I recently had a great conversation with Global Employer Brand & Recruitment Marketing Leader, Leah Lenihan. We went deep on a topic that I think sits right at the heart of employer branding in 2026: The gap between declared culture and felt culture.

Not what’s written in your EVP deck.

Not what’s on the posters.

But what people actually experience day to day.

Leah shared some powerful, real-world insight from her time leading employer brand and recruitment marketing across multiple regions and brands.

It reinforced something I see time and time again:

A global EVP only works when it’s translated into local, lived reality.

Consistency matters - but so does nuance.

Culture isn’t what leaders say. It’s what people live.

Trust lives in the gap between promise and experience.

We also talked about:

How local teams should be empowered to interpret EVP, not just receive it

The danger of glossy campaigns without operational follow-through

Why advocacy only works when people actually believe what they’re sharing

How leaders can unknowingly undermine their own EVP in micro-moments

One stat that really stuck with me:

Less than 23% of employees typically agree with their company’s EVP promise.

That’s a massive disconnect and a big opportunity.

If you’re working on EVP, employer brand, EX, CX or culture at scale, this episode is well worth a listen.

I recently sat down with Sang-Kyun Park (Sanny) for an episode that made me stop and reassess how we’re all using AI in employer branding and talent attraction.

Not from a hype perspective.

Not from a fear-led perspective. But from a human one...

Sanny brought a brilliantly grounded view from the front line — working in a small global employer brand team, operating at scale, with all the same pressures most of us feel right now.

A few things that really stuck with me:

AI is powerful and expedites so many tasks - but fast doesn't always equal good.

Over-reliance creates an illusion of efficiency

The “what” of EVP must stay human-led - AI should help with the “how”

Authenticity erodes quickly when everything starts to sound the same. AI amplifies 'same' by the very nature of how it works.

Human judgement still matters most at emotional moments in the journey

We also got into some tougher territory:

AI as a crutch vs AI as an amplifier

The risk of AI damaging employer brand at scale

Why rejection without human contact feels so unsettling to candidates, the long-term employer brand damage could be huge

How employer branding risks becoming generic if creativity is outsourced

Why HR and EB must move from cost centre → value driver (and how data can help connect these dots to highlight genuine bottomline business impact)

+ Lots more... We hope you enjoy!

As part of Chris Le'cand-Harwood and my Employer Content Club series, we explore the 5 pillars of Employer Content.

Among many other points, we discuss how most people don’t announce disengagement... they drift away. This conversation looks at how employer content can create space for honest voices, surface hidden signals, and help organisations listen before people leave.

Hope you enjoy!

Welcome to Employer Content Club and our Autumn Series! In this episode, we're launching our exciting Autumn Series: "Co-Created: How to Build Authentic Content with Employees."Chris Le'cand-Harwood and Chris Murdoch [co-hosts of Employer Content Club] discuss why employer content is the beating heart of effective talent attraction, and why creating community around content creation is so crucial for in-house teams.

Chris sat down with James Whitelock (MD of ThinkinCircles & long-time podcaster) to tackle a familiar frustration in recruitment: why roles stay unfilled after 30–45 days — and what recruiting teams can do to turn things around.

From rethinking job ads to building brave, human storytelling campaigns, Chris and James break down the process into three powerful stages:

Attraction – How to identify your real candidate personas, cut through the noise with authentic video content, and stop playing it safe in the “River of Meh.”

Engagement – How to personalise job content, add honesty that helps candidates self-select, and make every touchpoint a great experience.

Application – Why broken processes kill great candidates, and how to balance friction, fairness, and flow in your funnel.

Candid and practical, this episode is a must-listen for anyone in TA, EB, or recruitment marketing who’s ready to ditch the copy-paste job ad, get creative, and start hiring smarter.

Employer branding isn’t just about attracting talent... It's about keeping it.

Yet, too often, organisations treat employer branding as an almost entirely, external-facing function, focused on hiring surges and EVP rollouts. But what happens when hiring slows?

In the latest Employer Bland episode, I sat down with Charu Malhotra, a prominent leader in Employer Brand & Talent Acquisition, to explore why internal employer branding is so important.

 Your EVP doesn't mean much if employees can't feel it.
Too many companies invest in EVP activation for attraction but neglect internal engagement. If employees don’t see or feel the EVP in action daily, it’s just a tagline with a short shelf-life.

- Internal Employer Branding & Internal Comms.
Posting sporadically about culture on Slack or an intranet isn’t enough. It’s about consistent storytelling, reinforcing career paths, ensuring employees see real opportunities within the business before they start looking elsewhere.

- Engagement, Retention & Mobility are the new hiring metrics.
With recruitment fluctuating, businesses need to double down on retention, engagement and internal mobility. Employer brand teams that focus solely on attraction risk becoming irrelevant—those who drive internal brand advocacy become indispensable.

- Employees need to see their future.
The #1 reason employees leave? Lack of visible career progression. Charu shared how companies can market internal opportunities better, making growth paths clear and accessible.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

In this deeply personal and thought-provoking episode, Chris sat down with Israh Khokhar, Employer Brander from Manchester to explore the complex intersection of addiction, recovery and Israh's professional life as an agency recruiter turned internal Employer Brander.

