One of the most challenging aspects of the role for any marketing leader is building a high-performance team. The most talented marketing people are naturally choosy about where they work, so you need to make sure you’re appealing to the top talent in your market.
So what is it that’s going to make people choose you over your competition? Money and benefits are important of course but marketers are savvy enough to look beyond the remuneration.
Marketers, by nature of the work they do, are more likely to take an organisation’s brand value into account when considering them as an employer because their professional reputations are intimately tied to the success and reputation of the brands we work with and for.
When trying to attract top marketing talent, you need to think about your company branding and how appealing the business is over all, not just whether the role on its own is attractive.
Company branding is about more than just your logo and colours. It’s about how you present yourself to the world; the image you wish to portray. Your values, strengths, working culture and company philosophy all need to come across in a favourable way. If you want to build the best team, especially your key marketing roles, then you need to get your brand messages right.
Promote your brand values
Many companies invest a lot of effort in presenting a clear picture of their company values and brand qualities through a number of channels. Some are brilliant at it, while others are either too naive or even arrogant to utilise their brand equity effectively. Companies that have not identified or promoted their values should think carefully about what they are, and carry out an internal exercise of establishing clearly defined values and a brand persona.
Questions that need to be asked are: what is it that keeps our employees happy? Why do people like working for our company? What is it that inspires loyalty? Then think about how you can present this as a statement of what your organisation offers employees.
This is known as an Employer Value Proposition, or EVP. A clear EVP is a crucial part of your branding, because you every piece of communication should reflect and reinforce this to ensure consistency.
Of course, the perfect people to do this exercise are marketing professionals – copywriters, designers, brand managers, marketing managers, PR and communication executives. If your company branding is strong on training and development, then promote that. Good marketing people are always keen to add to their skill set and develop their career.
Stand out from the crowd
Employer branding, when done well and consistently, can help you stand out and give a clear image of who you are and what you stand for, thus making recruitment straightforward. By promoting your brand and its values, you’re more likely to attract the marketing talent who match those values, and are able to flourish within the company. Remember as the CMO or marketing director you now form part of the employer brand; your reputation and conduct will help define your company’s perception as a place to work.
At PageGroup, we identified five areas that we were consistently told are important to our employees: well-being, development, career progression, diversity and community involvement. By highlighting our commitments in these areas, we are able to attract individuals who share these values. Even though everyone we hire is different, they share common values and drivers, which allows us to build a diverse, yet cohesive workforce that is united in their pursuit of common goals. (Interested in learning more about working with us? Click here!)
Consistent messages
In communicating a brand image, companies should develop a distinct tone of voice in their messaging, and stick to it. They should also work out some phrases or key messages that can be used repeatedly across different mediums, so that the company speaks consistently with one clear voice.
This helps ensure that every interaction with your brand leaves little doubt in someone’s mind as to who you are and what you stand for. This is especially important when trying to attract marketing talent, as they may be reluctant to join a company that doesn’t appear to have their marketing efforts in order.
Take your brand online
Most companies these days have a strong online presence, and the first place a candidate will go to check out a company is the website. Companies should ensure they have a strong social media presence on the appropriate channels. Consider utilising Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to publish and promote content authored by your senior people, which not only gives a human face to the organisation, but gives prospective employees a glimpse inside the minds behind your organisation.
Marketing professionals know only too well the value of clear branding. They will appreciate and respond well to companies with good branding skills and strong values.
Read our advice on creating a compelling EVP, and more insights on how to attract top performers.
