Lately the buzz about the employer brand has died down. I suspect it’s the global economy - companies are not in hiring mode as they were, good talent is easier to come by, and restless employees are holding onto the jobs they have. Funny the difference a few months can make.

What I am hearing more about these days is the "internal brand." Maybe that’s just because I work in brand land. I firmly believe an organization has a brand whether they’ve been intentional about it or not. And they have a brand both externally and internally irrespective of whether they’ve spent any time and money on it . Having a brand is as inevitable as being born with a personality. OK, perhaps not all of us are born with one, but hopefully most of us are!

So to get to the title of this post -  what’s the difference between an employer brand vs. the internal brand? I can share my take on it: They’re mostly the same thing. I think there is a distinction between the two. I think the employer brand - the way it’s been approached over recent years - is more the strategic marketing direction you take with your internal brand. It’s like a marketing campaign with a specific focus. Let me explain.

 During the hiring crunch and "employees’ market" of just 12 months ago, companies were pulling out the stops to brand themselves as a great place to work. At the time many were under the false illusion that the employer brand was all about your recruiting strategy. Suffice to say, a lot of marketing of the company as an employer was happening  both externally to potential new hires, and less so, but also internally to the valuable employees they wanted to keep. The focus was on benefits, work-life balance, opportunity and all those good things that contribute to the employment experience. The focus should always be there. It’s important - even now, because things will change and now is a good time to get your employees hooked on you so that when the market is more open again, they stay with you. But I digress.

I believe that the internal brand encompasses the employer brand 100% but also includes the aspirational brand - who do we want to be as an employer? - what do we want our culture to be? - where are we going as a corporate community? In the same way that an external-facing brand is defined on current and aspirational brand traits, so should the internal brand be. If your employees are to stay with you in the future they should know what it’s going to be like. You should know how they want it and have a plan to get it there.