Employer Branding is now visible at every corner… or perhaps, better said, at every intersection. What we’ve been prophesying to our clients for years is currently hitting with full force. The shortage of skilled workers is omnipresent today and is becoming increasingly visible to the masses through more or less successful measures. It feels like every third billboard, citylight, and the like is an attempt by (often desperate) companies to inspire future employees.
And no, we’re not just talking about corporations here – it’s precisely the local companies we all know that are hit the hardest. They are competing for every employee. Companies are faced with a shortage that has not been seen in such magnitude before. In the companies themselves, it’s no longer enough for only human resources professionals (if they exist at all) and executives to seek new employees – no, nowadays, this challenge can only be met with a collective and holistic effort by the entire company. Note: Unfortunately, it is also a reality that executives often delegate such matters to their office management, which is completely overwhelmed due to a lack of competence.
Two-Dimensional Employer Branding
In reality, it’s the individual person who represents the company on a daily basis – often more honestly and efficiently than some CEOs. That’s precisely why current employer branding needs to be thought of in two dimensions because, despite all the love, it’s of no use if companies present themselves well externally but internally are so far from what they promised that it simply doesn’t resonate with new employees.
In the worst case, these employees realize, shortly after joining or even before, that internally, things are not as the company portrayed them externally. Some new hires are so unhappy with the situation that they leave the company after a short stint. The damage to the company’s image is certainly lasting.
So, it’s essential to integrate as many internal company departments into employee marketing initiatives as possible and sensitize them in advance. When everyone pulls together in this regard, external perception improves, and, most importantly, the sense of community is strengthened. The existing workforce is literally bonded together. Find out the best approach for this in Brainsworld.
Corporate Influencing bringts!
Let them tell their stories.
By the way, companies often already have the best ‘influencers’ without them knowing it. These are the existing employees, the so-called ‘corporate influencers,’ who can convey brand messages as honestly and authentically as no one else. At this point, good HR managers understand why we at Brainsworld discourage the use of purchased stock material, and such material is not used by us at all.
Corporate influencers manage to give companies a personal touch in social networks, thereby creating a particularly credible and honest image in external marketing. It’s the employees themselves who report on their everyday work life. They are the ones who can directly convey visions and have a high persuasive power when it comes to external observers.
As an example of successful corporate influencing, I would like to mention our very successful campaign ‘Legends of Leoben,’ for which we were recently awarded the German Brand Award. By the way, the city of Leoben was able to significantly increase the number of incoming job applications as a result. To place employee marketing as broadly as possible, a diverse use of media is recommended. Above all, the right deployment of the campaign across various social media platforms and the associated positioning create an enormously high impact.
