EMPLOYER BRAND
CONTENTS
About the Author 6
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By the Chief Learning Officer of McKinsey
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5 Making It Real 41
Introduction 41
5.1 Brand Audit 41
5.2 Brand Ambassadors 42
5.3 Recruitment and Onboarding 44
5.4 Managing Staff 47
5.5 Exiting the Organisation 48
5.6 Time to Reflect 49
We both have extensive experience of working in human resources within the public sector.
In the summer of 2015 we took early retirement. Between us we had worked over sixty
years’ in local government across the gamut of HR activity; strategic planning, industrial
relations, contract management, recruitment, payroll, training, policy and casework. Time
to make a change!
Since then we have pursued a new adventure setting up Nawrat Seymour HR Service
Ltd (www.nawratseymourhr.com) and undertaking consultancy work. In 2017 Bookboon
published our first book; ‘A Health & Well-being Strategy, For an Effective Workforce’.
And have worked with various employers, including looking at recruitment and selection,
exploring the power of an effective employer brand. Every organisation has an employer
brand whether they realise it or not. Never before have there been so many opportunities
to communicate the brand. Or get things wrong. We hope to have shown how a brand
impacts on, and is impacted by, an organisation’s ability to recruit and retain staff as well as
influencing its culture and ultimately people’s behaviour. A positive employer brand makes
good business sense.
What is next for us? We will continue to offer sound and achievable solutions to people
management issues in a broad range of organisations. And ideally, like you, continue to
learn from others. Good luck and have fun.
INTRODUCTION
Let’s start with a quiz. Match these statements with any brands you are familiar with:
Your answers do not matter. If the companies have done their job, you will not only have
remembered their logos but you will have views about their organisational character and
what they promise to deliver. Successful brands deliver on their promises, to win customers
and keep them coming back.
Every organisation also has an employer brand, whether they realise it or not. Employees
and potential recruits will have views on ‘what it’s like to work here’. In this book, we
aim to show how an employer brand impacts on, and is impacted by, an organisation’s
ability to recruit and retain staff as well as influencing its culture and ultimately its people’s
behaviour. Establishing a positive employer brand makes good business sense, whether you
are part of a large corporation or a start-up business. But this needs to be handled with
care. If reality does not live up to brand promises, valued employees, like customers, can
move elsewhere. In the chapters that follow, we will take you step by step through employer
brand development, its management and finally its monitoring, so that it can be your secret
weapon in the competitive war for talent.
1.2 There are various definitions of ‘employer brand’. One of the most straightforward
from the CIPD, (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development), is:
‘A set of attributes and qualities that make your organisation stand out from
the crowd and help you attract and retain people who feel affinity with it and
deliver their best performance within it.’ (CIPD Employer branding. Your
online companion for the journey).1
1.3 There are phrases which are linked to an employer brand that are also worth
touching on:
Once an organisation has identified its EVP it may use employer branding techniques
to promote and create the psychological contract it aims for.
1.4 We can see therefore that the potential target for employer branding is employees
largely, or to attract new recruits. As such, its reach is more limited than reasonably
could be expected when aiming to sell products to a mass market. Both, however,
wish to create a positive emotional response. Corporate brands aim to encourage
customers to buy products and keep them coming back for more. Employer brands
strive to attract candidates, retain employees and create loyalty that encourages people
to do their best for the organisation. In her paper on employer/corporate brands,
Sofia Monika notes that:
‘Product brand and employer brand are related and mutually complementary.
Strong product brand may play an important role in increasing the strength of
employer brand. Employer brand, in turn, plays an important role in attracting
and retaining employees who can add value to the company and its products –
thereby strengthening product brand.’ (Place and Role of Employer Brand in
the Structure of Corporate Brand – Sofia Monika).2
The same author has also usefully illustrated the connection between the corporate brand
and the employer brand and who are the organisational players in developing each.
Product Brand
(brand that people buy)
The purpose of creation: to form a positive
Unique Sales Proposition experience that encourages and repeats
Marketing
(USP) purchase of goods and protects the
interests of the corporate brand.
Experience of consumer
Leadership
Corporate Brand
(values,vision, mission)
Experience of candidate/employee
Figure 1 Relationship between corporate brand, product brand and employer brand (Sofia Monika 2014)2
1.5 So is the employer brand simply a continuation of the corporate brand? Not necessarily.
In some instances, the corporate brand emphasises attributes that an organisation
also seeks in its employees; innovation, modernity etc. But, if for example, your
corporate brand is reasonably, ‘cheap, no frills’, or ‘we are proud of tradition’; this
may not attract high flyers or the creative people needed to deliver these products.
Messages therefore may be different, audiences certainly are, but there is also a need
to focus on:
• The risk factors; whilst product marketing can go awry, not reach target consumers
or may fall short of expectations, the instances of failure can be readily managed.
Employer branding must anticipate and overcome multiple risks at multiple touch
points. The loss of data from a recruitment site. The manager who ignores staff
views in an organisation which says ‘we listen’. And so on, could detract from a
sense of trustworthiness.
• The financial impact; every consumer is a potential or lost sale. But an employee
that buys an organisational dream may achieve significant financial gains for their
employer far greater and for far longer than any individual purchase. Alternatively,
a mismatched one can cost you dearly.
In the chapters that follow we will aim to show how every organisation can identify,
develop and manage their employer brand, with an awareness of its purpose and
noting differences to general product marketing techniques.
the numbers of visitor views and how many are converted to applications. Is there
information on how many candidates withdraw during the recruitment process and
why? Is there a retention problem? Are there problems in recruiting and retaining
people in key roles? Or maybe, negative aspects in culture of the organisation do
not fit the aspirations of the leadership team; impacting on productivity and quality.
2.3 In drawing up the business case, unless you are very confident on the organisation’s
employer brand, avoid statements such as; ‘an employer of choice’, ‘empowering
people to be the one that empowers millions’ (Microsoft), etc. An early stage in this
journey should be to consider and to challenge rather than assume the content of
the brand. Instead, a model top line objective may be:
‘We will develop an employer brand that fits the ambitions of our organisation.
Our employer brand will be managed and promoted to increase our attractiveness
to potential and existing staff. In doing so, we will save time and money
and create an environment where people are willing to work harder for the
organisation’s success’.
