Defining and communicating why people should join and why they should stay in your organisation is key to talent attraction and retention. However, this process usually throws up a range of challenges. There is a myriad of terms when talking about life in an organisation — which one should you use? How do areas such as values, diversity, inclusion and sustainability impact the employee experience? How do you make it meaningful to a wide range of different roles and geographies? And how do you communicate it effectively?
There is a lot of terminology out there: employee value proposition, employer brand, people promise just to name a few. And what’s more, these terms get thrown around and used interchangeably, which adds to the confusion. Here at Frank, Bright & Abel, we use employer brand as an all-encompassing term to describe life in an organisation. Whatever you decide to call it, be consistent, and make sure you answer the following key questions:
Life in your organisation is defined by a range of interconnected things. Let’s start with your brand. Your employer brand should have a direct link to your brand by answering the question: ‘Who do we need to be as an organisation on the inside to deliver on our promises and live up to our ambitions?’. It should also connect to your values. Done right, values provide a tool for shaping behaviours, ways of working and thinking within your organisation – essentially describing how you act to deliver on your culture and your promises. And as talent look beyond an attractive pay package, defining your approach and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability, hybrid working and well-being will strengthen your ability to attract and retain talent. You then need to connect it all back to your employer brand by describing what these areas, policies and practices mean for the experience working for you.
Once you have nailed the employer brand positioning, you need to think about how it plays out across your organisation. Different communities value and expect different things, for example depending on age, geographical location and local culture. Whilst your employer brand should have a core message, it must also be able to flex and dial up certain values and benefits depending on what resonates with people across departments, generations and the world. For example, an experienced, lateral hire will most likely have different priorities and value certain things differently compared to a graduate. Making sure your employer brand speaks to different types of employee segments is crucial to ensure it satisfies their particular requirements.
Once you have defined your core and audience messages, it’s time to build out a wider toolkit. This means a strong visual and verbal expression that extends throughout the entire employee lifecycle — from attract, engage, develop, retain to exit. At each stage, employees have different goals and expectations, which has an impact on how you approach communications. For example, consider a candidate at the beginning of the interview process. This stage gives the candidate a flavour for what they will experience if they join your organisation and acts as a first impression for how you think about your relationship with employees. At the other end of the spectrum, you also want to leave a lasting, positive impression on departing employees. All of this should influence how you approach your communications and tone.
Every single piece of employee communication is a chance to connect with people in your organisation, and to reinforce your employer brand. Showing personality is a way to make your messages stand out and catch people’s attention. Again, consider the entire employee lifecycle and how to inject personality throughout. For example, job descriptions, welcome packs and induction training do not need to be dry and factual. These are key moments where your employer brand can shine, and injecting some personality is a way to further highlight who you are and your culture.
If you want to define life in your organisation, you will undoubtedly come across a flurry of terminology. Whatever you choose to call it — be consistent, connect it to other important areas such as values, sustainability and well-being, and allow your story to flex to suit different needs across departments, geographies and generations. And as you build your wider toolkit, consider how to communicate at different stages in the employee lifecycle and don’t shy away from showing personality — these are key moments to show what makes life in your organisation special.
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