'Branding' novice

johnnyBravo

I was at the recent SHRM conference and saw a pretty inspiring session on employment branding--what it is, why it's important (to recruit the best talent) and what it should accomplish (such as place an image of being a great place to work in the minds of a targeted candidate pool).  I came back from the conference pretty enthusiastic, with a desire to (as per the session) "establish an image of the employment experience" at our company, and communicate what our company values and offers (diversity, opportunities for advancement, flexibility, etc.). However, I still find myself sort of unsure as to how to get the ball rolling. I'm not clear on all the components of a branding strategy...

Have any of you ever been tasked with establishing an "employment brand"? If so, how did you get started? Did you hire a consultant to help or handle the process of identifying and communicating your brand in-house? Do you know of any good resources for employer branding?  Basically, advice from anyone who has been through this process would be great.

regdunlop

if anyone should know about branding it's johnny bravo!  seriously, it seems like you know the employment brand you want to sell.  now, you just have to identify all the ways in which you can communicate this brand and come up with a strategy.  does your website communicate this brand? do your employment ads communicate this brand?  have managers been trained in how to communicate the brand effectively? is your company advertising this brand to right people?

Joy1

One thing I've noticed, and that you should beware of is inconsistency -- it is the death of branding. For instance, on a business card, make the company name, email and website cohesive, don't have separate names for each (e.g., email: jane@health.com, website www.healthgreat.com, company name Healthy Heart co.). This is too confusting. Instead work to make all consistent with the company name (e.g. jane@healthyheart.com, www.healthyheart.com, etc.)  ALSO fight to keep the logo the same EVERYWHERE (letterhead, signs, advertising, pens, coffee cups, tshirts) - this includes a stalanistic control over color pallette and fonts. Good luck!