2.4 How far you link the creation of the employer brand with the success of the
corporate brand depends on the organisation and its circumstances. As we have
explored previously in this chapter they are distinct but have a two-way influential
relationship. Poor media reports on staff experiences, whether it be a taxi firm, sports
shop or clothing company, can shape consumer views. Albeit the circumstances may
be minor compared to other organisations, Virgin Media have tackled the problem
of lost sales through poor candidate experience. They are a huge multinational
company with 130,000 job applicants in a single year. In a case study published
by Ph. Creative Digital Marketing Company, Virgin media projected a potential
loss of £4.5m in revenue through over 7400 recruitment candidates with poor
experiences also cancelling their Virgin subscription. Consequently, Virgin have
brought their recruitment back in-house enabling them to manage the brand and
its experience more effectively through every stage of the candidate journey. (Virgin
Media – Improving Candidate Experience for all Candidates – Ph. Creative Digital
Marketing Company)3.
the senior sponsor will generally want to know what the objectives mean in practice,
before agreeing to support a business case.
2.6 It will be important for all organisations to show that an employer brand will lead
to greater efficiency thus a reduction in costs. One way to divide these is:
2.7 Other targets appropriate for your organisation may have no direct financial link,
instead with an emphasis on increased productivity and positive commitment. Targets
could be:
• Increase in staff advocacy of the organisation, measured through staff surveys and
external platforms that enable people to express views, e.g. Glassdoor, Indeed,
Facebook etc.
• Increase in experienced workers, measured through early leaver statistics, (one
year or less service), leading to greater productivity.
2.8 It would be unwise to suggest that introducing a positive employer brand will
address all organisational ills as there are many factors that impact on candidates’
and employees’ behaviours. For example, a downturn in the economy can slow down
candidate activity as people are reluctant to move from security of their current job.
An effective employer brand will, however, always give your organisation an edge
over other, less astute, competitors.
• Who the players are. Generally, this will be HR plus, if the organisation is of
sufficient size, Marketing/Communications specialists. There should however
be recognition that a change in brand, or how this is experienced, may require
input from everyone across the organisation, with essential senior management
leadership. If there is a need to engage an external marketing firm, options are
discussed in later chapters; this should be determined as part of the business case.
• The potential costs. Should there be a need to bid for a dedicated budget, it
should pursued at this stage. Any costs must be reasonable against the expected
return on investment and will generally be less if work is completed inhouse, if
this is practicable.
• The proposed timescale, ideally with stages for achievement. Attracting more
candidates to your website can probably be achieved more quickly than changing
attitudes of existing staff. Being able to show momentum with some quick results,
(and successes), will be valuable.
2.10 Senior managers and decision makers need to support employer brand development
and its ongoing management. But be realistic. There are a multitude of demands
on their time, so ensure that their input is measured and has purpose; whether it is
championing its inception, or cascading implementation throughout the management
hierarchy. It’s potentially an exciting topic. An enthused senior sponsor will be a
great help in tackling the challenges described in the chapters that follow.
3.2 Before moving on, take time out to reflect on how you are impacted by ‘brands’ and
how you would make a case to review the employer brand in your organisation. Spend
3.3 Considering your organisation, is there an overriding issue that would ‘sell’ a business
case for employer branding? What benefits may arise?
3.4 The following chapters look at areas of activity that you may want to include. Not
everything will suit every organisation. Pick and mix to suit your needs.
INTRODUCTION
‘All other swindlers upon earth are nothing to the self-swindlers, and with such pretences
did I cheat myself’.
1.2 Regardless of the organisational type, there are some common roles in brand
development and management. In small organisations people may hold more than
one. Common roles are:
• Decision makers, able to sign off a proposed employer brand and make its
management happen. Dependent on organisational arrangements decisions may
rest with the Chief Executive, Board or a Committee.
• Opinion formers, services who implement the brand such as HR or Communications
or managers and employees, whose actions support or denude brand values.
Without their whole-hearted buy-in, the positive opinions of the targeted audience
may be lost.
1.3 Ideally, communication with these people should occur at multiple points. This
to include:
With new technology, gathering people’s view is not difficult if people feel safe and
their contribution has purpose. What’s said may be surprising, (good and bad), but
knowledge is a sound platform to create and manage the employer brand.
A word of warning if you follow the segmentation route. Employees must perceive an
employer brand as truthful and relevant. Different messages to different employee groups
risk confusion and alienation from what is said. Generally, it is recommended that
the organisation decides upon messages that are consistent throughout, (i.e. a golden
thread), but tweaks promotion according to desired outcomes. This could be stressing
career opportunities for entry level recruitment or flexible working arrangements to
retain job holders in hard to fill roles. Fundamentally, craft the employer brand to
work for your organisation but keep it simple.
3.2 To structure this conversation for decision makers it is worth posing two questions:
• What are the most attractive attributes of the organisation to current and
potential employees?
• What do we want to be famous for?
‘They’re what you are, your individuality, the key to your uniqueness, the
colour of your corporate eyes, your corporate ‘soul’, if you’ll forgive a brief
excursion into metaphysics. Every other aspect of the brand – every piece of
talent attraction material, every induction programme, every employee referral
scheme, every campus presentation – will grow from and depend on these
attributes or stem cells’. (CIPD Employer Branding – a no nonsense approach)6
3.3 These attributes are important to get right; to match what the organisation wants to
be and this to be accepted by the staff group. As previously, make sure that everyone
is prepared to amend, further down the line, as feedback is received from opinion
givers. Be challenging if what is being said is far from reality. Even at this early stage
ensure that what is produced:
3.4 An example of attributes published by the John Lewis partnership on their web page
‘Partnership Spirit and Behaviours’ notes, “we:
Whilst brief, this gives a clear picture of the organisation’s unique character, their
commitment to their workforce (partners) and expectations on each one.
How far your decision makers’ views on the organisation marry those of employees’
and candidates’ must then be explored.
• Raise questions on whether proposed or any existing brand attributes are realistic.
• Illustrate the gap between the organisation’s intentions and people’s experiences
‘on the ground’.
• Highlight the level of employee and candidate awareness of the organisation’s
unique characteristics.
Views must be sought from existing staff. Where practical, also try to get input from
those external to the organisation; candidates and, if possible, those working in similar
industries or recent leavers.
4.2 There are multiple methods to manage employee feedback; internal surveys, focus
groups, team meetings, e-mail ‘voting’, supervision sessions. In all instances, the
employee must feel secure to express views without fear of recrimination, be reassured
on anonymity and be clear on the purpose of input. The organisation must also
give feedback; either to individuals or through communication to the whole staff
group. Keep the questions simple, avoid too many questions that rely on free text
answers, (these are difficult to collate and analyse meaningfully), and keep brief.
