Talented individuals, who have a choice of employers, behave like consumers selecting products, and employer branding is the method by which you attract and acquire them.

People have affinities for brands. People who use Apple computers, iPods, and iPhones respond to the brand’s hip image. You feel different driving a BMW than a Hyundai in part because you associate yourself with the brand, and that colors your experience. Employees respond in a similar way to the organization where they spend 40 to 60 hours a week.

An employer brand is the full physical, intellectual, and emotional experience of employees who work there, and the anticipated experience of candidates who might work there. It is both the vision and the reality of what it means to be employed there. It is both the promise and the fulfillment of that promise. The employer brand radiating out of your organization’s name inspires loyalty, productivity, and a sense of pride . . . or it doesn’t.

In marketing terms, a product’s brand image is grounded in three dimensions: Functional benefits (“This Canon digital camera is easy to use”), emotional benefits (“I feel proud sharing this beautiful picture of my kids”), and reasons to believe (“CNET.com rates this camera #1”)

A solid employer brand is grounded in the same dimensions:

1) Functional benefits. Tangible rewards of working at the employer: salary, health care, a clean, safe workplace, and a convenient location; for example: “XYZ Co. has great compensation and has a beautiful office near my home.”

2) Emotional benefits. Intangible rewards: mission, pride, status, job satisfaction, companionship/collegiality, belonging to a “winning team,” and so on; for example: “I’m proud to work for XYZ Co.—my pals and I make the best widgets in the world.”

3) Reasons to believe. Validation of the employer’s claims; for example: “my friend says XYZ Co. is a great place to work” and “the local news station calls XYZ Co. a hot company for talented people.”

Branding includes highly specific messages about the company. “I work for PepsiCo” means something different from “I work for Microsoft,” “I work for Fox News,” and “I work for the city council.” The employer brands at these organizations are crafted to attract certain kinds of talent, temperament, and values in candidates.

You have an employer brand whether you know it or not. It touches all moments of the candidate and employee experience, from the first time a candidate hears your name until the day he or she retires from your company. An employer brand is more than a one-way description of “what it’s like to work there.” It’s a multidimensional conversation among the company’s leadership, its employees, candidates in the marketplace, alumni, and even outsiders such as the press, bloggers, and anyone else who has an opinion. The employer brand includes

1) The company’s professional reputation

2) A description of company culture

3) News reports about the company, both good and bad

4) Word-of-mouth statements about the company

5) A description of the company’s future

6) How the employer’s brand compares to the competition

Beyond advertising, it’s also expressed in subjective candidate experiences, such as

1) Applying for a job on your Web site or via e-mail

2) Interviewing for a position

3) Talking to employees and walking through the workplace site(s)

4) Using products, services, or customer help

5) The company’s impact in the candidate’s community

Furthermore, your employer brand is a standard against which you can judge whether all your recruiting tasks are working together. If your efforts are unified by the right employer brand, you will look for the right people, create the right employment advertising, do the right networking and other outreach programs, and explain the advantages of working for you versus your competition. You’ll capture the candidates who share your values and will succeed, and take a pass on candidates (even talented ones) who won’t work out.

Finally, an authentic employment brand is a challenge to your organization’s management to walk the talk—to manage daily work according to a set of values and standards that identify your company. This means employees know who they’re joining, what they’re expected to do, and how they will be judged.

Do you see that your employment brand is in fact the heart and soul of your company as well as your recruiting? It’s really an articulation of why you exist, why you work, and why you work here and not someplace else. It’s that important.