Many companies have an Employer Branding Manager, or maybe the role is integrated into fields such as Internal Communication, HR or Employee Experience. The purpose of the role is to build the company's brand, but not in the marketing sense, but as an employer, and to market it accordingly to relevant audiences. External marketing to candidates and internal marketing to existing employees. Marketing activities are diverse and varied, from social media campaigns to meetups, participation in employer competitions, to internal campaigns, ambassador forums, organizational podcasts and the sky is the limit.
At the heart of employer branding activities is usually the EVP – Employee Value Proposition. Every company has a unique value proposition that holds the reason for working there. It can be exceptional terms of employment, a meaningful field of activity, unique colleagues, an invested professional development, groundbreaking and attractive work processes, or even a certain atmosphere that exists nowhere else. What is certain is that employer branding managers must know what the unique value proposition of the organization is, otherwise, any "marketing" activity they do will turn out generic and probably less attractive in the market.
The reason is that managers are the ones who "hold" the unique value proposition of the organization, they are the ones responsible for providing it to their employees. For example, an organization can market a value proposition in the employment market of: high salary, professional development and a friendly atmosphere. But if the direct manager does not make sure that her employees enjoy salary promotions, development opportunities that are tailored to them, and manages the team with tyranny – the promise that the employees were recruited for shatters into fragments and the resignations will not be long in coming.
Another example is an organization that "markets" its value proposition to its employees internally. And if there is a gap between the promise and what the managers actually deliver, the employees will immediately react with bitter cynicism, which is a symptom of distrust in an organization that is not self-aware. Which also does not bode well.
The implication is that employer branding management is not only the responsibility of the person with that title, but the responsibility of all managers in the organization. What’s in it for them? Satisfied employees who feel a fit between the organization's promise and what they receive; more engaged employees who naturally become good ambassadors for the organization and employees who are willing to go above and beyond what is expected of them.
