The 5 core Employer Branding messages

The majority of employer branding messages are variations of 5 messaging pillars…

So, you’re probably reading this article because you think you’re ready to take the leap and get an employer branding strategy going. Whether you’re a multi-million dollar company or a tiny 2-person team, employer branding is necessary for every 21st century business, and the earlier you start, the better. But you might not be sure what employer branding message is right for you.

So in this article, we’re going to look at the different core messaging pillars that brands can promote and some excellent examples you can take inspiration from.

The five pillars are: Brand personality, Education, Purpose, Employee perks, Champion employees.

Brand personality

Message: ‘Our employees are united by the same drive / personality / thirst for life.’

1. Thursday app — don’t be scared to put yourself out there

2. Stakester — competition is everything

Quote from a recent TechRadar article:

“We want to be the best company for people to work for. To do that, we try to create an athlete’s mindset; we work on the premise that work + rest = success,” he explained.

“You would never expect a sportsperson to produce their best for four hours straight. So creating an environment where people are incentivized to take active rest has a number of benefits: people are healthier, more relaxed and they can give their brains a chance to reset.”

Of course, Stakester is a very specific kind of company, one already built on the foundation of competition and already embedded in the gaming ecosystem. However, Fairey insists that an experiment like his own would yield the same kinds of results in any business.”

Education

Message: ‘We invest in our employees so they are constantly learning & being enabled.’

1. The ERIC App — all the companies who have profiles

“ERIC is an incredible outreach tool for organisations who don’t have big budgets to spend on marketing. We promote events, competitions, awards — not just jobs!”

We created an educational platform to enable companies to be part of the career education process. Here’s an example of how a brand profile looks on the platform:

2. Apple — Today at Apple free talk series (both in store & at home)

Purpose

Message: ‘Everyone who works for us lives, eats and breathes the causes we’re fighting for.’

1. NHS — be part of this incredible, huge machine that saves lives

2. Animal Humane Society — if you love animals, you can work with them every day if you work with AHS

Employee perks

Message: ‘We look after our employees!’

1. Honest Burger — free burgers for employees

2. Ernst & Young — extensive mental health benefits (including a free online health assessment and 24 hour confidential counselling service that can be used by both employees and their families)

Champion your employees

Message: ‘We’re so proud of our amazing employees, their personalities & skills!’

1. Chipotle — championing the culture of representation, empowerment & inclusion of their employees

2. Cactus Club Cafe — letting their employees have fun with tik tok trends (and enabling us to see the chefs behind the magic!)

So that’s it! Those are the 5 pillars.

To choose the right one (or even find one that isn’t on this list), you need to take a step back and look at your brand objectively. What are the things that are most appealing? Is there something about your brand that’s unique or special? Do all of your employees have something in common that you’ve never noticed before and might link back to your brand?

You need to ask yourself some deep questions about your culture, your consumers and what you stand for as a business. Once you have those answers, you’ll be able to nail your employer brand message and move onto the next stage — which vehicles you should use to promote your message?

Sam is CEO & Co-Founder of ERIC and is an employer branding expert (especially when it comes to targeting Gen Z talent).

Want to know the latest in employer branding news & practice? I’ve got an ever-growing list of very useful statistics and persuasive evidence of how effective employer branding can be free and available here (email me for the password at sam@meet-eric.com).