EVP and employer brand – the opportunity for Internal Communications
This week, we hosted a breakfast event focused on how Internal Communications (IC) can shape, connect, and leverage Employer Value Proposition (EVP) and Employer Brand.
Our insightful guest speakers were Simon Rutter, Communications Consultant, and Joss Sargent, Culture Change Specialist and IC Expert.
Simon and Joss began by describing EVP as a company’s "secret sauce" and the employer brand as the experience and delivery of that proposition.
They then went on to talk about the power of an interconnected EVP and Employer Brand informed by research, colleague involvement, and cultural indicators, and that when brilliantly conceptualised, connected, and executed, it can unleash strategic, cultural, and reputational opportunities.
But getting this piece of work right has to be considered through different lenses and there are many pitfalls to look out for where organisations can get it wrong such as…
Flawed and disingenuous stories and content
Bland and uninspiring narratives and creatives
Ill-informed and disconnected strategies
Mismatched promises to actual experiences
Complicated, confusing, and fragmented messaging
Detractors from culture and values
Misaligned internal and external stakeholders
Employees often feel the EVP doesn't align with their lived experiences, making it seem inauthentic which can create resentment and distrust. Many employer brands are also not fully activated often due to a lack of strategic perspective and/or the capability to enact the EVP and connect it to the brand.
Guests discussed that often companies want to focus on the future of the brand. However, an EVP should reflect where you are right now as well as looking toward the future. “EVP should ground you, with an authentic proposition which people should connect to”.
So what does a good EVP look like?
Connected, compelling storytelling
Bold and beneficial approaches
Inspiring, inclusive, and authentic messages
Consistency in journey and experience
Simple yet strategic execution
Acceleration of culture and values
Buy-in from internal and external stakeholders
"EVPs and Employer Brands are supposed to be a filter to attract the right people with the right skillset who will thrive in the company culture in question." Simon highlighted, emphasising the crucial role IC plays in engaging new and existing employees through developing or enhancing the EVP and employer brand.
Event guests also discussed the role IC should play in bringing the right stakeholders to the table in creating or enhancing the EVP and employer brand. Joss shared how the creation of a “culture and brand forum”, made up of HR and internal Communications (and perhaps even wider) can avoid mistakes, and misalignment and move to strengthen important internal relationships.
Guests also discussed that when HR is already involved and IC has been asked to contribute or sees an opportunity to add value, this can “act as a relationship builder, but being clear on boundaries and responsibilities is important as well as proactive partnering.”
The session also touched on Opportunity v Reality and how to approach capacity challenges with a strategic lens so that IC colleagues can prioritise their involvement and ensure that the impact they make matters.
Key Takeaways
From our conversation, several important points emerged:
EVP and Employer Brand are increasingly important but need strategic IC support
IC can demonstrate tangible ROI through involvement in EVP/EB through cost to hire, retention, and Glassdoor scores etc.
Proactive partnering with HR is more effective than reactive measures
Strategically use initiatives to build, embed, unite, develop, enable, and recognize
Leadership buy-in is essential for ensuring promises match experiences
Building stronger strategic interdependent relationships opens up opportunities
Strengthen the connected employee experience to build advocacy
Review your current Culture and EVP narrative for interconnections
Formalise relationships between the owners of EVP, Employer Brand, and Culture
Be emotive storytellers, promoters of people, and champions of reality
By taking these steps, Internal Communications can play a pivotal role in ensuring that EVP and Employer Brand not only coexist but thrive, contributing to a stronger, more cohesive organisational culture. With thanks to Joss and Simon for leading such a great conversation!
And if you’re looking for some support with devising effective communication strategy please do get in touch. We’d love to share our experiences and best practice with you.
Published by Jasmine
You may also like:
How do internal communicators demonstrate they’re making a meaningful difference - not just generating clicks or impressions, but genuinely shifting understanding, behaviour, and business performance?
That question shaped our session on Wednesday 11th March, Designing Meaningful Measurement: Aligning Internal Comms to Outcomes That Matter.
