Authenticity is the new paradigm. Your people - current and future talent - will see and hear your employer brand messages within the context of this new paradigm of self-investigation and validation.

1. EMPLOYER BRAND.
THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO
STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND.
strengthen employer brand • engage people • cut the cost of talent
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2. EMPLOYER BRAND. THREE IMPERATIVES.
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THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND
Authenticity is the new paradigm.
Authenticity is the new paradigm. In the past, organizations could get by with well-produced recruitment, on-boarding and employee
engagement communication messaging, materials and campaigns. It was a time when we, as communication professionals, only
had to define our statements; achieve a high standard of production quality; and then execute marketing and PR campaigns. The
world has changed.
Today’s world is one where we all instantly search for, and find, information on whatever piques our interest at the moment. The in-
formation we find informs, makes an impression, shapes decisions or validates previously held beliefs. And through it all, the collec-
tive impact of the information we find gets us to “the real story” of what interests us. Today’s message for workforce communicators:
you can’t hide.
Your people—current and future talent—will see and hear your messages within the context of this new paradigm of self-
investigation and validation. They’ll connect with organizations that are authentic while disconnecting from those that aren’t. There-
fore, we see three imperatives that organizations should consider when managing recruitment and engagement communications in
today’s new paradigm. The good news is that each works to strengthen the employer brand.
2
IMPERATIVE ONEIMPERATIVE ONEIMPERATIVE ONE Infuse employee engagement data
IMPERATIVE TWOIMPERATIVE TWOIMPERATIVE TWO Simplify employer brand messages
IMPERATIVE THREEIMPERATIVE THREEIMPERATIVE THREE Align external and employer brands

3. EMPLOYER BRAND. THREE IMPERATIVES.
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THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND
IMPERATIVE ONEIMPERATIVE ONEIMPERATIVE ONE Infuse employee engagement data.
This may sound tactical but the strategic intent is to peer into the eve-
ryday experiences of your people. That’s where you will find the real
story of why people join, stay and give their all to you as an employer.
Getting to the “street-level” of your employees’ experiences and then
using that perspective to shape your employer brand and employee
communications adds authenticity.
One way to get your employees’ perspectives related to their everyday
experiences is to look at the employee engagement data that you may
be collecting. (As intuitive as this may sound, we’ve found that many
organizations don’t do this simple step when working on their employ-
er brand.)
Typically, employee engagement data will look at the very questions
we ask in employer branding. These might include questions found in
engagement dimensions like:
 Intent to stay
 Intent to leave
 Overall satisfaction
 Manager/supervisor satisfaction
 Confidence in leadership
 Recommend as an employer
Weaved within the results of your engagement survey data you’ll find
the narrative of your authentic employer brand story. In addition to
having statistical proof-points, many engagement surveys also collect
employee commentary. This commentary is honest and raw content
that could be applied to employer brand and employee communica-
tions.
Remember, authenticity is the new paradigm. Infusing employee en-
gagement data—and having the mindset to do so—ensures that your
messages will connect with talent.
The Additional Benefit of Infusing Employee Engagement Data: Visible Action
AonHewitt found that companies who transform employee engagement data into visible action will increase employee engagement scores by up to 31%.
Conventional wisdom is that up to a third of your workforce is actively disengaged. What would be the impact if you moved 31% of your actively disengaged
employees to being more engaged? Infusing employee engagement data into your employer brand communication is visible action.

4. EMPLOYER BRAND. THREE IMPERATIVES.
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THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND
IMPERATIVE TWOIMPERATIVE TWOIMPERATIVE TWO Simplify employer brand messages.
We’ve all been there. As business executives and communicators, we
are committed to writing mission statements, statements of purpose,
vision statements and so forth. As employer brand strategists, we also
develop employer brand promises, attributes and architecture. And,
since we’re intensely involved in human capital communications we’ll
delve into narratives about employee value propositions, employment
deals, total rewards and healthcare benefits.
It’s no wonder that what comes out of all of this is confusing. From an
organizational viewpoint, we’re colliding many perspectives—and ob-
jectives—into what we hope will be a compelling and understandable
message. You’ve seen the result:
“Our company is a place where individuals thrive independently while
placing high value on customer care fostered by a performance culture
in an environment driven by innovation and family focus. Our 25 core
values represent …”
A little hyperbolic, yes? Here’s the point: while it’s important to develop
mission, culture and employer brand messages in a structured way,
it’s equally important to stop and translate the findings into employer
brand messages that connect.
Employer brand messages that connect are authentic and simple.
They are messages that your audience will easily and quickly under-
stand. They are messages constructed from the outset with the goal of
“getting it” as the communication’s mission. When all is said and done,
will our intended audience get it?
Now is a good time to say we’re not talking about a slogan or a logo.
Masking overly complicated or untrue messages with a slogan will do
more harm than good. We’re talking about clear, direct and simple em-
ployer brand messaging that is rooted in authenticity.

5. EMPLOYER BRAND. THREE IMPERATIVES.
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THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND
IMPERATIVE THREEIMPERATIVE THREEIMPERATIVE THREE Align external and employer brands.
There is little room for confusing communications in today’s world. We
just don’t have the time or patience to deal with confusion anymore.
This is particularly applicable to the relationship between your external
and employer brands.
Confusion between these two brands occurs when there is poor align-
ment. One brand says one thing while the other says something com-
pletely different. One motivates and inspires while the other just sits
there. But, does it really matter?
The answer is multi-dimensional. On a practical level, communication
behavior has changed. What now happens is that people quickly jump
from one source to another and then back to the first and so forth. To
illustrate: a candidate might start at your career page (drawn by a
posting), check out your corporate site, jump over social media sites,
talk to friends, visit you (in-person and/or online) and then go back to
your career page. Unaligned brands risk confusing those who are trav-
ersing you across multiple channels.
The second aspect here is that unaligned brands might compel talent
to not trust you. They’ll ask the question: what’s the real story? Trust
is garnered through consistency. Talent is more apt to believe in what
you say if they see and experience it consistently every time they
“touch” you.
Perhaps the most compelling reason to unite your external and em-
ployer brand is the belief in your people as extensions of your brand.
“We are our brand.” That’s a powerful place to be.
Think about your everyday experiences. Which brands do you connect
with and why? Chances are that you’re connecting with brands where
the employees really embrace and embody the spirit of the enterprise.
And chances are that you are more likely to return, engage and pur-
chase more from those enterprises.
On the employee side, employees who are connected with their com-
panies—committed, know what to do and are empowered—through
their external brands are more engaged, less likely to leave and pro-
vide better customer experiences.

6. EMPLOYER BRAND. THREE IMPERATIVES.
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THREE EMPLOYER BRAND IMPERATIVES TO STRENGTHEN YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND
About usAbout usAbout us.
The David Group’s Workforce Communications Practice is an emerging force in employer brand and employee communications.
Our mission is to work with North American organizations to strengthen their employer brand, engage their people and cut their
cost of talent.
We bring creative and innovative thinking to make employer brands stronger. Our focus is to engage people through their experi-
ences. We’re guided by a belief that when a workforce is united by mission, culture and shared experiences the cost of talent goes
down.
Contact
N. Robert Johnson
Practice Leader, Workforce Communications
nrjohnson@davidgroup.com
216.685.4486 (direct) 216.410.5258 (cell)
www.tdgworkforcecommunications.com
related white paper
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