What Is Employee Branding and Why Your Company Needs It

So, we are all accustomed to traditional company branding and what it entails to draw in customers. But have you heard of employee branding? Chances are, you will have a vague idea of what employee branding is and might be already practicing it to a certain extent in your company.

But, in order to really capitalize on the benefits of employee branding, it will be worth your while to make a conscious effort to fully embed yourself in the concept. Employee branding has been proven to have quantifiable positive impacts on a business by building the company brand from within.

We took a look at what employee branding is, how you can go about it and why your company will benefit from an employee branding exercise. Let’s get right into it.

What Is Employee Branding?

Let’s first delve into what employee branding is. Employer branding refers to the way others perceive your brand, so how your brand conveys messaging and tone to potential customers is key. This involves managing all the brand elements like the logo, brand colors, and the brand story effectively. On the other hand, employee branding refers to how your own employees perceive and convey your brand internally.

The concept revolves around the experiences that your employee has in your company. So, what is your company culture like? How are they treated and trained by managers? How do they talk about your brand?

You must keep in mind that your employees are your biggest brand ambassadors, so ensuring that you have good messaging coming from within your ranks is important. So, rolling out an employee branding project should be among your top priorities.

How to Implement It?

Once you have undertaken an initial rollout across your entire organization, it will simply be a case of keeping up with it. Start out with your new hires. These are new employees entering your organization who you can have the biggest impact on. Being a new employee is intimidating, so making them feel like part of the team and the bigger picture is important.

Provide them with a well-thought-out and brand-centric welcome kit. Include all of the vitals they will need to function effectively from the get-go. But, also think about going the extra mile and adding a care package to it to really make them feel welcome. The guys over at SnackNation have some great ideas for snack care packages for new employees that you can send over to them, making your new hire feel right at home almost immediately.

Existing employees might need a bit more time and effort, especially if they are under pressure or have already had unpleasant experiences with the organization. It is important to work with these employees in particular by creating face-to-face meetings, encouraging feedback, and heightening the reward and appreciation system for them.

Encouraging a good work/life balance will also heighten your employee branding. Employees who are free to work from home are encouraged to take advantage of personal time. In fact, those who have flexible hours have reported higher job satisfaction than those who are denied this.

Lastly, create and encourage the attendance of work functions, team buildings, and after-work activities. This will make sure your employees have an incentive to get to know each other and build up relationships which will reflect in their productivity and heighten teamwork.

What are the Benefits for Your Business?

So, now we know what employee branding is and how to achieve it, but you might be asking why it is so important for your organization. Having your employees act as brand ambassadors for your company has several key benefits.

The Recruitment Cycle is Easier and More Affordable

Happy employees talk openly about their companies. They discuss their benefits, the company culture, their working environments as well as the perks in the company. Consider start-ups and companies like Google. We are all very aware of their chill rooms, bean bags, ping-pong tables, and great company meals.

Companies with bad reputations have a harder time attracting new talent, have more turnover, and spend more money on hiring and training than others. So, if you want to start cutting these costs and attracting great talent, start providing an environment they will actually want to work in.

Your Overall Brand is Positively Impacted

Your employees will be speaking positively about your brand to other people in the industry and potential customers as well. Employee branding can positively impact your overall branding. Customers are more likely to re-purchase from engaged, positive, helpful employees who are genuinely invested in the brand.

This will also help you stick out from your competitors. You might have a bigger or cheaper competitor, but once your employees provide an unforgettable experience to your customer, you are likely to see them again.

Wrapping Up

Employee branding should not be a “maybe” for your organization, especially in this day and age. The face of the workplace has shifted entirely in the last few years, and with the impacts of COVID-19, this has been accelerated even further. Companies are now expected to provide a safe, happy, and balanced workplace for employees where they can not only be engaged and grow but work with the company in growing the brand even further.