When you build or refine your employer brand, are you so aware of what your competitors are promising potential recruits that you structure your value proposition to counter theirs? If so, you may be neglecting the most compelling motivators that inspire top performers to come to work each day: the authentic values of your own workplace culture.

Shouldn't these attributes be your organization's keys to attracting and cultivating talented contributors who are likely to stay around and enrich your workforce? Even if your corporate culture is less than ideal, you might start refining a talent brand by attempting to discover the true factors that make it all worthwhile for the top-performing members of your workforce. Starting at the other end--by dwelling too obsessively on what you determine that typical recruits are looking for in an employer-- may yield high response rates, even quick wins in hiring, but will these team members stick around for long if they discover that the actual workplace experience doesn't match the promise?

Take pains to discover what your top performers at all levels value most in your workplace experience. Your efforts will be rewarded with compelling value themes and creative energy that will prove just as inspiring in your internal human capital initiatives as well--from retention to staff development to inclusive leadership and well beyond. For more on this talent management approach you might check out my article "Rethinking Employer Brands" from the June 2010 issue of The Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership.

Tailoring your talent brand to match up with what you think (or even discover through research) is prevalent “messaging” in the talent marketplace can be a seductive distraction. Your talent brand should certainly take account of human capital Best Practices in your industry. But starting inside your own culture, with the values your team lives by, will deliver real talent management dividends over time.