Is Employer Branding Marketing or HR Driven?

Employer branding is a crucial element in attracting top talent to your company. 

Your employer brand is the "reputation your company has" in the marketplace. It is a major factor in attracting top talent to your business, including your current open positions. 

But who is responsible for cultivating and managing your employer brand? 

Is Employer Branding Marketing or HR driven?

Let's explore the roles of marketing and HR in employer branding and how they work together to create a strong employer brand strategy to support your recruitment process and attract the ideal candidates.

Key Takeaways:

• Both marketing and HR play essential roles in work branding and should collaborate to create a unified recruitment marketing strategy.  
• Marketing is responsible for delivering consistent company brand messages across all customer channels, like PPC, trade shows, and blog posts for SEO. At the same time, HR focuses on understanding and meeting the needs of employees. The skills of both are required.
• In medium to large-sized companies, a talent acquisition specialist may sit across both marketing and HR to ensure the best recruitment results and that potential candidates are engaged. 
• An employer brand is the perception of working for a company and is amplified by creating a culture that puts employees first and sharing these employee videos. Here are 21 Employer Branding statistics you should know.
• Employer branding is rarely the sole responsibility of any one department; it requires collaboration between marketing, HR, and other functions within the organization.
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What Is Your Employer Brand?

Your employer brand is the reputation your company has in the market, which helps you attract future employees. It is how people perceive your organization from the outside, including current and previous employees. 

Your employer brand encompasses the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of individuals regarding what it's like to work for your unique company; it is all about telling employee stories the right way, like with video. It goes beyond just the company's products or services and focuses on the internal culture and employee experience. And that's why, when we talk about "Is Employer Branding Marketing or HR driven?" We need to consider it across both disciplines—and, indeed, your entire company.

How are Employer Branding and Workplace Culture Connected?

Before getting into specific roles, it's good to know that aiming for a good employee brand is about creating a workplace culture that puts your employees at the forefront, which is the task of your entire company. 

Technically, putting employees first includes building your employee value proposition for your current and potential employees, with reasons they should want to work at your company, not a competitor. It's about creating a positive perception of working for the organization and highlighting the benefits and opportunities available.

By cultivating a strong brand, companies can attract top talent that may otherwise be out of reach. Job seekers are more likely to be drawn to organizations with a positive reputation, as it signals a desirable workplace and culture. Additionally, a good company's reputation helps organizations differentiate themselves from their competitors and create a unique identity in the market.
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How do I Build my Employer Brand?

Building an employer brand is a crucial process that requires time and effort. At Vouch, we're consistently working on our EB across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter!

It involves creating a compelling employee value proposition (EVP) that attracts potential employees to your organization.

 When developing your brand, consider what sets your company apart and why someone would want to work for you. Highlight your unique culture, benefits, and opportunities for growth.

Building your brand is a topic in itself, so please see our "What is Employer Brand" guide, which includes neat industry tips and tricks by the Vouch team to get your employer brand on track.

Is Employer Branding Marketing or HR? Again, it's both!
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What is the Role of Marketing and HR in Employer Branding?

Both marketing and HR play crucial roles in building and maintaining a compelling employer brand. Marketing is responsible for delivering consistent brand messages that align with the organization's values and culture. Marketing professionals should have a deep understanding of the company's brand and how it should be communicated to potential and current customers and employees. 

HR professionals, on the other hand, focus on the recruitment process and set policies. To break it down a little further:

Marketing's Role:

• Crafting the company's brand message
• Managing social media presence
• Designing engaging content and campaigns
• Showcasing company culture through storytelling

HR's Role:

• Identifying key employee value propositions
• Enhancing the candidate experience
• Facilitating internal communication and engagement
• Aligning branding with recruitment strategies
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Does a Talent Acquisition Specialist remove HR and Marketing?

Even with a Talent Acquisition Specialist steering the ship, collaboration between the entire company, including marketing and HR, is vital to successfully developing and implementing an effective branding strategy.   

Recruitment marketing channels can include company websites, social media platforms, and internal communication platforms. Additionally, storytelling plays a vital role in conveying the employer's brand. By sharing authentic stories about the company's culture and the experiences of its employees, marketing, and HR can create a compelling narrative that attracts and engages talent.

Developing your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Your Employee Value Proposition is the unique set of benefits and values that your organization offers to employees. It is what sets you apart from other companies and makes you an attractive choice. When developing your value proposition, consider the following high-level questions:

"What do we offer that others don't?"

"What benefits and perks do we provide?"

"What is our company culture like?"

"What growth opportunities do we offer?"

"What is our mission and purpose?"

Answering these questions will help you craft a compelling value proposition that resonates with potential employees. If you would like to learn more, please see our Employee Value Propositions Tips & Examples.
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Should I Be Measuring Employee and Candidate Satisfaction?

Absolutely, and this is where your Marketing team can really shine with their analytics skillsets. Regularly measuring employee satisfaction and engagement is crucial to building an employer brand, and this can be done through surveys employee and feedback sessions using video or one-on-one meetings. 

Understanding your employees' needs and preferences will help you identify areas for improvement and implement changes that contribute to a positive company reputation. 

Some key metrics to measure employee satisfaction and engagement include:

• Overall job satisfaction
• Perception of company culture
• Opportunities for growth and development
• Work-life balance
• Manager support and communication

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FAQs

Is employer branding marketing or HR driven? 

When we look at Is Employer Branding Marketing or HR, the answer is that employer branding is a collaborative effort between marketing and HR. Both functions play essential roles in creating and promoting branding strategies. 

Is employer branding focused more on recruiting or workforce development?

Employer branding is a collaborative effort that involves both recruiting and HR, but it primarily focuses on attracting and retaining your workforce. By aligning your recruiting strategies with HR initiatives, you can create a compelling brand that draws top talent and keeps your team engaged.

Who is responsible for employer branding?

Employer branding is a shared responsibility. Both the talent acquisition and HR teams have valuable skills that contribute to branding strategies. Marketing also plays a role in delivering consistent brand messages. Is Employer Branding Marketing or HR? It's both and should be company-wide.

Why is employer branding important in organizations?

Employer branding is important because it helps attract and retain top talent, leading to increased financial performance. It also enhances employee motivation and engagement, creating a positive employee experience.

What is the role of marketing and HR in employer branding?

Marketing is responsible for delivering consistent brand messages and understanding how they should be communicated. HR is responsible for the recruitment process and setting policies aligned with the organization's values. Both functions should work together to create a unified strategy.

How does employer branding impact recruitment on job websites such as LinkedIn?

Employer branding significantly enhances recruitment on LinkedIn and other job websites by showcasing your company culture and values to potential candidates. By leveraging these websites' platforms, you can attract top talent who resonate with your brand and are eager to join your workforce.

How can a marketing-driven approach enhance employer branding?

A marketing-driven approach enhances branding efforts by leveraging strategic communication and branding techniques to attract top talent. By effectively showcasing your company's values and culture; you can differentiate yourself in the market and appeal to candidates who resonate with your brand.
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Conclusion

Is Employer Branding Marketing or HR? It's both and should even be company-wide.

Employer branding is a crucial aspect of any organization's brand strategy. Collaboration between the marketing and HR teams is required to create a strong company reputation and image that attracts and retains top talent.

By working together, these two functions can create a unified strategy that effectively communicates your employer brand and improves your hiring process and cost per hire. You can also leverage tools like Vouch video on your social media channels to build trust and reach qualified candidates.
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Be sure to book a Vouch demo today and chat with a video content expert.