7 Creative Employer Branding Ideas

Ten years ago, internal branding consisted of leadership selecting dull, boilerplate-level words as core values and then blowing them up on the wall of the office. But successful internal branding isn’t just pithy manifestos summarizing your company purpose anymore. You don’t just start with the customer anymore. A brand positioning that rallies your team and answers the question “why am I here?” is the only one that they’ll fight for.

Strong brands are built by people - not ads. Company values and mission statements that don’t connect with actions are just words on a page. Any brand can have a copywriter craft smart language around what they “think” they stand for, but only those who work to reinforce it into the behaviors, environment, experience, artifacts and people they hire will ever truly affect their internal brand culture.

If you want your company to weather the Great Resignation, we’ve got to move past ping pong tables and pizza lunches.

Here are 7 creative employer branding ideas to rally your team:

1. Create an incentive program that rewards team members for actions that reflect values.

   One of the simplest ways to cultivate a culture where employees feel seen is with recognition. Create a program that recognizes team members for contributing to your company mission rather than just performance. The incentive can be monetary, or otherwise. A great example of this is from Cyclocross - a distributor of bike parts and accessories with a mission to “make the world a better place”. Cyclocross offers a financial reward of $2 per day to employees who ride a bike, carpool or take public transportation to work.

2. Mix internal and external communications.

   Customers want to see the real people behind the business, which can be overlooked these days. Giving them a peak into the day-to-day of the team makes the company more trustworthy and accessible too. So, spotlight your team members on social media. Create a video about your company (starring your employees). Share internal stories of personnel that reflect your company values. Post pictures from your recent team retreats. Blend internal and external.

3. Build a workspace that inspires.

   Want your employees to actually want to be in the office? Give them a space that inspires them to show up. Put the same attention and gusto into designing your office as you would a brick-and-mortar. Be creative, and think beyond words on walls. Take a page from Lyft’s playbook and design a “history room” that shares photos and story about the company.

4. Rotate the brand ambassador role.

   Every single person on your team has the ability to represent the brand. Assigning the role to one person only allows you one individual’s bright ideas for recognizing, promoting, and embodying the brand. Instead, appoint a different evangelist each month that would fulfill the same duties of a Director of Culture might. Have them craft employee communications, plan team outings, contribute to the social media pages, or even dream up a new initiative. It will ensure your internal communications always feel fresh and give different team members the opportunity to think outside of the box.

5. Reimagine unused areas of your office as visual inspiration.

   Don’t have the budget to pimp your space out like Lyft? Start small. Reimagine a single unused area of your office (a hallway, the break room, etc). Let your employees get in on the action - especially if they’re creative. Design a mural incorporating messages from your team on what your brand means to them. A great example of designing an underutilized space is the Lansing Community College Center for Manufacturing Excellence. The objective of the institution was to inspire prospective students as they moved through the space, and to further show students that manufacturing could be a cool career path that that they could start on that journey with Lansing.  

6. Create your own internal brand language.

   Just like Google has Nooglers - its newest members of the coveted internship program - give your employees a branded experience fit for a customer. Create your own proverbs or one-liners to emphasize company values and beliefs - then drop them in company correspondence. For example, when I worked for General Assembly years ago, we had a core value that I remember to this day “Use every part of the buffalo.” It’s an existing proverb, yes, but it was a more creative way to emphasize the startup’s dedication to working efficiently.

7. Let your employees own it - literally.

   Employee-owned businesses are becoming more popular across a number of sectors. When team members have skin in the game untied by an ethos or vision, they’re more likely to fight for it. British retailer John Lewis Partnership is a great example of a company that has done this well - and boasts an 80% staff retention rate year over year.

Need help revamping your brand culture? Schedule a call with us.