Employer Branding - Achieving Impact With the Right Strategy

Markus Bischof, Managing Director and Partner P8 Marketing was interviewed by the Unikat magazine about Employer Branding

How long have you been involved with employer branding?

Employer branding has been part of P8 Marketing's service offering for a good ten years. Employer branding was nothing new for us then either, but rather the consistent further development of our brand approach for the clearly definable target group of employees.

What sets P8 Marketing apart from other providers?

We bring expertise and years of experience in all three central areas of employer branding and combine them in the best possible way for the client.

First, in brand development: We know what branding requires, and we know how to make a brand shine.

Second, in analyzing employees' needs and their very specific, often personal view of their own company: Each of our employer brands brings out this employee feeling in particular.

And third, that despite all branding and creativity, we know that the brand must become an integral part of the company and that we also accompany the client in the implementation, in the communication right through to employer retention. Because the prerequisite for any successful brand is that the brand values are also lived.

What capital mistakes do companies often make?

An employer brand is comparable to classic B2C brands. It must be nurtured and cared for, be authentic and perceptible, with rough edges. The big difference is that the target group in this case is employees or potential employees. Employees know the company inside out. What we call authentic in a customer brand requires 100% honesty in an employer brand. What we call rough edges in a customer brand, we call perceptible, tangible, real, but also emotional, lived advantages in an employer brand. Companies are challenged even more than usual when developing an employer brand, and many forget this. In such cases, the employer brand becomes a boomerang.

What is the importance of employer branding for a company?

A great deal, because a positive perception as an employer has a direct impact on employee motivation, loyalty, and the last 10 % willingness to work. Unfortunately, this significance is often only noticed when applications fail to materialize. Then it is not too late, but time passes before a new employer brand can make an impact. What is often underestimated is the importance of the employer brand in regional communication, with international companies and even beyond. If people are convinced that a company is a good employer, they are in most cases also convinced that the company is a good, appreciative company. Employer branding has a very positive effect on the overall brand perception of a company.

What are you particularly proud of?

What makes me proud is that moment when the customer, the management and the employees say: "Yes, that's us. You have understood us. And yes, that's how we want to be seen and perceived from the outside. You have made something unique out of us." Those are the moments we need to create as an agency.