Branding the workplace

In a knowledge-based economy, skilled talent may be what most differentiates great companies from the rest of the pack. It can help drive innovation and customer value, creates growth opportunities, and mitigates a growing river of risk. Organizations that do an extraordinary job managing their talent agendas have an opportunity to set themselves apart – in both the talent arena and in the broader marketplace.

Capitalizing on this opportunity requires creating distinctive talent capabilities, of course. But the next step – one that many companies overlook – is to actively promote and brand those capabilities. In the past, it may have been possible for organizations to do this outside the influence of their external corporate brands. But in today’s hyper-connected world, your corporate brand and your talent brand are two sides of the same coin.

As organizations begin to rely on talent that resides outside their four walls, alignment of the talent and corporate brands is expected to become even more important. Creating strong bonds that help retain critical talent – and attract the future talent you’ll need – requires building leading talent practices and communicating them effectively and consistently. Get it right, and the potential of brand convergence can work in your favor. Get it wrong, and you may create more risk and confusion than you’ll know what to do with.