Some examples of survey/focus group questions follow; core organisational attributes
will be those identified by the decision makers (see the previous section):
1. I am proud to say that I work for this organisation. (Scale; Totally agree,
agree, do not agree)
2. We have identified four core organisational attributes; how far do these agree
with your experiences. (Scale; Totally agree, agree, do not agree). We are:
• Creative
• Fun
• Democratic
• Supportive
3. If you had to identify four attributes that describes your experience of working
for us what would they be. Please give single words, you may use the attributes
in the previous question or others. We are:
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4.3 The potential to gain external feedback is more limited. At minimum, survey job
applicants or visitors to the job site. As previously, keep questions simple and seek
feedback on how they view the organisation. Dependent on resources, you may
undertake telephone interviews either as a follow up to a survey response, market
research style or ‘cold calling’. Where used, consider the engagement of a specialist
agency and weigh up any negativity that direct approaches may engender. You could
also consider:
4.4 Getting feedback from staff and the public may be uncomfortable or inspiring.
There are not right, or wrong views; it is about gaining knowledge and insight. It
is an essential step to map the brand in its current state and the gaps in perception
between decision makers, employees and the external world. With this knowledge,
and an understanding of what decision makers want to achieve, you are ready to
define the brand attributes, the employee value proposition and to consider how to
get the organisation on board; areas explored in the chapter that follows.
5.2 Imagine that you are in a lift going to the top floor of your organisation. Two people
get into the lift and one asks the other, ‘what’s it like to work here?’.
The lift test is a good way to begin a discussion about what your organisation stands
for and what employees think. If you don’t know what the colleague may say, that’s
telling too and may highlight the need to go and ask. Gathering the information arms
you for the task ahead; including, brand definition and managing the gap between
current views and the organisation’s intentions.
INTRODUCTION
At this stage of the employer brand’s development you will have identified what the
organisation aims to be as an employer and have gathered information about what the
workforce really thinks. There may be a considerable gap between the two. Now it is time
to reflect on what has been learned, build a meaningful brand that reflects the organisation’s
ambitions and to create buy-in by its key ambassadors: the whole workforce.
1.2 The analysis of feedback may identify inconsistencies between where the organisation
wants to be and how it is perceived. The extent of the gap will dictate the type of
actions required. This may include:
• Challenging the proposed brand attributes that were identified by decision makers,
if these are significantly at odds with staff perceptions. It would be a brave, or
foolish, person to suggests that the initial attributes identified by a Board or
Management team are torn up, but it is reasonable to ask in the light of feedback
whether it is ‘where we realistically can be’, or, ‘how do we get there?’
• Challenging how the brand is communicated and specifically, the language used
to describe the brand, rather than the methods; that will be considered in later
chapters. Jargon is an inevitable feature of communication within an organisation,
service or profession, such as HR. It is often useful to express ideas in a shortened
format. This book will be littered with examples! But the brand attributes must
be meaningful across the whole workforce and to an external audience. The
1.3 The agreed attributes of an employer brand must be tailored to the organisation, as
explored in Chapter 2:
• What are the most attractive attributes of the organisation to current and
potential employees?
• What do we want to be famous for?
Alongside the feedback from staff, there may be multiple ideas of attributes to be
included in the brand. In their paper; Berthon, Ewing and Hah identify five factors
that make up an employer brand. (‘Captivating company: dimensions of attractiveness
in employer branding’ – Berthon, Ewing and Hah, 2005)8. Reflecting on these factors
will help structure the feedback that you have received. The factors are as follows.
360°
staff, but gives recognition, listens to their views and helps people in their careers.
.
Many brand attributes fall into this factor and could include; listening, thanking staff,
thinking
grow with us, engender pride, etc.
360°
thinking . 360°
thinking .
Discover the truth at www.deloitte.ca/careers D
Discover the truth at www.deloitte.ca/careers © Deloitte & Touche LLP and affiliated entities.
It is reasonable to extend the attributes in this factor to capture ethical values which
describe the organisation’s approach on environmental or social issues and therefore
the behaviours that it expects from employees. In their paper Berthon (et al)8, suggest
that equalities and diversity issues may be a separate category, but it is fair to consider
here. ‘An equal opportunities employer’, is such a familiar statement that we may
overlook it as a brand attribute, but it is. Other examples may be; giving back to
society, caring for the environment.
1.4 Remember, do not identify too many attributes. The Linked In, ‘Employer Brand
Playbook’9 provides a useful way to check the development of the brand is on course:
• Be real,
• Be personal
• Be brave
• Be consistent.
Staff must believe the brand to be authentic and meaningful to the individual;
promoting the brand using real employee stories is powerful tool. It is also okay to
admit to the world that everything is not perfect. As the Linked In paper suggests,
‘admit some negatives, people will believe you more’. For example, rather than saying
‘we value staff views’, the organisation may say: ‘we listened to our staff and we will
continue to seek and take notice of our staff’s views’. Consistency in the Linked In
example relates to the corporate or product brand. As touched on in chapter 1, this
does not mean that an employer brand cannot have its own characteristics, dependent
on the organisation type this may be desirable, but must be realistic and credible if
divergent from the corporate brand.
1.5 Having identified the brand attributes you may wish to describe associated behaviours.
For example:
Attribute, democratic
Behaviours; prepared to listen, values people’s views, transparent decision
making, gives feedback.
Attribute, courage
Behaviours; prepared to break new ground, sense of justice, do not necessarily
go with the flow.
How far you add detail to the brand attributes will depend on your own organisation
and its receptiveness. If in doubt, keep things simple and trust in the attributes to
convey meaning.
3.2 As a golden rule, promote the brand first to the internal audience. Even if the
organisation’s major reason for branding is to attract candidates, unless current staff
are on board any gains from new recruits will be lost if they find an organisation at
odds with, or ignorant of, brand values. To encourage brand awareness and compliance:
• Undertake some formal launch, even if this is quite simple, so that staff members
are aware a change is occurring. Ideally, involve senior figures of the organisation
and people with whom colleagues can identify, to endorse the brand. Where
unionized, getting trade union representatives to endorse is a plus.
• Explain why the brand is being introduced or revised. Be honest whilst being
positive. For example, if a lack of good quality applicants is the driving force for
brand development you may say; ‘we know that we haven’t always been good
at explaining to the outside world what we can offer as an employer. We have
therefore considered what makes us unique and an attractive place to work’.
• Explain how the introduction of the brand may impact on how things are done.
In some organisations, there may be ‘family friendly’ policies but they are not
universally applied. If behaviours need to change this must be communicated
effectively, not only globally but to specific parts of the workforce and to individuals.
3.3 Where the culture of the organisation differs according to department or staff group,
and thus adherence to brand value is not consistent, consider whether there are
training needs to be addressed. This may be relatively light touch discussions with
teams or managers on ‘how we do things around here’; with the backdrop of brand
attributes. Or, for some managers, you may need a more in-depth look at how they
approach their role. Don’t shy away from difficult conversations, divergence can
scupper the initiative by even a small number.
