In December 2015, Britain closed its last remaining operational deep coal mine at Kellingley Colliery, 50 years after it first opened. The closure signalled an end to a significant part of Britain's industrial past, as well as a departure from the heavy industry that defined the UK economy. Despite its eventual decline, passions of those in the mining industry were driven by the knowledge that employers and employees were part of one community, working to better themselves and their clients. In turn, customers put their trust in the British coal industry and ensured that mining was a respected profession toward which young men in mining communities could aspire.

The mutuality and respect endemic in employees of the mines can be achieved by any company if the need to nurture new talent is addressed, and its internal communications complement the external brand message. Employer brand management revolves around a succinct internal dialogue established between employee and employer, which then facilitates the delivery of a brand promise to consumers. The leadership of CEOs, line managers and influential company directors are also as integral in an organisation as are the communication channels chosen.

Victoria Lewis-Stephens, managing partner of engagement at communications consultancy Instinctif Partners, says, ‘‘The divide between internal and external is almost completely eradicated. You can’t have a brand being presented to the outside world without having it reflected internally. In order to build a brand and deliver a brand experience, it comes from the inside out. So actually your brand is the experience that your employees deliver, and if the experience they have doesn’t tally with the experience you’re promising to deliver to your customers, it actually ends up with a really poor customer experience.”

For those born in the period following the second world war, the introduction of pension schemes, better employee protection legislation and a more liberal family structure were contributing factors to a workforce happy to remain with a company for a significant period of time. These ‘baby boomers,’ a generation born between 1946 and 1964 (giving them an age range between 51 and 70), are now approaching the age of retirement from full time employment.

Frequently, it is service-based organisations which exhibit long-standing staff members who have strong associations with the brand – for example, the NHS or Transport for London. For many employers, longevity of employees is a positive; if high retention rates suggest happy employees then this workplace atmosphere should carry through and be reflected in the external perception of a brand. But for young professionals working at small businesses and start-ups, surrounded by friends and acquaintances in much the same situation, rarely heard are employment stories concerning careers long spent in the same place.

For most of the modern workforce though, the corporate culture of beginning and ending a career in the same organisation is a concept belonging almost exclusively to a previous generation. Too often now, the main focus is getting a job out of university in order pay off mounting student debts; few people have a specific career path, at a specific company, in mind. Some organisations, such as the Royal Navy, sponsor individuals through university with the expectation of joining once their education has finished. For others, career paths are maintained through family lines and generational ties, with businesses such as farms or shops in which their owners taking pride. In other roles, high retention comes from generating this same type of affinity, albeit with a brand which may not have a personal connection to the employee. This is perhaps why it is often public sector, or former public sector, organisations such as the Post Office that experience longevity in their workforces. A strong brand awareness and trust in the service is nurtured by a combination of tradition and expectation; a balance which many companies strive towards achieving.

Paul Middleton is the managing partner for Allotment Brand Design, which has recently launched a campaign for acrylic product designer and manufacturer Lucite International. Focusing on global employee engagement, the brand aims to reassert its purpose to its workers, using Lucite’s products in the promotional video. Middleton says, “A brand is a reflection of the authentic truth and inner soul of an organisation. This soul is represented through the actions and values of a business’s leadership team and employees. If they do not believe in the values of their business, and are not enthused by a bigger purpose ‘beyond profit,’ then what is the chance that their customer or new employees will buy into their brand?”

Middleton adds, “For Millennials, this is even more important. They want to see employment as an extension of their values and not just as a ‘9 to 5’ life intermission. Meaningful purpose is something that is at their very core.”

Yet, while such organisations might offer a meaningful experience to employees and customers, being perceived as attracting and retaining a certain demographic of workers can compromise an employer brand. US-based fashion and cosmetic brand, Avon, is a company that, despite being based online, is taking deliberate steps towards attracting young talent to its employee base. Although Avon is the second-largest direct seller of cosmetics in the world, the brand is often regarded as providing an employment model and service suitable for middle- aged women. Its employment opportunities, such as working from home and the chance to progress within the company at a relatively quick pace, are all attractive to women needing to fit employment around family commitments and are based on the flexibility needed in modern family life. However, its lack of high street presence has led to relative obscurity among younger generations, with cheaper or more stylish brands favoured and knowledge about Avon’s products fairly limited. Challenges here arise when diversification of the workforce become necessary for the external brand to remain fresh and exciting to potential investors. Companies in this position, characterised by long-standing workforces and an entrenched brand perception, have to begin attracting new talent from younger generations.

For Avon, strategies include recruiting young women for whom employment in the cosmetic market sector is an aspiration. To communicate its brand message to a wider, younger audience, Avon advertises jobs on graduate sites and reinforces its message of female empowerment to a generation of people increasingly concerned with gender inequality. Avon’s charitable initiative, Avon Foundation for Women, addresses its wellbeing requirements and reinforces the brand message of cooperation between women. There is also a move to modernise the online aspect Avon’s service, ensuring the business model remains accessible to an increasingly digitally-savvy generation and takes advantage of advances in social media.

Lewis-Stephens says, “If you’ve got a genuinely engaged workforce, attracting and retaining employees is easier, so I think we need to recognise that people learn in very different ways, and I believe that people also receive communication and want to be communicated to in very different ways. In order to make sure the internal communications experience tallies up with different generations, we need to find different ways of communicating and interacting and offering opportunities for dialogue – some people work best in face-to-face, some people want to use digital platforms.”

Although not mutually exclusive, the disparity between employee engagement levels and a strong employer brand is highlighted particularly in industries characterised by the constant evolution of technology.

“A brand is a reflection of the authentic truth and inner soul of an organisation. This soul is represented through the actions and values of a business’s leadership team and employees.” 

Long established digitally-focused companies such as Google and IBM might remain comfortably within the top 10 most recognised brands. Yet, it is firms such as Apple, which ensures its brand innovation and clarity is reflected by a young, dynamic workforce; whose creativity is matched by the company’s creativity in advertising. Apple’s ‘Think Different’ campaign aired in 2007, featuring a plethora of innovators from the 20th century – from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Albert Einstein. Evolving with social change is thus inscribed across its employer brand, external brand and becomes an intrinsic part of the internal communications message.

Employer brands which need to attract a new generation should focus on purpose, and on aligning this purpose with the perspectives of its target recruits. Organisations have, says Lewis-Stephens, “A responsibility to keep up to speed with what new generations expect from an employer, and how they expect to be communicated to when they come into an organisation.” The crux of business success thus lies in the intersection between employee engagement and external brand reputation, an area that can be successfully navigated only if a company’s internal comms strategy is adaptable and open to change.

The internal communications of a corporation should thus be strong enough to unite the brand experience for all employees, regardless of seniority, while embracing foresight and maintaining the capacity to diversify for future requirements. Employer brand should be based on the needs of emerging generations, while ensuring current workforces are not alienated.