The traditional rulebook says that Employee Engagement must sit with the Human Resources department whereas the Marketing team is the custodian of the corporate brand. But when the two become inevitably linked in the realm of Employer Branding, who takes charge?
The core of your Employer Brand is your people, both, current and potential and HR presumably understands them and their needs better. Marketing, on the other hand, is adept at getting the attention of prospects and making them gravitate towards your organisation. So, is a coalition, the need of the hour? We believe so. . .
We’ve seen a lot of designations doing the rounds on LinkedIn recently – Employer Brand (EB) Lead, Employer Brand Manager, Recruitment Marketing Lead and the like. From understanding the pulse of people, defining a differentiated value proposition, designing communication and finally going to market, will this ‘EB Manager’ be able to carry the mantle singlehandedly? It’s a herculean ask, don’t you think?
Enter the Employer Brand Task Force, an amalgam of experts, some home-brewed and some natives of the gig economy. Presenting a few members of the cast:
- The compulsive ‘creator’
The ones who wear the thinking hats, co-author your brand story and purpose and bring your brand to life. They can undertake or conceptualise research, work well with data (both quantitative and qualitative) and are able to look for patterns and insights. A grasp on language and a keen aesthetic sense is crucial.
- Captain ‘do-it-all’
You will need someone with an ‘execution’ bent of mind who doesn’t mind getting out there and loves the rush of making things happen. Once you have your employer brand ready and packaged, you are looking at a lot of groundwork from constant design to production to campaigns to meeting students and placement partners to launch events or town halls… you get the drift!
- The ‘people’ champion
The Employer Brand exercise is ultimately for the people of the organisation and it needs to be lead and evangelised by an HR leader. The person should be able to get the internal machinery moving and be persuasive enough to secure buy-in from the business leaders. She also needs to understand the various moving parts within the HR ecosystem and embed the Employer Brand through and through
- The campus crew
Everyone is trying to get ahead when it comes to day rankings on campus but how many really invest the time and effort to nurture campus relationships irrespective of whether it is campus season or not. Whether you DIY or engage an expert, a team needs to be in place that understands the pulse on campus, is constantly in touch, knows the students – what works and what doesn’t and is able to build a lasting impact. Day rankings would follow suit
This is a list to get you started. Of course, you need to know the digital mechanics, have storytellers, get brand ambassadors firing and so on. But does it still, seem like a one-person job? We think not! You need the troops storming in with all shapes and sizes of artillery blazing …