How HR Pros Can Make the Most of Employer Branding Services
HR’s role in business is expanding. It’s no longer its own isolated function called in only during open enrollment or when an employee has a complaint about a lousy manager. HR influences all departments in an organization.
In a March 2021 article titled “The new possible: How HR can help build the organization of the future,” consultants at McKinsey argue the propelling potential of human resources. The authors of the article write that HR can help ready companies for the future by identifying three things:
Who we are
How we operate
How we grow
That, my friends, is a good way to describe the foundations of an employer brand. It’s about the internal and external identity, operations, and the future of the company. Who will compose the company? How will they work together? And how will we give our employees a future? What are our company values? How will those values make this a better place to work.
The fact that HR is becoming more influential is good news for employer branding, especially when the human resources arm comprises missions like DEI, ESG, and recruiting. If you’re having trouble getting the C-suite getting on board with employer branding, you can ride the CHRO train into those executive meetings to get more attention for your agenda.
The relationship between HR and employer branding can easily become a turf war, so the goal must be mutual benefit. It’s easy to battle over who gets more say in the performance review process or who makes the job description template, but territorialism will benefit neither side.
Keep this in mind: Employer branding is likely new to your organization. HR is not. The EB team will have to prove its value.
Here are five ways to prove value and forge a harmonious relationship:
Get over egos and possessive ownership. Identify as many common goals as possible. For example, both HR and employer branding want to improve retention. Start there.
If employer branding does not sit under the umbrella of HR in your company (perhaps it’s part of marketing, for example), form an alliance with your human resources team. Extend an olive branch: Ask your CHRO or other senior-most HR leader to contribute to your employer branding strategy. (FYI, it’s not a good plan if your CHRO doesn’t contribute.)
If your relationship is territorial one, HR may toss external communications to EB so that it can own internal comms. This isn’t a compromise, it’s a partition, and it will make the company look bad. EB will have to demonstrate its ability to influence current employees.
HR is often measured on employee engagement with their programs, so show them how you can boost those numbers by branding HR initiatives. Run a pilot: Build a marketing and communications plan around a program or initiative.
For example, when your HR team adds IVF coverage to the medical plan, create assets for internal distribution and pitch that new change to local media (or national media, depending on the size of your company).
Be a good partner. HR is not your adversary, HR is your team mate.
Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza writes about workplace culture, DEI, and hiring. Her work has appeared in Fast Company, From Day One, and InHerSight, among others.
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