Employer branding: what it actually means and why most companies get it wrong

Employer branding does not start with a photoshoot of smiling colleagues or a new headline for your jobs page. It starts with a harder question: why would someone want to work here, and why would they want to stay?

Most organisations skip that question entirely. They invest in visibility, in polished imagery, in recruitment campaigns. But they do it without a clear answer to the why. The result: expensive campaigns that attract the wrong people, or nobody at all.

At Livewall, we work with organisations that take their employer brand seriously. What we see again and again: the brands that get it right are not building a communication strategy. They are building a promise, and then the environment in which that promise holds up.

What employer branding is and is not

An employer brand is the reputation you hold as a place to work, both internally and externally. It is how current and potential employees experience your organisation: the culture, the opportunities, the atmosphere, the leadership, and the day-to-day reality.

What it is not:

• A campaign you run when applications dry up
• A new careers page with stock photos
• A way to paper over poor working conditions

What it is:

• A strategic choice about the kind of people you want to attract
• A consistent experience that starts with the first job ad and continues well past day one
• A tool for retaining people who genuinely fit your organisation

The employer brand strategy that actually works is an honest one. It tells the truth about what is on offer, for the right people.

The three levels where employer branding actually works

1. Attract The first level is visibility and relevance. Who sees your vacancy, and do they recognise themselves in it? A strong working-at website helps the right people picture themselves in your organisation. Not through polished language, but through real stories and honest images.

2. Convert Someone who applies wants their assumptions confirmed. The candidate experience, the tone of your communication, the pace of the process: these are all moments where you show who you are as an employer. This is where most companies win or lose the fight for talent.

3. Retain Your employer brand does not stop on day one. Preboarding, onboarding, and the first few months are the moments when new employees decide whether the promise holds up. If it does not, they leave, and they take their opinion with them.

Why most companies get it wrong

The most common mistake: treating employer branding as a communication problem rather than a strategic one.

Companies claim they have a 'great culture' without defining what that means. They say there are 'lots of growth opportunities', but 90% of managers were promoted internally and the structure actually blocks progression. They promise autonomy, but micromanagement is the norm.

This kind of employer branding backfires. It attracts people on the basis of promises that are not kept. A few months in, they leave, frustrated. And they tell others.

The organisations that do it well start internally. They ask themselves the difficult questions:

• What genuinely makes working here different?
• For which kind of people is this the right place?
• Which promises can we honestly keep?

Only then do they start communicating.

From campaign to experience

A recruitment campaign is a snapshot in time. An employer brand is a continuous promise. The difference is consistency.

At Livewall, we see more and more that the most effective employer branding does not work through advertising alone, but through experience. The first encounter with an organisation, the tone of the interview invitation, the way a new hire is welcomed on day one: these are all touchpoints that shape the employer brand.

Preboarding is a good example. For Kruidvat, we built a digital preboarding platform that lets new employees get to know the company, their team, and their role before their first working day. Not a pile of paperwork and a login, but a real, personal experience. The result: fewer no-shows, higher engagement, and employees who start better prepared.

Employer branding for the labour market right now

The talent market is tight. Everyone knows this. But tightness is not solved by running more ads or raising salaries. It is solved by getting better at attracting people who fit, and holding on to the people you already have.

That requires a sharp employer brand and the honesty to be clear about who you are. Not every organisation is right for everyone. That is fine. A strong employer brand speaks to the right people, and sets clear expectations for those who are not the right fit.

At Livewall, we help organisations, from retail to technology, build and bring their employer brand to life. From strategy to platform, from campaign to onboarding experience. Not as isolated projects, but as a connected approach that actually moves the needle.