In the past, we’ve spoken about the importance of HR and Marketing working together to develop a winning employer brand, and while it’s great to be a winner, nothing compares to being a champion. When it comes to developing a truly amazing employer brand, every key team member needs to play a part.
Everyone from Executive Leadership on down can contribute to the brand and ensure its authenticity throughout its creation. Giving all your employees the chance to help in the process instils a sense of ownership and will result in an employer brand that genuinely reflects the pillars of your organization. This is important as your Employer Brand will help inform many of your key internal and external practices, and help you attract and retain top talent.
Not everyone shares the same schedule, and at times it may prove impossible to bring together a diverse group of employees to truly create an authentic employer brand. This is why you form an advisory group. Each organization’s structure will differ, but a good place to start is to choose a representative or two from Executive Leadership, HR, Marketing, Communications, Recruitment/Talent Attraction, and support employees. This way, representatives from across your organization can provide their perspective.
Too often, organizations rush the development of their employer brand, which only ends up putting them further behind schedule when it inevitably doesn’t reach a good outcome. By gathering your employees into an advisory group and beginning the process expeditiously, you spend less time wrangling staff and co-ordinating schedules and more time getting valuable input and activating your research findings.
The outcome? Employer branding that unites your organization in a way few initiatives can. By bringing together diverse work groups and people who may not always see (or work) eye-to-eye under a united purpose, you create commonality, and an opportunity to bond. In the same way championship-winning sports teams have a variety of talented players who each contribute something unique, champion-calibre employer brands aren’t owned by a single person or entity. It is a shared responsibility to both create and maintain, and if one person runs the show, nobody will be satisfied.
By going through this process in a collaborative and inclusive way, you will have already established and fostered communication, perhaps the most critical attribute in your employer branding journey. Since communication is so integral to the successful creation of your employer brand, mutual respect among participating employees is a natural outcome. This will be some of the most emotional work you will conduct as an employer, so treat the process with care, and positive results will follow.
About Blu Ivy Group
Blu Ivy Group is a leading employer branding and employee engagement consultancy that aligns your organization with contemporary workplace paradigms. Our mission is to help client’s build award-winning people practices, inspire extraordinary employee engagement, and cultivate unique and desirable workplaces. We provide integrated solutions in employer brand and engagement research, strategic consulting, employer brand integration, creative and talent communications.
Blu Ivy Group is a trusted partner to many of North America’s most respected employer brands. For more information, visit us online at bluivygroup.com or contact us at info@stagingbig.wpengine.com.