Famous for 15 minutes

The best, certainly most compelling, Employer Branding presentation I've ever seen.

OK, perhaps a bold statement, but I really can't think of another presentation on Employer Branding I’ve seen that really does the 'hitting the nail on the head' job in terms of content as well as this (picked this up on ERE.net). Of course maybe I've not seen that many - please comment if you have seen better. Anyway - if you, like me, are passionate about Employer Branding and think that taken seriously and done properly it could actually be THE most powerful business tool to leverage in the ultra-networked world we increasingly live in, then my advice is get yourself a meeting room, sign yourself out or just make yourself a coffee and close the door / put on your headphones – this is excellent stuff (but be warned, you’ll need an hour). The presentation is by a chap called Frank Lane who has, quite literally, been there and done it. He’s written a book called “Killer Brands”  (which despite being a self-confessed rubbish book reader, with 4 already on my “to read” pile collecting dust, I’ve just ordered) and explains from his first hand experiences just how powerful, with quantitative proof, getting your employer brand right can be and why in the long run it’s the business investment that you can’t afford to overlook. Frank’s presentation style is old school – but stick with it – the man’s got great insight. He’s literally been there, done it and clearly deserves the t-shirt he wears. Added to which as his case builds the clarity with which he sets out his perceptions makes it all, I think, phenomenally powerful. Oh – and 3 things that particularly jumped out at me: 1. c.36mins – ICG Commerce – where they brought Marketing & HR into one department into one entity. This is exactly the approach that I think more companies will start to adopt in the future (as set out in this post from earlier in the year). 2. Bit of a not thinking/not getting it summary from the Brendon (Production Manager at ERE media doing the hosting) – saying people will “walk away from this… knowing how to market themselves as a more desirable choice than the competition” – because it won’t tell you that. What it will do, hopefully, is give you clear explanation and proof based examples as to why an inside out approach, recruiting and retaining the best talent to then inspire and deliver the best product / best customer experience and from that grow a successful business, is the only long term business strategy that makes sense. 3. And one of the questions at the end asked how in the Internet age where it’s far easier to see the comments/opinions of disaffected employees you avoid situations of negative alignment (where your marketing is trying to say one thing but the people commenting disagree so loudly that it counters, in some cases even ruins, your efforts). Frank's response: “Tell the truth & live the truth… [it’s] fundamental to branding in any category, but now more important than it ever has [been]”. But for me most important of all when thinking about your business: “the first thing to do to get good people is deserve them.” To be honest I'd give my right arm to work with a business where the CEO had watched and "got" this - so if you know of any then send them this link and tell them we could do some beautiful things together, in the short-medium term for their bottom line, in the long term for their overall business success. Hope you find the time to enjoy/be inspired/go fight the fight with your business.