You can't bullshit an employer brand. Here's why.

Employer branding is your chance to engage people with who you are. Get it right and reap the rewards. or get it wrong and piss off all your people. And we don’t want that.

I want to take you back to when you were 19. You’ve just walked into a bar. The music’s too loud, the floor is sticky, but you sit down anyway.

You sip on your cold Bacardi Breezer and, as you look over your glass, someone catches your eye. You stand up, clear your throat, then coolly head over and start to chat (not the sort of thing you’d do? Me neither - let’s just go with it).

“What do you do?” he/she says.

“I fly planes” you say, ignoring the fact you’re actually an HR trainee.

“No you don’t” your mate pipes in, before you jab him in the ribs.

Unperturbed, they continue.

“So what do you do when you’re not flying planes”.

“Well, I do some part-time modelling…”.

“NO YOU DON’T” your mate says again, “you help your dad with the gardening and paint small figurines”.

The importance of honesty

The point is this - we can all make stuff up. Anyone can say they’re anything, but it’s not true, it’s meaningless. And it can do more harm than good.

With employer branding there’s an important distinction. There’s who you want to be – or maybe even who you think you are – then there’s who you actually are. You need to understand the difference.

The gap from the top to the bottom

Every organisation has a gap between the directors and those on the frontline, whatever that may be. Good companies tend to shrink that gap, bad ones extend it. But either way, the view from the board is probably not the view from the ground.

The directors will be set on the company direction, the financial results, how the company is performing. The managers will be looking after their team, trying to keep people engaged whilst juggling challenges. And the employees, well they’ll be experiencing what it’s like to actually work for you. Each will have a different view. And who’s best to say what type of employer you are? Well, all of them.

Who you want to be

You can say ‘we have great diversity’. You can say ‘we have clear goals’. You can say ‘we invest in our people’. But do you? Do employees think you do? Do your managers?

Because they’re the ones who know you. They’re the ones who will be quick to say “no you don’t”. And that’s if they’re being nice.

Who you are

Employees are the foundation of your brand. Only by speaking to them can you really start to shape it. What are you great at? How does it feel to work there? What still needs improvement? What are their most memorable moments?

Treat them as the key stakeholder they are, and they will keep you true. That means an honest and appealing brand that they’ll be happy to advocate. And hearing it from your employee’s mouths is much more powerful than hearing it from yours.

Candidates will get the experience they expect, and employees will work for an honest and understanding employer. Win win.

Getting it right

Nailing your employer brand means doing some hard work - but it will pay dividends. Better attrition, shorter time-to-hire, and employees who will fall in love with you all over again.

If you have to lie to attract the people you want, then they’re not right for you. Be proud of who you are, and the right people will come along. And if you want to drink a Bacardi Breezer along the way, then knock yourself out 🍸

If you want more useful tips and advice then join me for a free training session.

Or hunt down our Kick-Arse Employer Brands podcast on Spotify or Apple Music.