Tonight on the HR Happy Hour show at 8PM EST, we are talking 'Employer Branding'.
So like a good host, I figured I'd better do some research on Employer Branding, since to me, while it is a term that most of us have heard of, it is really widely misunderstood.
Sort of like fuel injection or megapixels. We know we want them, they are important, but we're not really sure why.
So what is 'Employer Branding' anyway? The simplest definition I came across is on the Whatever You Think blog:
(Employer Branding) is the real and the perceived experience of what that organisation is like to work for.
What is a company really like to work for? What do the people that work there say?
How about folks 
Flickr - jacicitathat have left, do they generally feel good about their experiences?
Why as an employee of the company am I compelled to stay?
And why as a candidate am I interested in joining?
Pretty basic right?
But the hard part I think is how that perception is shaped, how the 'experience' is articulated, and perhaps most importantly how it is communicated to those brand consumers (employees, applicants, prospects) that you are trying to influence.
Is this marketing? PR? Recruiting?
Some combination of all three?
Or is the whole notion of the 'Employer Brand' really not at all important in a recession. Most employees are simply happy to still have their jobs, and most candidates just want a job, any job. They don't give a hoot about your 'brand', or do they?
So we will kick these topics around tonight on the HR Happy Hour, 8PM EST, join the fun by calling in on 646-378-1086.