Ruben van den Boer, a Principal Consultant at VMA GROUP, shares insights into the evolving landscape of Employer Branding. In today’s rapidly changing global environment, attracting the right talent is essential for businesses across all sectors. Employer Branding plays a crucial role in building a company’s reputation in the labor market, engaging with target talent pools, and ultimately attracting suitable candidates. This multidisciplinary art involves Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Communications, and Marketing. At VMA GROUP, we engage with senior professionals from these fields to understand the current and future trends in Employer Branding.
Collaboration Between Departments
Employer Branding necessitates a close collaboration between Human Resources and Communications. Many companies have already established strong cooperation between these departments, particularly for Employee Engagement and Employer Branding. Over the years, there has been a growing mutual respect for each other’s expertise and corporate value, leading to a more rewarding partnership.
However, some Communications professionals note that the relationship with Marketing is not as amicable. Employer Branding has highlighted the need for cooperation between Human Resources and Communications, emphasizing that collaboration is key to success.
Aligning Employer and Corporate Brands
In today’s digital age, aligning the employer brand with the overall corporate brand is crucial. Transparency is increasing, and your target talent could also be your customer, advocate, or critic. Some e-retailers hesitate to post job ads publicly due to the high volume of applications they must reject. There is a growing understanding that companies need to synchronize corporate and employer messaging, maintaining one integrated brand and corporate reputation.
Challenges and Opportunities in Employer Branding
Development and Implementation
The debate between centralization and decentralization affects the development and implementation of Employer Branding. Often, significant resources are invested in developing the employer brand, but execution, measurement, improvement, and maintenance are overlooked due to other priorities. This is akin to learning a new language but losing interest after achieving initial success.
Honesty in Employer Branding
There is ongoing discussion about whether “Employer Branding” is the right term. Some suggest “Employer Communications” or “Employer Reputation Building” might be more appropriate. Effective Employer Branding involves telling your company’s story transparently and realistically. Successful projects begin with honest self-reflection, as illustrated by a company that reconsidered its emphasis on international career opportunities after realizing they were available to only a small percentage of employees.
Adapting to Changing Times
Employer Branding has thrived in recent years due to a strong economy and talent shortages. However, with potential economic downturns on the horizon, attracting talent may become less of a priority for some companies. Despite this, Employer Branding remains crucial for securing the best talent to navigate a fast-changing reality. Human Resources and Communications professionals must advocate for Employer Branding, securing resources and adapting to do more with less.
These themes were discussed at our third annual Employer Branding event in June 2020. For further discussion on Employer Branding and its relation to Communications & Marketing, please contact Ruben van den Boer at +31 (0)20 241 6142 or rvandenboer@vmagroup.com.
About VMA GROUP
VMA GROUP is a leading international recruitment and executive search specialist in communications, digital, and marketing. Our practices cover internal and change communications, external communications, public affairs, marketing, digital, and agency services. We are known for providing expert consultancy services and advice, supported by in-depth knowledge of the professions we recruit for. Our thought leadership and benchmarking studies are essential resources for the communications and marketing industry. VMA GROUP has offices in London, Manchester, Amsterdam, and Brussels, and we work globally with organizations and individuals.
