How to Discover Strong Stories for Employer Branding

The battle for good personnel is making companies increasingly open to similarly unconventional recruiting measures or forms of employee retention. Even more traditional companies such as the trades and industry are realizing that nowadays it takes more than good jobs with tempting salaries to create the desired pool of personnel. The concept of the employer brand has now become widespread, offering both opportunities and challenges: the magic word employer branding combines the golden threads of corporate branding with the silvery fabric of corporate values and visions.

Stories are the needle with which successful narrative material is sewn together. But how do companies find exciting stories for their employer branding? Quite simply: everyone in and around the company has a story to tell! So keep your eyes and ears open!

Hero’s journeys for everyone: Telling the stories of employees

Employees are people too. And they not only have hobbies and passions, but also a very individual path behind them that has led them to their current position. They are therefore the best storytellers when it comes to creating an authentic image of the potential employer. In “employee storytelling”, key characters are of particular interest: employees who have been with the company the longest, who deal with many other employees and/or customers, and who have already gotten to know many of the company’s departments. Or they are in teams where there is a particularly strong need for recruitment.

Trainees can talk about their apprenticeship and team leaders can talk about their expectations. In this way, applicants get to know advertised positions and get a first human impression. A company image that has been turned around for the better can make a previously almost ostracized profession attractive virtually overnight. This is demonstrated by the classic campaign We kehr for you by Berliner Stadtreinigung. Since then, it is not only the capital’s inhabitants who feel responsible for clean streets, but also have much more sympathy for the “heroes in orange”.

Leadership stories: Telling stories of history, visions and values

Of course, management also has a voice in employer branding. Especially when it comes to telling about the vision and history of the company and thus placing the many small stories in a larger context. With an email to his employees in 2014, Satya Nadella laid the foundation for the trust in him as the new Microsoft CEO. In 967 words about his own tortuous path, he built a bridge to identification within the existing workforce.

Managers and team leaders, on the other hand, can report on how they live the corporate culture from their own perspective. Or they talk about their own personal hero’s journey, including hurdles and successes. The more human, the better. Ultimately, the company can also be seen as a mentor that accompanies its employed hero on his very own path. The prospect of being recognized with individual talents and needs and being able to grow under good supervision – what is more attractive to potential applicants?

Customers and partners tell their stories: Stories outside the company

Wer könnte Ihnen mehr über eine Marke erzählen als die Kunden selbst? Of course, we can’t be too bold here. But lively employer brand stories do not end with the actual company. After all, contact with customers and partners is part of everyday life for many employees. The story of a noticeably proud brewer, who almost sheds a tear when transporting his full barrels, can also touch the haulier – and illustrate the joy of customer contact.

As the BSR’s Saturday Night Feger show, a bit of humor also works wonders with customer stories: in the elderly care campaign “Gepflegt in die Zukunft” (“Cared for in the future”), a typical everyday situation in a retirement home turns into a funny exchange between the celebrity resident and the friendly caregiver. A tongue-in-cheek employer is always more attractive to applicants than faceless facts about requirements and benefits.

Stimulating appetite where there is no hunger: Telling the desirability of the brand

Authentic company stories require the courage to tell of hurdles, mistakes and defeats. Because without conflict and the resulting insights, no hero can become a mentor. Employer brands with a profile understand this. Good employer branding in all its diversity should not only appeal to job seekers. The long-term goal of all strategies is to make a positive impression on those who are not (yet) looking. As a cooperation between the marketing and HR departments, employer branding must achieve long-term relevance for potential target groups by repeatedly submitting stimulating communication offers. Only then is a desire awakened in the applicant’s mind when they are actually looking.