Employer Branding Is Not Recruitment Marketing Anymore | Jess Mattewman

So I think this is really

important.

topic because so many people are wanting to do great employee branding and there's been a lot of talk about authenticity if I could have a pound for every time someone said authenticity I would be able to retire I think because that was the focus this was kind of the new the new thing that everyone was trying we will be authentic we will show our employees we will get the real life stories from internal people and show what it is actually like to work here and that is great But I think what a lot of people aren't doing and which is not working for them as a business and when you're trying to pull through employee brand is you don't take a step back and look at the whole picture.

So what is it that the employees, yes, do like about working there? What are the stories that they have to tell? But also, what is it that the leadership are driving? What is it that they want to achieve? What kind of values does everyone have together? What experiences have people had, good and bad? And what areas are you actually working on to improve the business and the culture for people as well? So there's so many different things to look at before you start jumping in and talking authentically about what is happening here.

Because you need to think about what it is, the story that you want to tell, but also the truth.

And what is the truth that you want to tell to your candidates? What is the thing that will make it different for them when they come work there? And what are you working together towards? So if you are trying to set up an employer brand now, my advice would be is to just take it very slow and actually reflect on what you have already.

Because there is always an employer brand there.

There's always an employee experience.

But often in the excitement of starting new campaigns or new approaches, that gets left behind.

And you really need to nail down first exactly what it is that you are working towards as a business.

your vision, perhaps your values, what it is that does make people want to stay there and then start looking underneath for the content and the stories and the, you know, exciting videos that you can make and yeah, focus it all around that.

Do the groundwork first.

I like what you said.

It's about authenticity, for one side.

And also, I told what the employer brand is about holistic approach.

As I remember when the first time I had this debate, I think more than 10 years, 15 years ago, because until this time, mostly we talk about recruitment, marketing, only about image, only about attraction, the newer employees.

But then I remember it was in Turkey, in Istanbul, on a conference, the first time with one of the speakers discussing holistic approach to employer branding.

And for me, it's one of the important part of the employer brand management right now.

And I want to ask you, what does it mean for your holistic approach to employer branding?

Yes.

I love that word, holistic.

It's very nice.

All-encompassing.

For me, the holistic approach of employee brand is really thinking about more than just pulling people through the door, linking it to employee experience.

And you can still have a separate employee experience team, but you have to imagine your employee brand as that whole life cycle for somebody who is literally getting an offer to pre-boarding, induction, the rest of the onboarding that they experience with their team, having that life at the company, their day-to-day interactions, training developments up to when they walk through the other door.