Employer Branding: Turning Corporate Values into a Strong Employer Brand

Many companies today communicate extensively about what they offer their employees: flexible working hours, professional development opportunities, modern offices and more. Yet individual benefits alone do not answer the most important question for potential candidates: Why should I work here?

A compelling answer does not begin with a job advertisement. It starts with employer positioning – and with the question of what truly sets a company apart as an employer. In the final part of our blog series, we take a closer look at this question.

Employer Branding Starts from Within

A strong employer brand cannot be developed independently of a company’s identity – strategy, culture and values provide the foundation. The key questions are:

• What principles shape the way people work together?
• What development opportunities does the company offer?
• What sets the day-to-day employee experience apart from that of other employers?
• What promises can the company credibly make?

Only once these questions have been answered should they be translated into communication. Employer branding is most compelling when the image communicated externally reflects the experience within the company.

From Positioning to EVP

One important tool in this process is the Employer Value Proposition, or EVP. It encapsulates what a company stands for as an employer and the core promise it can make to both current and prospective employees.

A strong EVP is not simply a catchy advertising slogan. Rather, it creates a shared foundation for employer communication. This can then be developed into messaging frameworks that define key messages and adapt them for different target audiences.

After all, “talent” is not a homogeneous target group. People starting their careers may have different expectations from experienced professionals or executives. And existing employees view their employer from a different perspective than prospective candidates.

An Employer Brand Needs a Face

Content and positioning, however, are only part of the equation. For an employer brand to become visible and recognisable, it needs a visual identity that aligns with the corporate brand while retaining enough individuality for employer communication.

This can be translated into career pages, social media content, job advertisements, recruitment brochures, trade fair appearances, videos or onboarding materials.

That is why we support companies not only in developing messaging frameworks and Employer Value Propositions, but also in creating visual concepts and implementing specific communication materials.

Recruitment Is Only Half the Task

Employer branding is often understood primarily as a tool for attracting new employees. But communicating with the people who already work for the company is just as important.

If an employer brand promises certain values externally but those values are barely visible or tangible internally, a gap between communication and reality can quickly emerge. Employer branding and internal communication therefore need to go hand in hand.

Strategy and change communication, values initiatives, onboarding and internal campaigns can all help bring the employer positioning to life within the organisation.

The aim is not to repeat internally the same promotional message used externally. Instead, communication should demonstrate what the positioning actually means in employees’ day-to-day working lives.

From Corporate Strategy to the Job Advertisement

Employer branding is another area where companies benefit from an integrated approach.

If corporate strategy, sustainability objectives, culture and communication strategy are developed independently of one another, their messages have to be brought together later – often with considerable effort. We can connect these different perspectives from the outset.

Our consultants work across corporate strategy, sustainability and communication. Together with our Communications & Design team, they can translate these areas into employer positioning, messaging, visual concepts and specific communication measures.

This creates a consistent thread from the strategic foundation to the career page, and from corporate values to the LinkedIn post.

Meike Speckin
Senior Art Director