Measuring the effectiveness of your employer branding program is a calculation unique to each organization. Presuming that your objectives for employer branding are tied directly to your overall business plan, the return on investment will be determined based on the specific KPI’s defined at the outset of the decision to actively manage your employer brand – and those objectives will not be the same as your competitors down the street.

When developing metrics related to employer brand, it is critical to consider how our efforts are paying off in relation to our stakeholders needs. The employer brand scorecard is all too often reviewed as an isolated evaluation with little connection to the overall performance of the business. What do your colleagues down the hall need to see from your program?

Establishing baseline metrics in collaboration with all functional divisions within your business will be an invaluable exercise to measure the effectiveness of your employer branding work. While the typical metrics (retention, engagement, quality of hire etc.) may continue to drive the numbers, the context in which we evaluate brand performance will be far more meaningful and carry much greater weight throughout your business when conclusions are made relevant to stakeholders.

Employer brand initiatives provide an ideal opportunity for collaboration across lines of business and functional areas. Your brand is a uniting force which all leaders have an equal stake in and effective execution of your employer brand strategy demands synergy. Ensure your entire management and leadership cohort has a clear understanding of the business case for employer branding and they can tie the metrics back to their part of the business. You’ll gain support and sponsorship to drive long term brand performance in your organization.