3.4 A brand audit of policy and procedures will also give a good indication of how
far day to day practice differs from the brand attributes. This will be considered in
more detail in chapter 5, but it is important to know whether key processes, such
as recruitment, encourage managers to live and breathe the brand. If they do not,
successful organisational compliance will be at risk.
3.5 Should an organisation seek public recognition on ‘great place to work lists’ or similar?
These lists offer great opportunities to promote employment with the organisation,
not only with current job seekers but the target audiences for future jobs. If this is
something your organisation seeks, consider timetabling. An application as part of
a branding launch may be precipitous but could be something that you can more
reasonably work on once the brand is launched, embedded in policy and procedures,
and people recognize the attributes to be truthful characteristics of the organisation.
Areas that we will look at in the following chapters.
4.2 Considering the Linked In test, ‘be brave’, are there any areas in your organisations
where improvements are needed, how would you express?
4.3 Taking a common brand attribute ‘equal opportunities employer’, what would be
some of the associated behaviours?
INTRODUCTION
In 2017, Facebook had 1.7 billion monthly active users, with 75% of Facebook users
being outside the United States11. Okay, however well your brand is communicated it is
unlikely to be the first thing that Facebook users will jump to. But there has never been
a better time when it is relatively easy to reach very large numbers of people. This creates
huge opportunities but there is a health warning. You don’t want your messages to be lost
in daily plethora of internet noise. Neither do you want a social media storm because of
an embarrassing error or misjudged response to user criticism. Managing communications,
including social media, could be a lengthy book on its own. In this chapter, we aim to
introduce some key issues for communicating the brand and other areas to consider. Getting
the communications right is important, getting it wrong may be disastrous.
1.2 The content of your plan will vary according to your organisational arrangements
and the methods of communication, these will be explored below. As a guide, an
eight-step plan may include the following, some are explored in more detail in the
pages that follow:
1. Be clear on why you want to communicate. Your business case for brand development,
(Chapter 1), should provide the answers. For example, if the underlying reason
is to increase the numbers of good quality applicants, your choice of media and
the content of messages will differ from the aim to retain existing staff.
2. Identify your audience.
3. Identify your resources. This may be about allocating responsibilities in-house or
commissioning specialist expertise to provide activities, such as the design of a
website. Also, do not assume that the use of social media is very low cost. For
example, it may be free to sign up for a Twitter account or a Facebook page but
managing them well will always require somebody’s time and effort. There may
also be training costs to enable people to use various media. Whilst personal use
will be a great advantage, do not assume that people will write for web-based
communications in the way that the organisation wants. In the same way as people
need skills to write for business, they may need training to write on the web.
4. Plan your messages.
5. Consider media routes; looked at in detail below.
6. Create an action plan, i.e. who will do what and when.
7. Decide on methods to the monitor the effectiveness of both the brand and how
it is being communicated. This is looked at in detail in chapter 6.
8. Create a Risk Management strategy. This is a common feature in project management.
Risks here can be broadly divided into self-inflicted and external. It is useful to
brainstorm potential risks and to identify ways to mitigate. These may depend on
the communication routes used, but potential self-inflicted risks could include:
• Messages lack authenticity. One of your brand attributes may be a ‘great
communicator’; but this is undermined where job candidates do not get a
response to their applications.
• Your messages come back to haunt you. For example, the brand shouts, ‘we
develop careers’. But if the reality is the training budget is exhausted in quarter
1, this attribute will be undermined.
• Transcription errors, particularly on web pages, can undermine a sense of quality.
• Inappropriate tone of voice – this is explored in detail below.
• Personal social media profiles of employees contradicting the face of the
organisation. Where employee stories are used to communicate ‘what it’s like
to work here’; be sure that the nominated person’s private life does not become
the focus of attention.
• Attempts to be amusing, controversial or to link the brand to current news events.
Readers do not necessarily understand the intention and it can badly backfire.
• Not being respectful of users’ views. Of course, what people post on social
media may be wrong or seemingly malicious. Getting into war of words is not
the answer; we look further at dealing with bad reviews below.
‘External’ risks may be from within the organisation but outside the control of HR/
the brand management team. Examples could include poor financial results, with
threats of job losses. A public-sector scandal that has the potential to spill over to
your area of service. Bad news for you if your brand attributes include job security
or a caring organisation. Whilst you may not be able to predict, still consider who
will be responsible for assessing the impact on the brand, the potential courses of
action – such as suspending twitter feeds or encouraging a senior management
statement aligned with the brand but specific to the circumstances.
As with all plans, do not file but execute and review regularly.
2.2 If your brand attributes do, however, vary substantially for different employee groups,
consider whether different communication methods need to be used and whether
the content needs to alter so that it speaks directly to each group. This is relatively
easy to achieve on a web site where you may wish to create individual pages for a
specific audience, such as apprentices. It may also be useful to create a microsite
that focuses on the target group.
2.3 Understanding your target audience will help you select the appropriate media to
communicate and the tone of voice to be used to accurately represent the brand and
to capture attention. Listening, for example to social media chat, can reveal how
your audience speaks and can help you use their language to meet them on their
terms. Get the tone of voice right.
3.1 Your tone of voice affects how people respond to you. In this instance, brand tone
is how the character of your brand comes through in the written and spoken word.
To make sure that a brand is consistently and correctly expressed it is important to
manage the tone used on the web, in organisational literature, e-mails, stationery,
signage, and in recruitment advertisements. A brand’s tone should be recognisable
and ideally distinctive through, for example, the use of repeated expressions. There is
also a strong link between familiarity and trust. Consistent use of messages will do
much to embed the brand and enforce it as genuine. It will also ultimately influence
how people within the workplace, who buy into the brand, subconsciously choose
their language when describing their employer.
3.2 When translating brand attributes into an appropriate tone of voice, think about how
you react to or feel about the same messages written in different ways and what they
may tell you about an organisation. For example, two different styles, from formal
to informal when confirming receipt of an enquiry are illustrated in the examples
that follow. They are giving the same information.
Example 2: Steven – thanks for your enquiry about the Finance role which I
received earlier today. I’ll need to check a few details and will aim to get back
to you by 5pm on Thursday. In the meantime, if you need to contact us please
could you quote reference xyz221. We will then be able to find all your details
quickly and without you having to repeat. Regards Julie, Data Enquiry Team.
Using these examples, if one of the organisation’s brand attributes is ‘fun to work
here’, the first e-mail suggests otherwise.