On the wet and windy morning of Wednesday 19th November, we welcomed internal communicators, HR and business leaders to an in-person breakfast briefing in London to explore a topic that’s on everyone’s mind right now:
How is AI really changing internal communications – and what should we do about it?
On Wednesday, September 10th, we gathered virtually for a powerful session exploring neuroinclusive communication - an increasingly vital topic as organisations embrace cognitive diversity and strive to create truly inclusive workplaces.
Good internal communication is evident when people understand how their day-to-day work contributes to the firm’s goals. It’s called the Kennedy moment. When in 1962 Kennedy visited NASA for the first time, he asked a janitor carrying a broom what he did, to be told “I’m helping put a man on the moon.”
A packed room at the Sutherland Labs in Covent Garden gathered to hear what Being your Best in 2025 was all about. This was a different format from the usual HarknessKennett networking breakfasts which have over the years featured case studies and best practice on a range of issues across many sectors.
Unbelievably, October is already in full swing, but the good news is that it was time for another of our networking breakfasts! We love these sessions, and the enthusiasm that participants and speakers alike bring as they enjoy the opportunity to share great case studies and discuss strategies with peers (old and new) is inspiring.
For as long as I’ve been in comms, line managers have come in for a bit of stick. Lots of blame for poor communication is placed at the feet of these poor individuals who are expected to deliver against a staggering array of responsibilities – everything from performance targets to staff development, innovation to cost control – and in the middle of that we want them to ‘deliver communication’ as well. Line managers are often seen as a tricky middle layer where communication gets ‘stuck’, and which seems impermeable to frustrated comms teams and senior leadership. But is it fair to blame them, or should we be blaming the comms team, senior leaders….or someone else?
The power of an interconnected EVP and Employer Brand informed by research, colleague involvement, and cultural indicators, and that when brilliantly conceptualised, connected, and executed, it can unleash strategic, cultural, and reputational opportunities.
Today’s breakfast session was even more energised and interactive than usual, and no wonder with such an evocative subject at the heart of our discussions! Safe to say AI is here to stay, and we’re all only just starting to get to grips with it – what it can do for us, the pitfalls and all the governance issues it raises. Kudos to Katie Marlow and Lisa Pantelli for agreeing to present today – as finding anyone confident enough to share their thoughts on this topic was not easy! Katie shared insights into how she uses AI within her consulting practice, and Lisa provided a whistle-stop tour of definitions, and an overview of how she uses AI in her role as Director of Communications at Elsevier.
The room at today’s breakfast session was packed with IC pro’s – all keen to hear fresh ideas around the thorny topic of how best to support your leaders to deliver effective communication.
We’re regularly asked by candidates and clients alike about the current ‘state of the market’ – and often that’s a hard question to answer! With another new year just around the corner, experience shows that a lot of people may take the opportunity for some reflection on their career aspirations during the festive break – and companies may be gearing up to start their candidate searches in the new year.
We’re regularly asked by candidates and clients alike about the current ‘state of the market’ – and often that’s a hard question to answer! With another new year just around the corner, experience shows that a lot of people may take the opportunity for some reflection on their career aspirations during the festive break – and companies may be gearing up to start their candidate searches in the new year.
Once regarded as a specialism, having the skills to support change initiatives is now arguably a pre-requisite for our everyday toolkit as communicators! With the help of a little Slido interaction, Phil and Lou really brought the conversation to life and it was great to hear so much discussion around the topic. Here are their top tips for making sure your change comms hit the mark:
We were delighted to get together with some of our network last week for a breakfast session on the role of IC professionals in supporting ESG. Huge thanks to our client, Hyve for hosting us in their fabulous Paddington offices!
ESG can help organisations articulate, live and breathe a sense of purpose and meaning that is good for our people. And it’s good for business too - affording genuine competitive advantage, not just some standardised thing that’s indistinguishable from others in the same industry.
