During the last year, you may have caught an episode of “Who do you think you are?” on NBC. The show featured a celebrity researching his or her family tree with various experts in history and genealogy. Most episodes included travel to unexpected locations and a few surprise relationships before arriving at a destination that reveals more about who the celebrities are.
It occurred to me when I started to write this post that a similar process applies for employers considering their brand—specifically, their employer brand. For most employers and their HR departments, the branding journey begins with their external brand. But is the name and face a company designed for their customers, potential customers, competitors and business partners, truly reflective of who they are as an employer? Or is there more to the story?
Employer branding allows an organization to tell their employees and potential employees (and maybe their competitors’ employees, too) what they value, what they expect, how employees grow, how they support work/life balance and how they reward.
At the episodes’ end, the celebrities shared what they had learned on the journey and how the experience had changed the way they viewed themselves. In each case, the person’s physical appearance didn’t change, but each image was enhanced with new depth. While an employer’s image may be enhanced with a new typeface or an additional corporate color, employer branding really answers the question “Who do you think you are?”
Ready to explore this question? We can help.
