Most people are familiar with Employer Branding, but may not be so clear on – Employee Branding. So what is it? Employee Branding is the process by which employees internalize the desired brand image and project that image to customers and those outside the company. The core idea is to transform your employees into powerful brand ambassadors so they can present your brand in the best possible light. They become an extension of your marketing team.

These efforts also drive how your company is seen by people who might apply to work for you, as well as those who are your existing and potential customers. In the current turbulent economy, corporations have turned to employee branding to help build consumer trust and attract top talent. Current statistics show that an employee gets 561% more brand engagement when sharing a message than when the same message gets shared by the company and 41% of people/consumers believe reviews from employees are more credible than from companies.

Getting Started with an Employee Branding Program

Teach employees about your brand. When we talk about “educating” we mean explaining to employees about your corporate branding, the vision of your company, core values, and everything in between. Naturally, this message must be a positive and “attractive” one, a message that employees can associate with and which makes them likely to identify with your organization.

Conduct brand training. Employee branding requires processes like brand education and interface training. These sessions are designed that your employees know how to introduce the values of the company to prospective new employees. This form of training truly transforms your employees into brand ambassadors.

Positive Reviews. Gone are the days when people used to rely on the employer value propositions for considering a new job. With the advent of social media and sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, the views of employees and ex-employees matter greatly. Encourage your employees to give positive reviews on social media sites, like Glassdoor and Indeed. Positive reviews about your work life and employee engagement usually encourage top talents to apply and consider your brand.

Fine-tune Your Hiring Strategies. It’s difficult to transform employees into brand ambassadors if you are not hiring the right people in the first place. Make the commitment to grow your organization by selecting the right people for the job.

Listen to employee feedback. What a great feedback system ensures is a great employee experience. Employee feedback is one of the most important parts of employee branding. It allows your company to identify the effectiveness of your current projects. It also allows you to look for areas for improvement. A great employee feedback experience gives your employees a sense of the bigger picture of the ideas of your company.

Deliver a great employee experience ~ Create a great culture! Focus on creating an environment where all employees feel like they have a stake in sharing and communicating the brand message. Launch initiatives that improve retention, increase employee engagement and satisfaction, and foster a culture based on open communication and transparency. Brand messages are more likely to be shared by engaged employees than disengaged ones.

Summary. There is a reason why great employees are also known as your talent. Great workers are worth their weight in gold, but your top talent is hard to come by. All great organizations are jumping on the employee branding wagon because the story of your brand makes more sense to potential employees when it comes from the current employees. The outcome ultimately leads to attracting the best employees in your industry!