"Employer Branding that Works: Attracting and Keeping Top Talent in Uncertain Climates"

Gain practical guidance on leveraging your employer brand to boost attraction, deepen engagement, and strengthen retention.

Implementing Employer Brand in a Challenging Labour Market

Amid economic uncertainty and ongoing skills shortages, organisations need an authentic employer brand to recruit and retain talent. The Resourcing and Talent Planning Report, produced with Omni RMS, highlights how businesses can strengthen brand activation to improve outcomes in today’s climate.

Labour Market Pressures

Employers face rising costs, regulatory changes, and declining business confidence. Despite fewer vacancies overall, many still struggle to fill critical roles, making retention just as important as attraction.

Attraction and Retention Challenges

Competition for talent remains high, with 69% of organisations saying it has intensified in the past year. Pay and benefits alone are no longer enough—candidates expect visibility, authenticity, and alignment with their values. Retention is also under pressure, as 56% of employers report growing concerns, with employees prioritising wellbeing, balance, and development.

What Employees Value

To build a credible brand, organisations must understand what their people value—recognising that needs change across life stages. Consider fair pay, work-life balance, fulfilment, development opportunities, and supportive environments as central to job quality. However, attraction strategies must also provide a realistic view of the work environment to avoid early resignations.

Current Employer Actions

Four in five employers have acted to improve their brand, with flexible working and competitive rewards the most common steps. Others are focusing on values, social media strategies, candidate experience, and career development. Yet only 14% measure the impact of their employer brand, missing valuable opportunities for evaluation and growth.

The takeaway: In a competitive labour market, employer brands that are authentic, employee-led, and continually measured are best placed to attract and retain the talent needed for long-term success.

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So How Can You Implement An Outstanding Employer Brand?

Designing an employer brand and building a toolkit are important steps, but the real magic happens in activation. This stage is often underestimated, yet it’s the key to creating lasting impact. To truly bring your brand to life, two essentials must anchor every strategy: authenticity and advocacy. Below are practical tips to ensure your employer brand doesn’t just exist—it thrives.

1. Partner with Internal Marketing and Communications Teams

Effective activation begins with alignment inside the organization. While HR or talent acquisition usually leads employer branding, corporate brand ownership often sits with marketing or communications. Bridging these functions creates consistency in tone, style, and purpose.

Collaborate to:

• Align company and employer brand messaging

• Clarify ownership and responsibilities

• Set clear guidelines for how often content (posts, articles, job ads) is shared

• Define shared objectives for brand promotion

This unified approach strengthens authenticity and ensures candidates experience a consistent, compelling brand across every touchpoint.

2. Build an Inclusive and Authentic Toolkit

The strongest employer brands are grounded in genuine people and lived experiences. Rather than relying on stock imagery or overly polished content, showcase the real stories that bring your culture to life.

Prioritise:

• Employee stories that reflect diverse perspectives

• Photos and videos captured by your own teams—even on smartphones

• Quotes and testimonials shared in employees’ own words

Authenticity connects more deeply than perfection. While slick, high-production assets may look impressive, they can sometimes feel distant from the day-to-day reality. Real voices create real trust—and that’s what resonates most.

3. Activate Through Employee Advocacy

Employees are the most powerful champions of your brand. In fact, LinkedIn data shows that personal posts often generate far higher engagement than content shared by company pages. The key is to equip and empower your people to share their authentic voices.

Consider:

• Creating structured employee advocacy programmes

• Hosting internal workshops to build confidence and consistency in sharing

• Supplying ready-to-use content employees can personalise

When employees genuinely advocate for your brand, both your reach and credibility grow exponentially.

4. Optimise Messaging Across the Full Candidate Journey

To create impact, your employer brand must be present and consistent at every stage of the candidate journey—from initial awareness through to onboarding. Mapping these touchpoints helps you deliver the right message at the right time.

Focus on:

• Using data to understand where and when candidates engage most

• Investing in tools such as an engaging ATS or talent CRM to personalise experiences—even for candidates who aren’t selected

• Enhancing onboarding with personalised platforms, ensuring new hires feel connected to your culture from day one

A well-optimised journey builds trust, reinforces authenticity, and ensures candidates experience your brand at its very best.

5. Leverage Technology to Scale and Diversify Reach

Technology plays a pivotal role in amplifying your employer brand. Tools such as programmatic advertising and geo-targeting can automate distribution, ensuring your content reaches the right people at the right time. By adapting messages based on engagement and performance, you not only extend your reach but also connect with diverse talent in ways that feel relevant and meaningful.

Contact our team for support on assessing your resourcing and talent planning practices.

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