What is employer branding?

A handsome salary is no longer the sole deciding factor for top candidates. An organisation’s reputation as an employer has become its most powerful recruitment tool. According to LinkedIn, a staggering 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a role. This highlights a critical business function: employer branding.

What is employer branding?

Employer branding is the process of managing and influencing an organisation's reputation as an employer among its current employees, potential candidates, and key stakeholders. It defines the perception of what it is like to work for the company.

How does employer branding differ from a corporate brand?

It’s crucial to differentiate this from your overall corporate brand. While the two are intertwined, your corporate brand sells products and services to customers. Your employer brand, on the other hand, is laser-focused on the talent audience. It sells the employee experience.

Think of it like consumer branding: just as companies cultivate a brand to attract loyal customers, they must build an equally compelling employer brand to attract and retain the best talent.

The core components of an employer brand

A strong employer brand is built on several key components that work together to create a consistent and authentic employee experience.

Employee value proposition (EVP)

The employee value proposition (EVP) is the core of an employer brand. It is the unique set of benefits an employee receives in return for their skills and contributions. An EVP answers the question: "Why should a candidate work for this company over another?" A comprehensive EVP is typically built upon five pillars:

1. Compensation: Fair salary, bonuses, and other financial incentives.
2. Benefits: Healthcare, pension schemes, paid time off, and wellness programmes.
3. Career development: Opportunities for training, mentorship, and career advancement.
4. Work environment: The physical, technological, and social setting of the workplace.
5. Company culture: The shared values, behaviours, and sense of community within the organisation.

Your EVP isn't a marketing slogan; it's a promise. The best employer brands are those where the promise aligns perfectly with the day-to-day reality of the employees.

Company culture and values

Company culture is the sum of daily behaviours, unspoken norms, and shared values that define a work environment. For an employer brand to be credible, the advertised culture must match the real, lived experience of employees. The organisation's values should be demonstrated by leadership and be part of key processes like hiring, performance management, and promotions.

Candidate and employee experience

An employer brand is demonstrated through the entire talent journey. This includes every touchpoint, from a candidate's first interaction with a job advertisement to the application and interview process, onboarding, ongoing development, and even the offboarding brand experience. A positive and consistent experience at each stage is essential for building and maintaining a strong brand reputation.

Why is employer branding important for a business?

Investing in employer branding is a business strategy that delivers measurable results, including improved recruitment, lower costs, and higher productivity.

Attracts higher quality candidates

A positive employer brand acts as a magnet for talent, creating a pipeline of qualified applicants who are already familiar with the company's mission and culture. This reduces the time it takes to fill open roles and decreases reliance on external recruitment agencies. Companies with strong employer brands can see a 50% increase in qualified applicants and hire up to twice as fast.

Reduces hiring and retention costs

A strong brand helps to retain existing employees. When the employee experience aligns with the promises made during recruitment, staff are more likely to stay with the company. A positive brand reputation can reduce employee turnover by up to 28%, which saves significant costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training new employees.

Boosts employee engagement and productivity

Employees who are proud of where they work tend to be more motivated and engaged. They often become effective brand ambassadors for the organisation. Research from Gallup shows that highly engaged teams are more productive, achieve higher profitability, and provide better customer service.

Strengthens the corporate brand

A positive employer brand can have a "halo effect" on the corporate brand. When a company is known as a great place to work, it can positively influence how consumers perceive it. Customers often prefer to support businesses that are known for treating their employees well.

How to build a winning employer branding strategy: a step-by-step framework

Building an employer brand isn't a one-time project; it's a continuous cycle of listening, defining, activating, and refining. Here is a practical framework to guide your efforts.

Step 1: Audit your current perception

Before you can build, you need a baseline. You must understand how your organisation is currently perceived as an employer, both internally and externally. Methods to audit your brand include:

• Conducting anonymous employee surveys (like an eNPS - employee Net Promoter Score).
• Analysing reviews on platforms like Glassdoor and LinkedIn.
• Reviewing feedback from exit interviews to understand why people leave.
• Speaking with new hires about their candidate experience.

Step 2: Define your target candidate personas

Go beyond generic job descriptions. To attract the right people, you need to know who they are. Develop detailed personas for your ideal candidates. What are their career goals? What do they value in a workplace? Where do they spend their time online and what kind of content do they consume? This insight allows you to tailor your messaging and channels effectively.