3.3 When you are defining your writing style and the links to brand attributes it may
be worth considering where the organisation sits on a continuum such as:
Formal Chatty
Impersonal Engaging
Conventional Creative
Serious Fun-loving
3.4 It is easy to post information on the Web. It can be difficult to write content.
Cliched communication styles can make your message sound inauthentic or lack
originality and the same as other recruiters. Think about how many organisations
use the message, ‘we value’ staff.
Apart from the very large or well-resourced organisation, most will need to manage, in
house, brand communications such as social media or recruitment advertisements. But
for core and longer lasting copy, such as the website, consider engaging professional
writers. If you are writing for the web, there are multiple guides that are available.
Ten tips specifically on communicating the brand are:
1. People start viewing web pages from the top left corner.
2. Unlike books, people skim read all types of web communications.
3. Avoid jargon – if you have tested the brand as previously described, this shouldn’t
be a problem?
4. Keep it brief.
5. Lists are better at keeping your reader focused rather than long paragraphs of prose.
6. Tell as it is. If everything isn’t perfect, admit it and stress what you are doing
to change.
7. Aim to meet the reader’s expectations, not the organisation’s. Most people won’t
be interested in, for example, how you’ve developed your brand.
8. Images should enhance and never contradict the brand values.
9. White space is good visually.
10. If you need to re-read, you need to re-write.
4.4 WEBSITE
4.1 Nearly every organisation has one. Some hold employment information on a dedicated
career site. But whether employment details are held on the main organisational
website, or separate, it is essential that the brand attributes are clearly promoted. A
great example is the Apple US site where brand values are clear and briefly stated
whilst giving the reader the potential to get more information, https://www.apple.
com/jobs/us/, (January2018). For example, ‘at Apple, we believe inclusion inspires
innovation <Learn more>’13.
4.2 Sometimes, career websites will include some social media options, particularly Twitter.
There are some views that the career website is a dinosaur amongst new technology,
being replaced by organisation pages on Facebook, Linked In etc. however career
webpages/websites can:
• Offer organisations total control on content. This is not the case for social media
pages which contain advertisements and chat feeds.
• Provide space to communicate a deep and compelling message.
• Often host functionality that allows potential candidates to apply. Of course,
that functionality needs to work effectively. The best website messages will fail if
candidate application pages and processes are poor. Websites with pages ‘under
construction’ or ‘being reviewed’ will also discourage readers to engage.
• Allow you to capture in depth web analytics about potential candidates. This may
include: what areas of the site interests them, how many apply at what point,
data on when they stop scrolling through the pages. All useful information to
evaluate the success of messages and the site itself.
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Problem solving
4.3 We previously looked at key considerations when writing for the web, in addition
when promoting your brand via the website:
• Make it mobile. It’s fair to assume that most job seekers will browse jobs, and
therefore links to careers sites, via phones or other mobile devices. Check what
it looks like on a small screen.
• Make it meaningful. For the potential candidate, for example only include
information about the development of the brand if it gives a strong statement
about ‘what it’s like to work here’, democratic, involving etc.
• Join up the dots. Make sure that all statements, photos and videos are on
brand message.
5.2 Different social media is considered below. They are powerful tools and it is
worth emphasising:
• Don’t try to use all the popular tools that are available. It is just not necessary,
and it is better to focus on those that best fit your organisation.
• Don’t start to use social media if you cannot give it on-going attention. It’s great
to capture people’s interest but they will notice if the communications stop and
will form judgments.
Key sites
a) Facebook
Facebook has the largest reach of all social media platforms. It has a broad demographic,
although its primary use is for social interaction. You may have a company site, but
this needs to be expanded to include employer branding specifically. Your ‘wall’ should
be full of content, (news features, stories), and you must regularly post images and
updates. If possible, video adds richness. An option is set up Facebook live sessions
and closed groups which allow you to reach key audiences and to interact directly
with them.
b) LinkedIn
c) Twitter
Twitter is a conversation tool and its use for recruitment needs to be considered in this
context. Because it is an open platform, the potential audience reach is uncapped and
largely unmanageable. It is most powerful if you research how best to hit the target
audience and use hashtags effectively; there are tools which help with this. Create links
to other social media and your own website. Then write content which is engaging
and relevant; including, organisation culture, information and news items. It is not
advisable to simply advertise vacancies. To work effectively you need to be set up to
respond to tweets and to regularly post content – it is a conversation after all. Do not
under-estimate the demands that this may create. Old tweets just do not work and
may say something about the organisation that you would not choose. Twitter also
provide some analytics which can help you track how successful you are.
d) YouTube
The popularity of home-made video seems relentless and tends to appear high up
in search engine results. To make best use of, will need some investment of time if
not money; creating a company channel on YouTube and investing in solid video
content. A spotlight on working for an organisation is a good way of providing realistic
expectations, highlighting organisational culture and values. Big budget productions
are not the essence of the channel so there is no need to invest heavily; home-made
can appear more authentic.
e) Google+
Is emerging as a route for recruitment and engagement but as yet for niche markets
due to user uptake. It will work well for the passive market. An advantage for its use
is that it will improve your search results in Google.
Some large companies are using these other platforms to promote their organisational
culture. Some have been used innovatively, for example using Snapchat to get candidates
to produce a short video to accompany a CV. They offer opportunities to be creative
and fit well where innovation is a strong characteristic within an organisation but,
as yet, do generally not form part of a core employer branding roll-out. New and
interesting developments are emerging all the time. For example, PathMotion, offers
a platform that enables candidates to learn about employers by talking directly to
their staff in a private forum. It is a great way for applicants to self-select whether
the organisation is right for them. Not every development will fit every organisation,
but it is important to be open to new opportunities.
5.3 Employee storytelling is more authentic and engaging for many social media users.
Consider your employees as “brand ambassadors” who can generate content on
social media. Consider developing internal programs that encourage employees to
share their knowledge and expertise in online communities where you recruit. By
increasing their visibility in certain professional circles and establishing themselves
as experts in those communities, your employees can expand their own professional
networks while helping you identify and attract talented prospects.
6.2 The choice of a job site needs to deal with practical issues; cost, applicant reach
and reliability of the functionality. You should also consider; what the choice says
about your organisation and the ability to shape the content to reinforce your brand
values. For example, career pages attached to professional associations may offer a
great opportunity to showcase your organisation, reach hard to fill applicants and
post employee video. Have a conversation with website owners and explore what
is possible.
1. Actively decide whether to reply. A glowing review may stand on its own
merits, but you may want to increase coverage by for example tweeting with
thanks. Or add to your own website. Generally, it’s good practice to respond
to negative reviews. There are dangers if you don’t; not least sometimes things
gain traction and “me too” responses need to be addressed quickly.
