On a recent client creative kickoff, our team was discussing the pros and cons of using stock versus real employee photography in employer brand assets. Our creative director made a profound remark: “Candidates today are savvy. They can sniff out inauthenticity in a brand.”
This quote struck a chord with me for a number of reasons. Authenticity in your employer brand is a core belief here at exaqueo. Our workforce research helps our clients uncover the relationship their employees have with work, their leaders and coworkers, and the organization as a whole. We use these insights to develop an employer brand that is rooted in both the attractors and real, authentic realities of the employment experience.
However, our clients often feel the pull to develop an aspirational employer brand. This pull is understandable to an extent:
- Aspirational brands can seem exciting and inspiring, and make it easier to stand out in the marketplace. This excitement can turn potential candidates into actual applicants.
- Organizations across industries are experiencing unprecedented rates of change. Who you are as an organization now may not be the organization you are in three, five, or ten years from now.
- As your organization evolves, so too will the experience for your employees. Likely, the type of talent you need—their skills, mindset, behaviors—will also transform.
- Executives are focused on the future and where the organization is headed. These stakeholders are often more interested in the destination and painting that picture rather than the current reality.
How then, do you sell that future vision in a way that remains grounded and authentic? Should your employer brand be more authentic or aspirational?
The Pitfalls of Over-Promising
An overly aspirational employer brand can carry significant risk. Your brand is making a promise that your employment experience may not be able to keep. WeWork founder CEO Adam Neumann had aspirations of building a generation of workers who wanted “to elevate the world’s consciousness” and “creating a world where people make a life and not just a living”—before filing for bankruptcy several years later.
Careers sites and recruitment marketing materials tend to depict rosy opportunities—ample career growth, exceptional benefits, and people-centric cultures. When new hires arrive and the promise isn’t a reality, that quickly gives way to disappointment, disenchantment, and yes—departures. With nearly half (46%) of professionals saying they’re considering quitting in 2024, delivering on your promised employee experience is essential.
Your employer brand speaks not just to candidates, but also to employees; your goals are not just hiring, but also retention. An effective employer brand must be grounded in the truth and pave the way for long-term relationships with your employees.
Transforming with Transparency
The most successful organizations embark on their long-term vision with an appropriate level of transparency. Do you know how your employees, managers, and executives feel about your organizational change? Do they believe in it and are they bought in? Conducting workforce research can give you a read on commitment and confidence, and if your people will be there for the ride. Then, you can bring along the necessary stakeholders, transparently market where your organization is going, and get the business where it needs to go.
Honda’s employer brandline Bring The Future invites candidates on a mission to create a better tomorrow. Honda has a bold, transparent vision for the future, one that will require talent with new skills and diverse perspectives. They market the employee experience in a sincere, optimistic, and honest manner to attract the type of people who want to actively participate in their vision.
Achieve The Right Balance
Certainly, you still need some aspiration in the mix for your employer brand. But, properly phrased, that aspiration can be authentic, too, because your business is not standing still: you are actively moving into the future.
Here are three core principles of building an authentically aspirational employer brand:
- Invite candidates into the journey. Ambitious goals can inspire employees to strive for excellence. exaqueo partnered with healthcare organization Included Health to research and develop their employer brand. Working at Included Health requires initiative, a strong sense of purpose, and a propensity for innovation—a spirit that is appropriately captured in their brandline “Work worth caring about.” Lines like “We need fearless visionaries to tackle the hardest problems in healthtech” are clear about the boldness of their future vision, and invite the candidate to opt in.
- Don’t shy away from who you are. It’s essential to be honest and clear about the trajectory of your organization, and crucially what that means for people who join your organization. Silicon Valley darling Nvidia stands out with its “Like No Place You’ve Ever Worked” brandline and messages like “We’re all about doing what’s never been done” and “The project is the boss. Everyone contributes. Everyone belongs.” The brand markets its innovative, hungry, and humble culture—suitable for the world leader in AI computing.
- Be real, be specific. Careers sites can seem breathless if the headlines aren’t backed up with real, concrete examples. Lowe’s, for example, not only depicts specific paths previous associates have grown within their careers, but also the behaviors and mindset needed to grow internally. And, they back it up with internal mobility statistics as proof points (“80% of leadership positions filled internally in 2023”).
In Short
Delivering an aspirational and authentic employer brand takes guts—from leaders, HR, and employer brand practitioners. Organizations must look at themselves in the mirror and honestly reflect their self-assessment in the way they market the journey they are on.
As our creative director suggests, candidates are smart and can see through the fluff. To be successful, you need to communicate a clear, authentic picture of what this long-term vision looks like. Then, you’ll be in a position to bring aboard the right people who are informed, excited, and capable of executing on this vision.
Are you interested in developing an aspirationally authentic employer brand, but not sure where to start? We can help! Contact Us.
