As it stands, global companies and major brands are likely to have some form of employer brand strategy in place. For organisations with a large workforce and a constant need for fresh, high-quality talent it is essential that a strong sense of identity is tangible in the company culture and that it is also communicated outwardly so that the best talent can be both secured and kept.

Emperor, a corporate and brand communications agency, and Berkley Group, a recruitment and talent management company based in Ireland, in conjunction with Communicate magazine, recently conducted research to see how companies in Ireland approach employer brand and whether their priorities, challenges and strengths differ from their British cousins.

The research found that 70% of Irish respondents described their company as ‘committed’ to the strategic development and continual management of its employer brand, but with work still to do. This indicates an awareness and understanding of the merits of employer brand, but highlights a lack of clarity when it comes to actual implementation.

In the majority of organisations (46%) responsibility for developing the employer brand lies with the corporate comms team or the HR team, the CEO and leadership team also rate highly in terms of responsibility. These results are in line with the UK survey, likewise, both Ireland and the UK cited attraction and retention as the main purpose of their employer brand strategy.

In contrast to the UK survey however, Irish respondents ranked cost of hire and quality of hire as the most popular means for measuring the effectiveness of employer brand management. UK respondents chose internal surveys as their preferred method of evaluation. Both regions have room for improvement in this area.

A strong awareness of brand values internally is even rarer in Ireland than it is in the UK - 75% of respondents described awareness of brand values within their organisation as average, low, or very low. With nearly 60% of organisations expecting to see further investment in employer brand management over the coming year, there is huge potential for development in this area, but companies must ensure that they’re not just throwing money at an outward-facing brand that doesn’t actually hold-up internally. The brand should stem from within the company and be organically communicated outwardly through genuine communications that originate from the employees themselves.