2. Reinforce the brand in your message content. As previously, get the tone right
and use the opportunity to push your message. But, speak like a person –
avoid organisational jargon and ‘brand speak’ – get the balance right.
3. Don’t take it personally and never get into an argument. This has the potential
to be far more interesting to the casual reader. The reviewer may also be
‘known’ to the organisation and potentially could have left under a cloud.
But a public form isn’t the place to re-live. Be professional.
4. Don’t make excuses, the reviewer does not really care, for example, that you
didn’t have the resources to respond to their application for two months.
Apologise for your mistake, take accountability for the specific issue and show
how things will be different in the future.
5. If there are details to be sorted with the review, encourage them to contact
separately to work out in a private conversation.
6. Look for patterns. If, for example, people are posting complaints about your
recruitment service, this may give you information far quicker than internal
performance reports.
7.2 Do not be frightened of reviews. If your organisational brand gives importance to
the employees’ voice you may want to positively encourage people to express what
they like about the organisation. At the recruitment stage and as a way for people
to act as brand ambassadors during employment, as previously touched upon. Like
them or not reviews are here to stay, and they are actively sought by job seekers and
employees, therefore take the opportunity and manage them positively.
8.2 It is natural to spend money and give attention to outward facing resources that
showcase the organisation to new recruits. But what a disappointment for the
applicant when waiting for an interview to glance through old materials at odds with
the dynamic brand that has been promoted! Materials used within the organisation
must; express content that is consistent with an employee’s experiences, be in line
with brand values, be regularly updated and refreshed. As previously explored, it is
easy to post information on line; it can be a lengthy process to design and produce
printed stock. It is important therefore to get this right and ensure that what is
produced is not too time bound.
9.2 What tone of voice would best describe your organisation; serious, light hearted? If,
for example, your organisation places great value on listening to staff and potential
applications write down how might this influence your choice of media, its content
and how you express key messages. Also consider how this tone may influence your
response to poor reviews – they are going to happen.
9.3 As we have explored there is wealth of social media options available, as well as
the organisation’s website. Create a grid of; what benefits the site and social media
options offer (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook etc.), what audiences are being reached
and how often you are likely to have to give attention to. Your choices on what to
use may become clear.
5 MAKING IT REAL
INTRODUCTION
Throughout this book we have stressed the need for the brand attributes to be authentic.
If not, like the tale of the emperor’s new clothes, the true situation will be revealed; much
to the discredit of the organisation. In a new organisation the employer brand may readily
drive behaviours. For some, brand attributes will be a total reflection of the organisation’s
character. For most, however, making the brand real will be a mixture of promoting what
is already in place through effective communications and amending behaviours where the
organisation, or where particular areas, fall short. This chapter looks at ways to make the
brand real for existing staff and for potential candidates; by describing areas of high visibility
so that organisations can take the necessary action at key touchpoints.
‘The strongest brands are those that achieve a high degree of consistency in
whatever context they appear, and at every kind of experience the individual
has of the brand’14. (Employer branding; Your online companion for the
journey. CIPD 2008).
Unless the brand is a revolution for the organisation, and the merit for such a
significant change is questionable, the alterations required should be manageable.
Often, they will be essential. Clear brand attributes also provide useful guidance when
setting out new policy and procedure, by providing a set of principles to structure
HR processes. As such, new policies should be welcomed.
1.2 As well as looking at the content of in-house training programs, a brand audit should
also consider what training is on offer to enable managers and employees to live
and communicate the brand. This may be around building skills, for example, on
writing for the web or more delegation to empower employees. But it may also be
about refreshing messages. Being an equalities employer is a familiar brand attribute,
but what does it mean to a multi-cultural 21st century workforce? It may be time
to refresh the debate, e.g. on sexual harassment in the workplace or to introduce
concepts such as unconscious bias, etc.
1.3 It is necessary to scrutinise facilities to see whether they match the brand. Loft
style offices in an edgy part of town may not convey ‘traditional values’ – if they
are important to your organisation. It may be unrealistic for the employer brand to
dictate accommodation requirements but where a review is being undertaken, audit
the options against the brand. Even if an organisation must make do with current
arrangements it may be possible to reorganise an office layout to support the brand.
For example, how desks are placed can impact on team working. A small breakout
area can facilitate better engagement. Consider what’s there, see how the physical
surroundings can detract or enhance, and make changes to support.
1.4 HR may take the lead in the brand audit. Involving other people will however add
different perspectives, spread the brand message, add richness to solutions and ideally
identify a wide range of brand ambassadors.
2.2 Identifying and promoting brand ambassadors will help embed the desired organisational
behaviours:
• Understand what the brand means for their role, their level of seniority or
their part of the organisation. If people can express the brand attributes
in their own words and apply to their own situation they are more likely
to be willing and able to spread the message.
• Listen to what they say, these staff may be well placed to really understand
how the brand is being received. Do not discount their feedback, even if
some of their messages are painful. Recognising problems will not only
be valuable in the long run but acknowledging their input and keeping
them on side will offer a range of long term benefits.
• Get them involved in social media promotions of the brand. This may
include, responding to online comments or participating in marketing
events on employment opportunities with the organisation.
2.3 To empower brand ambassadors across the organisation, it is important to have a
social media policy that is positive. Do not just focus on what could go wrong.
Think about the benefits to be gained when employees are encouraged to share
online. Provide social media training when needed and ensure that employees have
content to share. Create specific hashtags for employees to use and encourage them
to use it across all platforms.
2.4 Ultimately, recognise that every contact that an applicant makes, and every employee
experience supports or detracts from stated brand attributes. Being aware will help
you critique HR processes. Key events are looked at below.
3.1 Chapter 4 looked at communicating the brand and how to use different media to
attract candidates. The candidate journey is, however, more than the initial contact.
It is the experience of the processes and how representatives of the organisation
behave. Every touchpoint is a further demonstration of the brand; its attributes,
messages and character. This captures everything from making an application, to
how candidates are invited to interview, the selection methods used and style of the
post-interview follow-up.
3.2 Organisations’ brand attributes will be different. In this respect there is no right or
wrong way to shape processes or for people to behave. To help you consider what
typical touchpoints may say about your brand we have noted five stages. Using
example brand attributes, we have shown some possible negative indicators and some
positive reinforcements of the brand.
a) Making an application.
Example brand attribute, innovation.
• Positive reinforcement of the brand. A quick process that can be
completed on the move; the ‘application’ is a video: short, recorded and
submitted via a phone.
• Negative indicators of the brand. People have to fill in a paper based,
lengthy application form and where the purpose of form’s categories
are unclear.
c) Attending interview
Example brand attribute, we value diversity.