I’ve been taking a look at structure, culture and power sources within organisations and how this impacts internal communication. In this final blog of three I’ll be looking at organisational power sources. Whilst this isn’t meant to be an academic paper, you’ll find here a brief overview of some of the models, and the references are listed at the end if you want to go and find out more. Obviously – there are lots of models out there – and this is not an exhaustive review of them all!
I’ve been taking a look at structure, culture and power sources within organisations and how this impacts internal communication. In this second blog of three I’ll be looking at organisational culture. Whilst this isn’t meant to be an academic paper, you’ll find here a brief overview of some of the models, and the references are listed at the end if you want to go and find out more. Obviously – there are lots of models out there – and this is not an exhaustive review of them all!
I’ve been taking a look at structure, culture and power sources within organisations and how this impacts internal communication. In this first blog of three I’ll be looking at organisational structure. Whilst this isn’t meant to be an academic paper, you’ll find here a brief overview of some of the models, and the references are listed at the end if you want to go and find out more. Obviously – there are lots of models out there – and this is not an exhaustive review of them all!
As a business that’s worked a lot with partnerships and professional services, I took that there’s much learning not only within the sector to be shared but also with other organisations on how engagement and collaboration can make for better communication.
We’re hoping to celebrate throughout the year – and to get the ball rolling we thought we’d share 21 facts about HarknessKennett that you may not have known about:
It was a real treat today to be back face-to-face at one of our breakfast sessions after more than two years of running them virtually. It was a reminder to everyone just how important it is to meet ‘IRL’ (in real life) and was a living example of the benefits of face-to-face communication!
It’s not new news that front line managers are key to successful internal communication, particularly during periods of change, but the challenges of implementing effective line management communication is something that many organisations still struggle with.
I was delighted to be asked to present at the CIPR Inside and CIPR South West group on Workplace Wellbeing on Wednesday 18th May. Unusually, I was asked to present as a trustee of iprovision and not in my usual day job as a comms pro. I’ve been a trustee of iprovision since March 2019 and it was a great opportunity to showcase some of the great work iprovision does.
More people are leaving their jobs voluntarily than at any time before; it has become apparent that nearly half of the employees who voluntarily left the workforce during the pandemic aren’t planning on coming back*.
Here at HK ‘Workshop Day’ always brings great excitement – and last week’s was no exception. We were particularly pleased to be able to share a joint case study with our client Susan Quain, Associate Director of Global Digital Channels at Fidelity International. During last year and despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, Susan and her boss joined forces with our Associate Director Chris Crofts and HK Partner James Harkness to deliver a bespoke training programme to build a world class communications team.
Well, the end of 2021 is not the one any of us had hoped for, with Covid-19 once again reinventing and causing chaos. So here at HK, with our Christmas meet-up on ice and in a bid to stay positive, we’ve taken a few moments to reflect on the last 12 months. At the end of this second crazy year, we know that we still have much to be thankful for. So, in the words of Ian Dury, here’s our reasons to be cheerful….
Like me, I’m sure most of you still revert to the old school days’ habit of clearing your desk in preparation for the new school year. Not only can it serve as a boost of inspiration, that sense of a fresh beginning can do wonders for your productivity levels, positive mindset and creativity.
Part of this trend towards inhouse recruitment is about cutting costs, but when I look at the findings from the report by Thomas International I take some comfort that our business would not be trading if 57% of the people we placed were ‘not working out to some degree’.
Work-life balance has taken on a whole new dimension in the last 15 months or so. Whilst many were seeing working from home as possibly the only silver lining of the pandemic, others now struggle to draw a line between home and work, and feel like they live at work, not work from home. So as communicators, how do we help to develop a new approach to work that is healthy for individuals and beneficial for organisations?
On a cold June, morning, we welcomed around forty communicators to a workshop on a theme that is very topical at the moment: How Internal Comms can spark AI adoption.
We were joined by Becky Williams, Communications Consultant and Coach, and Paul Middleton, Internal and Change Communications Consultant (currently contracting at Flutter Entertainment); who shared with us how comms teams can start adapting, reduce fear, encourage safe experimentation, support leadership role‑modelling and build momentum that spreads beyond the early adopters.