Why Hiring Success (Still) Depends On Employer Brand

Can a company “fake it ‘til it makes it” when crafting its Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?

In modern society, building an inclusive employer brand should be considered mission-critical for businesses large and small. The most successful companies are the ones that see challenges and opportunities from many different angles, and having a diverse employee population allows you to do just that.

An inclusive employer brand lets you engage, recruit, and hire a wonderful spectrum of people, who can bring their varied backgrounds to bear for your business. Simply put, building an inclusive employer brand brings a diverse set of experiences and perspectives to the table, which in turn allows your company to be smarter, more thoughtful, and ultimately more successful.
 

One way to keep your business stuck where it is today is to keep hiring people who look like your current employees. Embracing diversity is an opportunity to embrace new perspectives that can help your business grow in new and meaningful ways.^*

When you build your employer brand, it is your chance to take control of the narrative and have a real impact on how talent views your business. If your employer brand is not inclusive and does not show underrepresented talent that you value them and are excited to work with them, then they are going to choose another place to work and your business is not going to benefit from their perspective.

Belonging in Employer Branding: Where DEIB Needs to Be

It is important when creating an employer brand that people can see themselves working in your organization. And by seeing themselves, I mean literally seeing people who look like them, who share a similar background, and bringing similar skills and experiences to the job.

Sharing the stories of diverse people — especially in their own words — in your employer brand sends a strong signal to candidates: We see you, we value you, and you will be able to be yourself here and thrive. If that part is missing, then you are likely going to miss out on engaging with and hiring the variety of people your business needs to be truly successful.

You need to meet prospective employees where they are and make it easy for them to imagine being successful in your organization. One way to do this is to create a toolkit that allows for localized activation, giving your recruiters and HR people the power to customize their outreach materials and recruitment collateral to match the moment.

This can be things like creating an easy-to-update library of assets for them to use, supplying social media templates that they can dial in for specific talent communities, and even customizing employer brand messaging framework to resonate with different groups you are trying to engage.

Because, while it is important to highlight an authentic variety of people and experiences in your employer brand, it is critical that you build in the flexibility for your boots-on-the-ground recruiters to customize it to their needs, especially if you are a multinational company engaging people from a number of cultures.

Employee Value Proposition (EVP): Can You Fake it Till You Make it?

When a company works to create an EVP, it is often a part of a larger set of initiatives focused on enhancing the employee experience. You might be working to boost total benefits, or enhance work-life balance, or improve in a number of other areas to increase employee satisfaction.

No matter what area you are working to improve, here are a few insights that can foster a more effective EVP.

● Balancing promise and progress: What to include (or not include) in your EVP usually can be evaluated by looking at two things — the timing of what you are creating and the language you use when talking about initiatives that are not quite fully baked.

● Consider your timing: If you are close to launching a really great initiative that you know needs to be part of your EVP to attract the right people, you can include it… as long as it is going to be implemented by the time your EVP starts gaining traction. ● Use the right language: But what about other initiatives that are not quite this far along? How do you decide if you want to include these in your EVP?
  ● Fully baked versus work in progress: You can look at your initiatives like chocolate chip cookies versus cookie dough. People find value in fully-baked cookies, but they also love cookie dough — although it is not yet baked, it still holds value in the hearts of those with a sweet tooth. Both can be very attractive, it is just a matter of how you talk about them.
  ● Striking the right balance: When it comes to balancing today’s realities with tomorrow’s ambitions, we say if improvements are imminent, you can be specific.
 

Author Bio

	Martha Marchesi is the CEO and Jim Galligan is the Director of Creative Strategy at JK Design. A veteran of Madison Avenue, Martha is a master brand storyteller, strategic and creative expert and an accomplished thought leader.