Nowadays, employers are increasingly expected to deliver an excellent employee experience, treating their employees as they would customers. In doing so, companies may develop employee brand ambassadors who actively want to share their experiences and recommend the company. 

On the other hand, if employees have a negative experience at a company, this could lead to reputational damage, especially in the age of the internet where information can be easily and instantly shared. The employee experience is thus an important component in a company’s branding strategy, and since it is down to HR professionals to oversee the experience of both candidates and employees, they are well-positioned to contribute to its management. 

In the recruitment process, HR can utilise technology to optimise the candidate experience through well-thought out and tested platforms. Thanks to digitalisation and technological advances, companies have a wide array of tools at their disposal to make processes user-focused, intuitive, and more efficient. How well a company leverages technology in its interaction with candidates inevitably impacts their perceptions of the company. Delivering a successful experience at this stage thus creates a positive opening impression and could make high performing candidates more likely to select that company over a competitor. 

HR could also improve the way that the company presents itself online by working with the marketing team. For instance, marketers can contribute their expertise in areas like design, online channels, and customer segmentation to promote the company in front of suitable candidates and elevate the employer image. In fact, according to the Institute for Corporate Productivity’s survey of 540 professionals, high performing organisations were 1.5x more likely to have HR and marketing take shared responsibility for managing the employer brand.  

Another way HR can support a competitive employer brand is by developing an internal communication strategy that is aligned with the organisational culture. Indeed, it is important that rewards are in tune with the core company values and the organisational stance on topical issues as this contributes to brand cohesion across all contexts – employee and customer. In areas like employee benefits, it is important that HR take an effective communication approach, so that employees are well-informed about available initiatives, which can encourage uptake and produce positive results for the employer and employee alike. 

In the end, the ability to measure the success of employer branding initiatives is vital. HRs must be able to evaluate what is working and understand where improvements should be made. Becoming acquainted with practices like social listening can be a good way to understand what people are saying about the organisation as an employer. Ultimately, brand management may just be one way that HR professionals are increasingly expected to move beyond traditional perceptions of their role, into more strategic functions. 

References: 

1. Role of HR in Branding, April 2017, Medium. 
2. Marketing And HR Should Work Together To Take The Employer Brand To The Next Level, January 2019, Forbes. 
3. 5 Ways HR Can Build Your Organization’s Brand, November 2019, The Balance Careers.