I know what you are thinking as I am thinking it too. Not another Employer Branding article. Hear me out.
Anyone who has been reading my blogs of late has noticed my new “thing”; Recruiter Experience. My theory being that if we look after the Recruiter Experience (things such as scalability, agility, tools, tech, process, allocation etc) and Hiring Manager Experience (relationships, coaching, visibility etc) then the holy grail that is Candidate Experience should look after itself.
Common sense, right?
So if we consider the above, why do we see so many organisations creating EVPs and overall Employer Branding strategies that simply set our Recruiters up to fail? We are we selling a dream that is, in fact, a nightmare?
Let us set the scene. Organisation XXX has the best website money can buy. A buzzword busy EVP that covers all the usual bases. Thousands of pounds of agency generated content showing how cool the org is and how happy their people are. However, when you visit their social networks; no employee-generated content (we all know this is the Everest of Employer Branding; just ask Helen Durkin). Glassdoor/Indeed reviews; they take a battering. Job adverts; hiring repeatedly which suggests that retention is a problem.
Things in reality in the left hand do not match up with the dream that is being pitched in the right.
It is critical that any organisation stays true to the “why” and “who” when it comes to all things Employer Branding. Your EVP should be actual without too much aspirational. Your pillars must ring true with every single person who touches your organisation. Your experience must not only foster but encourage people to truly be themselves and hopefully share their true feelings and emotions from their own journey.
That is the best way to competitively gain an edge in Employer Branding, by having a loud and proud Talent Brand. Trust as we all know is diminishing in all walks of life, therefore, do we need to add to it through false Employer Branding and ultimately Recruitment Marketing?
You can’t be shouting at your Recruiters to fill more vacancies, find rare talent or pinch people from your competitors when you are simply setting them up to fail with the false internal and external story you are creating. You are severely damaging their ability to hire that no flashy website or cool sourcing tool will be able to rectify.
“Keep it real”
BG