• Positive reinforcement of the brand may include: checking whether
applicants have any special needs and offering support to help people
do their best. Involving organisational colleagues from different profiles
in the selection process.
• Negative indicators may include: locations that are inaccessible for
people with mobility restrictions, asking questions about family plans
or commitments.
e) Onboarding
Example brand attributes, we listen to staff.
• Positive reinforcement of the brand; surveying new staff about their
applicant experience, involving colleagues in stakeholder meetings
of candidates.
• Negative indicators of the brand; setting a global, immovable commencement
date, not being in contact with applicants between offer and start date –
regardless of timescale.
3.3 It is essential to factor the brand into the induction process. The process may start
from contact with the appointed candidate before their commencement date, how
they are welcomed on their first day, as well as the support given to them in the first
weeks to months. In large organisations, it is likely that induction arrangements will
differ according to location, service and job. Methods of inductions will also vary and
may include; senior management attendance at induction sessions, video, mandatory
training and scripts for managers. It is essential, however, that some key messages are
consistent, and that the organisation explains to newcomers ‘the way we do things
around here’. This will include, the organisation’s aims and commitments as well as
the defined set of on-brand employee behaviours. The brand is at the centre of the
‘psychological contract’ between employer and employee. The induction programme
is a great way to give employees an idea of what their side of the bargain involves.
If the organisation doesn’t take control of this, the gap will be filled by the new
recruit through copying others’ behaviour, (good or bad), or finding their own way
through. Such options present risks, with the learnt behaviours being at odds with
what the organisation aims for and which may take considerable effort to change.
As part of induction, consider assigning a buddy from the peer group, this can be a
powerful message of support but also empowers existing staff. Investment in informed
induction may pay dividends.
4.2 In a similar vein to recruitment, it is impossible for this book to say how an
organisation should manage its staff to achieve its brand attributes. An organisation
that ‘pays for the best’, will rightly manage differently than one that ‘nurtures new
talent’. There are some key areas that all organisations can consider.
4.3 It is important to not only look at the content of procedures, considered earlier
in this chapter, but to step back and consider whether the overall offer made to
employees is coherent and aligned with the brand attributes. The employee package
offered to employees may, for example, place emphasis on being ‘family friendly’. If
all the organisation offers is statutory entitlements this attribute will not ring true.
Instead challenge what management practices would demonstrate this commitment
and what measures the organisations could offer. For example, flexible start times,
working from home, child related benefits and paid carers leave. Involve brand
ambassadors and other informed staff to test out what is happening on the ground.
4.4 Work with senior managers on how they may cascade the brand to their managers.
Hopefully, senior managers will have invested time in the identification and agreement
of brand attributes and they will be keen to realise the investment. They are best
placed to ensure that adoption across the organisation has impetus. Look at how
management techniques can be used to create brand related performance targets in
work plans, appraisal and even links to financial rewards. A manager who supports
the team to ‘fulfil potential’, for example, may score highly on periodic salary reviews.
4.4 Consider HR statistics to highlight any obvious areas that are at odds with the
brand attributes. These may be different from key performance indicators (KPIs)
that are used to monitor the effectiveness of the brand itself and which are looked
at in more detail in chapter 6. For example, if an area of the organisation has high
levels of staff grievances this may indicate a problem at odds with an attribute of
staff engagement. High levels of dismissals may be questioned where the organisation
places importance on developing staff. It may be necessary to fix the problem and
put in place a management style that suits the organisation’s character. There may
not be a quick resolution but one that needs sustained efforts; used well, the brand
attributes will provide clarity on desired goals.
5.2 The circumstances in which people leave will vary widely. Sometimes the exit is
initiated by the organisation. Whatever the circumstances, how an employee is
managed during the exit period will speak volumes about the organisation’s character
and its values; and will be of interest to colleagues who remain. If, for example, the
organisation prides itself on ‘thanking staff’, it would be damaging if a long-standing
employee leaves with no recognition of service given.
5.3 People leaving the organisation may be more willing, than current staff, to express
views on how well the organisation lives up to the brand. Use exit questionnaires
and exit interviews to gather information on how well things are going on the
ground, (explored further in the next chapter). Increasingly former employees also
have a powerful voice through social media. Ideally, an ex-employee who posts on
Glassdoor, Facebook, Indeed, etc., will speak positively of the organisation. If they
don’t, as explored in chapter 4; decide whether an organisational response is necessary
and if so, recognize that there may be things to learn. And, frame a response with a
cool head. Even the most unperceptive comments from an ex-employee may contain
useful information.
• Who would act as brand ambassadors? What support may they need to undertake
this role?
6.3 Considering your current or proposed employer brand and a key attribute, for
example ‘we value diversity’:
INTRODUCTION
You wouldn’t go on a diet without measuring the effect. Whether this a reduction in weight,
looser clothes or an increased feeling of fitness. Similarly, to be able to say that employer
branding is a success, and potentially justify investment, you need to measure the effectiveness
of what has been achieved. Many employer brand managers think that measuring any kind
of return on investment is just too hard. But it does not need to be, and in this chapter,
we present areas to consider and what the information may tell you.
In this example the organisation would certainly want to measure the fill rate but
may also want to look at how this was achieved. Areas are considered below but
may include; click rates from advertisement to applications, completed applications,
drop-out rates, etc.
1.2 Whatever KPIs are selected there are some basic guidelines that may seem obvious
but are worth reflecting on. Do the KPIs:
1.3 The KPIs chosen must fit your organisation. However, we have listed areas to think
about and what they may tell you.
a) Brand Awareness
At its most basic, consider asking people to name the organisation’s brand attributes.
Questions should be pointed at different groups; a cross section of staff of different
levels of seniority and/or location, new recruits and possibly candidates, through on-
line, short surveys. Internal staff members’ ability to name brand attributes should
improve over time. Failure to do so would point to problems with communication
or real experience. Similarly, new recruits or potential candidates should be able to
identify the attributes through the recruitment materials. The goal is to determine
if your target groups assign the same brand characteristics as you are striving to
communicate.
b) Brand Experience
Find out ‘what’s it really like to work here’. Using a point scale, measure how far
people agree or not with the brand attributes. Include in annual staff surveys, but
also conduct some, sample in depth telephone survey or focus groups, to not only
produce the scale results but understand the underlying reasons for the scores. Do
not forget to capture information through exit questionnaires. Getting feedback will
confirm whether the selected brand attributes were correct, have longevity or if there
needs to be further work to embed.