Israh shares her powerful journey of resilience, shedding light on the often unspoken challenges of addiction in high-pressure industries alongside navigating complex family dynamics and the transformative power of recovery.

We discuss:

✨ How addiction is often hidden behind success, material things and societal expectations.
✨ The impact of workplace culture on mental health and addiction.
✨ Why understanding addiction is key to creating inclusive, supportive workplaces.
✨ How recovery can foster accountability, empathy, and unique strengths in the workplace.
✨ Actionable advice for leaders and employers to support employees in recovery.

This episode isn’t just a story of survival... it’s a call to action for businesses to embrace authenticity, foster inclusivity and recognise the immense value of individuals who’ve overcome addiction.

Please tune in to be inspired, challenged, and encouraged to rethink how we approach taboo topics in professional spaces.

Debunking Employer Branding Myths with Claire de Souza.

In this episode, Claire de Souza, Co-founder of The EB Space, a global community for Employer Brand professionals, joins Chris to address some common myths that often steer Employer Branders in the wrong direction. Tune in for Claire’s expert take on these misconceptions and how to avoid them in your own strategy.

Here’s a peek at what’s covered:

"There's a blueprint for employer branding."
Every successful Employer Brand strategy is unique to the business it serves. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t drive the meaningful results you need.

"Employer Brand is all about content."
While content is crucial, it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Real Employer Branding builds internal culture and loyalty, not just external visibility.

"A strong consumer brand equals a strong employer brand."
A compelling product doesn’t guarantee people are eager to work there. An effective Employer Brand goes deeper than a company’s consumer appeal.

"Employer Branding is for big corporations only."
Smaller companies have a unique edge, allowing them to connect on a human level with talent. They can often act faster and with more authenticity.

"Employer Branding belongs in HR."
EB can thrive in any department as long as it has strategic alignment and measurable impact.

Listen now for actionable insights to strengthen your Employer Branding approach.

Chris was recently joined by well-known Employer Brand/EVP Leader, Ben Phillips on the most recent episode of Employer Bland.

Ben shared his journey from his early years growing up in N.W London, regularly helping his dad in the family market trading business. It's no surprise that Ben can strike up conversations full of laughs, debate and shoot-from-the-hip, thought-provoking ideas with anyone he speaks to. 

His corporate path took a few twists and turns before landing where he is today in Employer Brand and EVP.

From traditional marketing to social media advertising through to recruitment marketing to enterprise-level employer brand leadership with companies like Tesco and IBM.

Ben is a regular commentator and social advocate in the EB/EVP/Company Culture domain. Having internal experiences at a leadership level in the areas mentioned as well as being someone who is well-read and closely follows developing research I the space.

Some of his recent pondering relates to the Psychological Principles of Branding (heavily influenced by Rory Sutherland) and how these principles are so closely entwined with Recruitment Marketing, Employer Branding and the People Experience.

Principles such as;

The Peak End Rule; outweighing your memory of an event based on the intense, end-moments.

Idleness aversion; People would rather be kept busy than wait around, even if it takes longer.

Operational transparency; People won't trust you if you don't tell them what's going on.

Uncertainty anxiety; People will get more stressed and impatient if they don't know what's going on.

The progress principle; People feel more motivated when they know what progress is being made, even if small steps.

Ben breaks these down and draws comparisons to employer branding and the people experience, alongside actionable examples of where you can implement strategies to improve the people experience and performance in your recruitment marketing and employer brand processes.

Hope you enjoy the episode!

Chris caught up with Global Executive Search expert & trainer, Louise Archer on the latest episode of Employer Bland. Louise is the Founder of Retrained Search, a global training organisation taking agencies through the exec search transition and continuously helping exec search firms sharpen their tools.

Louise has recruitment in her DNA. It all started when Louise began to shadow her mother as a 12-year-old 'candidate controller' in the family secretarial agency business. From there, the fire was lit...

Louise's journey through established agencies began in her early 20's, learning the craft with a constant desire to grow and develop. Louise quickly realised there was hard work being done and it was often not being paid for. There was huge waste and holes in the process creating inefficiencies for Louise, her business and her customers... Louise's shift to Executive Search began. 

In this conversation Chris and Louise discuss the tightly knitted relationship between Exec Search and Employer Brand. Exec Search are ultimately the custodian of an Employer Brand. They are responsible for understanding key elements of an organisation's EVP, what differentiators sit within the EB and how this all needs to be communicated to ensure the best available talent is being engaged with.

We also covered;

- Best practice for uncovering critical information and stories from key project stakeholders

- How to present a search to candidates, ensuring the right information, elements of an EB and stories are communicated most effectively.

- Not being afraid to tackle the elephant in the room. Not every search is sprinkled with gold dust and sparkles. Get under the skin of the company, their employer brand, their story and tell that truth. There are people out there wanting this challenge, its up to you to find them.

- The importance of content and visuals in the process - Bringing a search to life is critical.

Louise shared so much advice and anecdotal insight into her incredibly successful career as a true global powerhouse in exec search and exec search training.

If you are working in agency looking to make the transition to Exec Search or you are already firmly in Exec Search, there is a lot in this episode for you to take-away.

We hope you enjoy!