Step 3: Define and articulate your EVP

Using the insights from your audit and your company’s strategic goals, you can now craft your Employee Value Proposition. Synthesise your findings to answer the question: "What do we uniquely offer that others don't?" Your EVP should be clear, compelling, authentic, and relevant to the candidates you want to attract.

Step 4: Activate your brand across key channels

This is where your brand comes to life. Your EVP must be consistently communicated across every touchpoint of the talent journey.

Your careers page: the central hub

Your careers page should be your brand's home base, not just a list of job openings. Use employee testimonials, day-in-the-life videos, and clear, engaging descriptions of your culture, values, and benefits. It’s your prime real estate to showcase what makes you unique.

Social media & content marketing

Use platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, or even TikTok to showcase your culture in an authentic way. Share employee spotlights, behind-the-scenes content, team achievements, and thought leadership from your subject matter experts. Let your people tell your story.

The recruitment process

Every recruiter and hiring manager must be trained as a brand ambassador. They should be able to consistently and passionately communicate the EVP and embody the company culture during every interaction with a candidate.

Step 5: Measure, analyse, and refine

Employer branding is an ongoing effort. To understand what’s working and where to optimise, you must track key performance indicators (KPIs). Essential metrics include:

• Offer Acceptance Rate: Are your top candidates saying yes?
• Source of Hire: Are you attracting more inbound applicants?
• Employee Engagement Scores: Are your current employees happy and motivated?
• Glassdoor Rating: How is your public perception trending over time?

Common employer branding mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Many organisations stumble when trying to build their employer brand. As a brand consultancy agency with deep expertise, we've seen a few common pitfalls. Avoiding them is key to your success.

The "aspiration vs. reality" gap

This is the number one mistake: promoting a culture that simply doesn't exist. This "culture-washing" is quickly exposed and destroys credibility. If you advertise a collaborative, innovative environment but operate in rigid, bureaucratic silos, your brand will fail. Authenticity must be your guiding principle.

Forgetting your internal audience

Your current employees are your most important audience and your most believable brand ambassadors. If they don't believe in the brand, no one will. All employer branding efforts must start from the inside out, ensuring your team feels valued and aligned with the message you're sharing externally.

Inconsistent messaging across touchpoints

Trust is eroded instantly when a candidate experiences a disconnected journey. If the job description says one thing, the recruiter another, and the interviewer something else entirely, it signals chaos and damages your reputation. A cohesive message is non-negotiable.

Lack of c-suite buy-in and ownership

Positioning employer branding as a task solely for the HR department is a recipe for failure. It is a core business strategy that requires investment, support, and active participation from leadership across the entire organisation.

Key trends in employer branding

The world of work is constantly changing, and an effective employer brand must adapt to new expectations and trends.

Radical transparency

Candidates increasingly expect transparency from potential employers, particularly regarding compensation. This trend extends to a desire for clarity on career progression paths, performance expectations, and even the company's current challenges. Openness builds trust.

Emphasis on ESG and social impact

Many candidates, especially from younger generations, want to work for organisations with a genuine commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives. A strong sense of purpose and a positive social impact are becoming key components of the employee value proposition.

AI in the candidate experience

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to personalise and streamline recruitment, from sourcing candidates to managing communications. The challenge is to use AI to enhance the human element of recruiting, not to create an impersonal, automated experience that can damage the brand.

Defining culture in a hybrid world

In a hybrid and remote work environment, building and communicating a cohesive company culture is more challenging. Organisations must be more intentional about creating connections, fostering collaboration, and ensuring the employer brand is consistently experienced by all employees, regardless of their location.

Your employer brand can be your greatest asset

In the end, employer branding is not a fluffy marketing initiative or a side project for HR. It is a core business strategy that directly impacts your ability to attract talent, retain your best people, and ultimately, drive profitability.

The most powerful and enduring employer brands are born from a simple and honest idea. They are authentic, consistently communicated, and lived out by the entire organisation, from the CEO down to the newest hire. They are cared for, nurtured, and grown like any other vital asset.

Building a magnetic employer brand requires a strategic approach. As a global branding consultancy, our branding experts help organisations uncover their unique employee value proposition and build a reputation that attracts the world's best talent.

Speak with one of our brand experts today to begin your transformation.