For as long as employer branding has been discussed, the question of whether HR or marketing should own employer brand strategy has been a point of contention. In reality talent in both HR and marketing — along with a good working relationship with communications — are critical to the success of employer branding.
The bigger question for an organization is to knowing exactly what change and impact you are hoping to make over the long term. Answering this will help to determine who is best suited to lead the employer branding effort.
Let’s take a moment to revisit the essence of employer branding. In a nutshell, it is this: The combined perspectives of your organization as a place to work, based on the experiences and perceptions of employees, external talent, customers and stakeholders.
And why does this matter? Human Capital is your single largest investment and expense as an organization. In fact in most Fortune 500 organizations, the cost of talent accounts for almost 70% of operating expenses! And it is far more than talent acquisition. Turnover expenses, training and development, engagement, recognition and rewards, succession planning, programs and culture initiatives add to this significant tally as well.
When you look through a longer-term lens on how employer brand strategy can impact both your talent experience and ROI, you will see just how important HR and culture expertise is. And not just for recruitment; OD, training, performance management and culture are all affected.
Taking a longer view makes it abundantly clear that employer branding leadership needs to encompass more than talent acquisition alone if it is to have the desired impact and be sustainable over time. Communications and compelling storytelling are also major components of employer branding. As such, a strong background or partnership with marketing is key.
Consider then, who in your organization has the ability to understand, impact and align the EVP experience with all elements of the employee life cycle? This is probably not an “either or” in terms of marketing or HR, but rather a hybrid talent, someone who has a depth of experience in different facets of an organization, understands the culture, and is operating at a senior executive level.
In terms of corporate investment, employer branding is set to explode in the years ahead. Budgets for the work continue to grow as the analytics to track ROI are refined and improved. Concurrently, we need to see the leadership and ownership of strategy to be taken up a level or two, to ensure the broadest and most lasting impact.
With the right owner of EVP strategy working with a skilled communications agency, your investment will be effective, sustainable, and measurable. Best of all, it will have an ongoing positive impact on the culture and profitability of your organization.
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@bluivygroup.com.