Hiring is an exercise in brand development.

Each new person that joins your company contributes to the culture and evolves experience of the brand for everyone they interact with – from vendors to customers to colleagues. 

Recruiters and HR professionals have always served as brand ambassadors, well-versed on the company mission, values, culture, benefits, etc. etc. 

But they’re also shaping the brand perhaps even more than the marketing department or the CEO. Why? Because the act of hiring is maybe the most important action you take to grow and evolve your brand.

Reputation-enhancing hires

So how do you hire employees that will help take your brand to the next level? This doesn’t mean you need to hire famous people or high status individuals — what it does mean is that you should hire for people who will enhance the brand by the way in which they embrace or evolve it. How will they show up in and outside of work that will further your brand goals? Do they embrace the vision of the company and want to look for ways to improve it? 

Marketing Your Roles

The first place to start? Your job postings. A job posting may be a person’s first interaction with your company and it tells them alot about your company culture and brand values. And not in the way you may think. I’m not talking about whether or not the position description includes your tagline. 

• Do you value transparency as a brand value? Include the salary range.
• Is career growth/advancement available? Say that.
• Do you value work/life balance? Talk benefits and time off.
• Are you looking for people who bring outside perspective? Don’t limit it to folks in your industry.
• Are you committed to DEI work? Look at where and how you’re posting jobs. 

You are selling the company, yes. But you’re also looking for people who will help your business reach its goals and enhance its brand. 

Include brand training in onboarding processes

The brand or marketing team and the HR folks don’t always spend as much time together as they should. But their work is not all that different. Nor is their audience. Even in orgs where brand/marketing is focused on external communication and HR is focused on internal communication, one can’t work well without the other. Internal teams need to be educated about the importance of the company’s branding, they need to know the key messages and values. They need to be aware of what the brand is, beyond the logo and tagline. Because the brand IS the experience, the culture of customer service, the employees that represent the company day in and day out.

So, how do you do this? If you’re on an HR team, invite marketing in. And if you’re on a marketing team, connect with HR. Together, look at the onboarding process and find natural places to weave in brand training. This could include: 

• A welcome video about company culture and key values/messages
• A handbook section on how we represent ourselves and our brand to customers
• A workshop with marketing (live or prerecorded) on how to use the brand when creating materials, supplies and swag
• A brand toolkit/onboarding kit with information and resources 

Good hires lead to more good hires which leads to a better brand.

It can feel like the long game at times, sure. But investing in your people is a way better investment than buying up ads. Creating a culture of brand ambassadorship and affinity is hard, but its the key to a strong, authentic brand — and it sure helps you recruit.