As an organisation you may use external firms to handle your recruitment, aspects
of the process, (e.g. executive search) or to fill agency opportunities. They are a great
source of information. Conduct interviews with external recruiters and search firms
to determine their probability of promoting your company as an employer of choice
and how they would describe your organisation to a potential candidate. What they
say may be different than what is intended.
d) Digital Presence
• Clicks on your recruiting pages, increased traffic to your employee video stories.
The numbers of people that continue through to making an application.
• The number of employees with an optimized social presence goes up.
• Your company ratings on employer review sites (e.g., Glassdoor etc.) are more
positive and ideally are capturing the brand attributes that the organisation stands
for, such as good teamwork. Also, where applicable, consider Best Places to Work
lists to see how you rank against your competitors and in your industry.
• Conversations on social media emphasise the good things about working for your
organisation rather than the problems.
At its simplest, measure the volume of applicants who apply before and after a branding
exercise. There should be a notable increase. Cost per hire is another useful measure
and one, ideally, that is captured at two stages; total cost/numbers appointed, and
total cost/number of related staff still employed six months from start date. If your
employer brand is working, you should see a decrease in the cost per hire. Quality will
be also measurable by numbers appointed, those remaining with the organisation after
a given period or via feedback from recruiting managers. If there is a sharp fall in the
numbers remaining with an organisation, it may reasonably suggest that recruitment
attraction promises are not being experienced in practice.
Track how many employees stay/leave every year and what is their average length of
service. Examine areas where there is a high proportion of high performing employees.
Determine if there are any identifiable trends or common characteristics and test out
brand attributes in those areas. With a well-executed brand, high performance and
retention should be increasing.
None of the example KPIs should be overly burdensome, but as explained in the
sections that follow, will take time and may require some bold interventions if things
are going wrong.
• Be realistic about timing. Some aspects of the brand will show results relatively
early. This is particularly true for internal awareness. If you have communications
right, there should be knowledge about the brand around its launch. Changing
perceptions of an external market may take far longer.
• Stay with it; not only will some audiences be harder to reach but others may
lose key messages if they are not repeated or are not experienced by staff on a
day to day basis. The effectiveness of the brand may be whether in six months
or a year post-launch, people cannot recognise or only have a vague memory of.
Monitoring needs therefore to be ongoing.
• Being clear to decision makers what the information is saying. If an organisation
is committed to ‘enhancing careers’ you should see an increase in job applications
from a younger demographic; the strength of the brand will be enhanced if
this outcome is seen across all advertisements rather than simply the annual
apprenticeship programme. Do not jump to conclusions based on the immediacy
of evidence just to support the concept of the brand.
• When to ask decision makers for help and being clear what this means for them.
Using the above example, if staff survey information suggests the organisation
is not committed to career development there may be problems in a particular
area; find out and present the problem and work with other HR/management
colleagues to suggest solutions.
• Adjust your brand strategy based on what is working. Looking at social media
to reflect on what has earned the most views, likes, shares and comments. Do
not forget to learn from what communication has not done so well. Is it the
language that is being used, or method of communication, or even doubts about
the authenticity?
• When an organisation merges with another; this may be in any sector; including
where there is a new acquisition.
• Where the type of services or product that is being delivered changes leading to
alterations in the workforce make-up.
• Significant changes in the senior management team; where it is recognised that the
new cadre bring different priorities which impact on the culture of the organisation.
• There are external events that may damage brand attributes or put delivery at
risk. For example, a downturn in the economy may undermine an organisation’s
commitment to offer a ‘job for life’. Tracking external analytics is important to
ensure the weight of external changes.
• Another organisation emerges as a competitor for precious staff resources. On
such occasions it may be necessary to challenge the attractiveness of the brand
or how it is communicated.
3.3 Putting aside any events described above, it is good practice to review the authenticity
and reach of the brand on a regular and structured basis. For a few organisations,
brand attributes will become to viewed as part of its DNA, but for most there is a
need to review, tweak and refresh. In these ways, the employer brand will remain a
powerful tool that enhances organisational effectiveness over the longer term.
4.2 This complete our journey on the development, communication and monitoring of
an employer brand. We hope that you have enjoyed reading this short book and
feel able to confidently tackle its introduction or review; whatever the size of your
organisation. Have fun!
1. CIPD Employer branding; Your online companion for the journey. Paul Walker,
Head of Employer Branding 2008. www.cipd.co.uk
2. Place and Role of Employer Brand in the Structure of Corporate Brand – Sofia
Monika. pp. 136-148. DOI:10.14254/2071-789X.2014/7-2/11 (2014).
3. Case study; Virgin Media – Improving Candidate Experience for all Candidates –
Ph. Creative Digital Marketing Company, https://www.ph-attraction.com/work/
virgin-media
4. Original article – Employer Branding and Market Segmentation, Lara Moroko and
Mark D Uncles. Received (in revised form) 19th May 2009, https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/247478730_Employer_branding_and_market_segmentation
5. Figure 2 Picture; ‘Ideal Company’,
Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_netsay’>netsay/123RF Stock
Photo</a>
6. CIPD paper; Employer Branding – a no nonsense approach Paul Walker, Head of
Employer Branding circa 2006. www.cipd.co.uk.
7. John Lewis partnership web pages; ‘It’s that certain something. Partnership Spirit
and Behaviours, (November 2017) http://www.jlpjobs.com/about/partnership-spirit-
and-behaviours/
8. Captivating company: dimensions of attractiveness in employer branding Pierre
Berthon, Michael Ewing & Li Lian Hah. International Journal of Advertising Vol. 24,
Iss. 2,2005 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02650487.2005.110729
12 Published on line January 2015
9. Linked In ‘Employer Brand Playbook’, ‘5 Steps to Crafting a Highly Social Talent
Brand’, www.talentlink.com.
10. Figure 3 – Picture ‘Workforce’ –
Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_rawpixel’>rawpixel/123RF Stock
Photo</a>
11. Statistic Brain, Facebook company statistics compiled May 2017, https://www.
statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/
12. Figure 4 Picture Megaphone Hand, business concept with text We Need People Like
You, vector illustration. Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile__fla’>_fla
/ 123RF Stock Photo</a>
13. Example of branding on web site; Apple – Jobs at Apple, web pages January 2018,
link https://www.apple.com/jobs/us/.
14. CIPD Employer branding; Your online companion for the journey. Paul Walker,
Head of Employer Branding 2008. www.cipd.co.uk
15. Figure 5 Picture ‘Waiting for an interview’
Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_oneinchpunch’>oneinchpunch
/ 123RF Stock Photo</a>
16. Figure 6 Picture – Various Charts
Copyright: <a href=’https://www.123rf.com/profile_csuzda’>csuzda / 123RF Stock
Photo</a>