fla
/ 123RF Stock Photo</a>
13. Example of branding on web site; Apple – Jobs at Apple, web pages January 2018,
link https://www.apple.com/jobs/us/.

57
EMPLOYER BRAND References and Further Help
14. CIPD Employer branding; Your online companion for the journey. Paul Walker,
Head of Employer Branding 2008. www.cipd.co.uk
15. Figure 5 Picture ‘Waiting for an interview’
Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_oneinchpunch’>oneinchpunch
/ 123RF Stock Photo</a>
16. Figure 6 Picture – Various Charts
Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_csuzda’>csuzda / 123RF Stock
Photo</a>

58

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JILL SEYMOUR & BERNARD NAWRAT

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1 What’s it all about? 7

2 What is it like to work here? 15

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3 Mind the Gap 22

4 Communicating the Brand 29

6 Measuring and Adjusting 50

References and Further Help 57

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bernard Nawrat and Jill Seymour

Figure 7 Logo: Nawrat Seymour

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1 WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

A soft drink company that is recognised throughout the world.

1.1 CORPORATE AND EMPLOYER BRANDS

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• A psychological contract; this concept was developed by the organisational scholar

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The purpose of creation: to form a positive

• How you communicate; as mentioned previously, aimed at an applicant market

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1.2 BUSINESS CASE

• Creates clarity of purpose.

Few organisations tackle employer branding as a start-up organisation. Most have a

Define Your Objectives

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Targets and Measures

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a) Reduction in Direct Costs

b) Reduction in Associated Costs

c) Reduction in Lost Revenue

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Create a top line plan

1.3 TIME TO REFLECT

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a few minutes on the internet or glancing through a newspaper at the advertisements

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2 WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK HERE?

– Pip, Great Expectations – Charles Dickens 1860

The collective views of an organisation can be as inaccurate as Pip’s in Dickens Great

2.1 WHO TO INVOLVE?

• Opinion givers, these may be employees, job applicants, staff consultative

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• Researching brand attributes, receiving views on what it is really like as an

2.2 WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF THE BRAND?

2.2 Reflect on your business case to decide whether:

• To develop and manage a whole organisation employer brand, or

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2.3 WHAT KIND OF ORGANISATION DO WE WANT TO BE?

Figure 2 – Flipchart What’s your ideal company?5

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Avoid discussions about remuneration packages or terms and conditions in detail

• Is realistic. Look at the market in which the organisation operates. Consider

• Take responsibility for our business success

So, by treating people as individuals, creating rewarding experiences at work

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2.4 WHAT KIND OF ORGANISATION ARE WE?

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Unless your organisation is very small it is useful to collate additional information

• Inviting feedback through social media, but be prepared to respond quickly,

4.4 A social networking presence is therefore increasingly essential to ultimately drive

8.3 It is difficult to influence how people communicate within an organisation.