Companies always need to work on their corporate reputation—whether that be through external communication, sending out press releases, throwing events for journalists and influencers, etc. brands have always got to keep the dialogue going. Having a good reputation with external stakeholders is everything. But what about internal communication? Not only the kind that makes the flow of information faster and more fluid, but also makes the company a place where people want to work. I’m talking about “employer branding” which is essentially finding ways to promote a healthy internal culture both inside and out of the company. I mean, who doesn’t know about the extraordinary offices that Google has—with swings, igloo meeting rooms, and entertaining break areas?

We all know the social benefits for working at Google, the wages people earn and a lot of other forms of internal information that many companies would think twice about before letting it go public. And having a high level of transparency isn’t the only reason why Google has been named the best multinational company to work for by Organism’s “Great Place to Work:” they are hardcore about employer branding. Google even has an entire platform dedicated to showing off their corporate culture called Life at Google. They’ve also got employee training programs called “Googlers teaching Googlers”? These are small workshops where employees share their own knowledge with the rest of the team. This is probably one of the reasons why so many people want to work at Google: internal training and professional development. Who doesn’t want to increase their skill level at the workplace?
We are always talking about how to get hits on the press, online media, radio or TV, but Google took it one step further—they made their brand a protagonist in a Hollywood film. Have you seen “The Internship” movie? If you want to learn how to do employer branding right, I highly recommend it. And it’s hilarious.

Just take a look at the trailer:

Isn’t that an interesting take on corporate reputation? This is employer branding on a whole different playing field. This has nothing to do with a traditional newsroom. Google is transmitting information about their company’s values and culture through a multimedia format and storytelling.
The Internet has revolutionized how people access information. Gone are the days of mysterious companies with faceless employees that hide their internal processes at all costs. Consumers want to know who is behind the brand, they want to be heard. That’s why brands need to be transparent about their activities—you never who may be watching or when a potential crisis could potentially strike.
And it’s also the end of companies where people don’t want to work. That information spreads fast in this day in age. Employees talk and their unhappiness is reflected in their work ethic and how they deal with customers. If your employees are unhappy, your customers will feel it too. So, brands must work on their reputation from the inside out. The employees themselves must be convinced of the quality of their business and that there are opportunities for growth. If they don’t believe in the company and what it stands for, efficiency will most certainly decline. A study from a Spanish company revealed that happy workers were 88% more productive.

Not just Google creates “Employer Branding”

The European Parliament

If there’s any sector that suffers from having a “bad reputation,” it’s definitely politics. That’s why transparency is so important to help improve an institution’s image. Take the European Parliament for example:
Some time ago, the European Parliament began to increase the distribution of internal content via social media. If you take a look at the EU’s Instagram you will see pictures of conferences, important visits, office pictures, different teams working together, corporate dinners, etc. And what’s the goal of all that? To make the institution more public than ever—to be open—and form closer relationships with EU citizens to improve its reputation as an employer organization.

HubSpot

HubSpot is an inbound marketing software platform and—as they are great marketers—they continuously develop their employer branding strategy. Not just by using pictures of their offices and posting team pictures as their Facebook covers, but also by posting pictures of “new comers” on their social networks. On top of that, every email they send is 100% personal: signed by a member of the team with a picture included, so you know who you are talking to. After all, though we do use technology to communicate we are humans, not machines. The founder stated “At HubSpot we don’t have an open policy, we have a no door policy,” meaning they trust their employees judgement and choose not to create barriers. Could you resist working at this company after seeing the video? Let us know, we want to know your thoughts!