Crafting an authentic employer brand

We hear a lot about Employer Brand (EB). How can we showcase our business, make ourselves sound great, and attract the best candidates? A simple solution could be to write some fancy copy to stick on your job ads and add a list of all your benefits – but of course, if it were that easy, every business would have an amazing EB.

So, the question is, how do we create a message that resonates with our target audience and attracts them to our business over our competition?

To truly speak to your audience, you need to look at more than just what is great about your business – and too often, employers neglect to show the challenges that come with the job.

You might be thinking, “Why would I talk about the hard bits of the job? Won’t it just put people off?” but think back to getting your first car. Did your parents just hand you the keys, or did you save up and use your hard-earned money to buy it? Chances are, if you worked for months to save up, you appreciated that car more than if it was simply given to you.

When we evaluate the value of something, we need to know how hard it will be to achieve it, or it’s virtually impossible to know if we want to pursue it. Will the juice be worth the squeeze?

In a book by Bryan Adams and Charlotte Marsha, the idea is that there are three main buckets of adversity we are looking to satisfy – purpose, impact, and belonging.

1. How can I fulfil my purpose in this business?
2. How can I create an impact on this business?
3. How can I feel a sense of belonging in this business?

To answer these questions, it’s essential to assess the difficulty of achieving each element. Is the wall too high to scale, or is it sufficiently high to bring meaning and value to the climb? Understanding the magnitude of the struggle is crucial.

The beauty of your EB lies in its uniqueness. Tolerance, threshold, and endurance for a company’s situations, demands, and expectations differ among candidates. Your EB acts as a smart filter, attracting those well-suited to your organisation while dissuading those incompatible with your culture.

Some candidates thrive on adversity, finding your expectations fair and even relishing the challenges. Others may be deterred. When crafting your messaging, the goal is not to attract as many people as possible but rather to attract as many of the right people as possible.

The conventional approach of boasting about being great at x, y, or z in every job ad has lost its impact. Candidates have become desensitised. Acknowledge the challenges of the job, be transparent, and create a give-and-take within your brand. This approach will yield a pool of candidates better aligned with your organisation, saving time and effort in screening those who don’t fit.

An authentic Employer Brand that embraces both the positive and challenging aspects of your business will resonate more with the right candidates, fostering a stronger connection between your organisation and potential employees.