Employer Content Marketing

How do you scale employer branding when multiple teams, stakeholders and regions are involved?

Whether you work in a global company or a growing organisation with several departments, employer branding quickly becomes complex.

In this episode, Chris Le’cand-Harwood speaks with Jane Mehringer, Global Head of Talent Attraction at ABB, about how organisations bring employer branding together across teams, stakeholders and locations.

While ABB operates globally, the challenges Jane describes are familiar to any organisation trying to coordinate employer branding across different parts of the business.

This conversation explores how to:

- Align multiple stakeholders and departments

- Maintain consistent employer branding across teams or regions

- Balance global guidelines with local flexibility

- Build processes that help teams collaborate

- Use technology and platforms to scale employer branding

- Prove the value of employer branding to the wider business

- Build internal communities that drive adoption and momentum

The key lesson:

Scaling employer branding is about aligning people, processes and technology across the organisation.

This episode is part of a series supported by Cliquify - the Employer Branding Operating System for organisations - featuring conversations with in-house practitioners about how employer branding really works inside organisations.

Find out more about Cliquify here: https://www.cliquify.me/

Subscribe to the Employer Content Marketing Newsletter here: https://www.employercontent.marketing/

Connect with Jane here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janemehringer/

Employer branding is often portrayed as large campaigns, polished EVP launches, and big budgets. But the reality inside most organisations looks very different.Employer branding often grows organically - it evolves through experimentation, testing ideas, learning what works, and adapting along the way.And that’s not a weakness - it’s often exactly how effective employer branding develops.In this episode, Chris Le’cand-Harwood speaks with Dennis Borchers from Tractor Supply Company about what it looks like to build an employer brand in “startup mode” inside an established organisation.Dennis shares how his team has focused on building the foundations first: - creating consistency for recruiters - integrating employer branding with HR communications - amplifying authentic employee-generated content - experimenting with new channels and approachesRather than forcing a rigid programme, the team has allowed the work to grow organically — responding to business needs, testing new ideas, and refining their approach as they go.It’s a great example of why employer branding isn’t a plug-and-play exercise.Instead, it’s something that develops through experimentation, iteration, and collaboration across the organisation.This episode is part of a series supported by Cliquify - the Employer Branding Operating System for organisations - featuring conversations with in-house practitioners about how employer branding really works inside organisations.---Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:37 Dennis Borchers introduction 03:45 Employer branding in “startup mode” 07:00 Creating consistency across channels 10:00 Supporting recruiters with better content systems 15:00 Employee-generated content and ambassadors 18:50 Internal engagement and leadership amplification 22:20 Scaling employee advocacy organically 25:50 Experimenting with TikTok and new content formats 29:00 Why employer branding requires experimentation---Who's this episode is forEmployer brand leaders; Talent acquisition leaders; HR communications professionals; Teams building or evolving their employer brand---🎧 Listen to the podcasthttps://www.employercontent.marketing💬 Connect with Chris on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislch/💬 Connect with Dennis on LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dennis-borchers/ ➡️ Subscribe to Employer Content Marketinghttps://www.employercontent.marketing/---If you work in employer branding, talent acquisition, or recruitment marketing, subscribe for more conversations about how organisations are building employer brands through content.📌 Question for viewersIs employer branding in your organisation something that was carefully designed… or something that has grown organically over time?

AI has become one of those topics that risks an automatic eye-roll.

Another tool. Another trend. Another thing we’re supposed to care about.

But when it comes to employer branding and talent attraction, AI isn’t a gimmick. It’s solving a problem teams have struggled with for years.

I was discussing this recently with Erik Rivas, alongside my fellow Employer Content Club co-host Chris Murdoch, and one idea stood out:

AI isn’t about creating fake stories or replacing human voices.

It’s about extending the life of real ones.

The old way of using employee video

For a long time, the process looked something like this:

You’d record great employee interviews. You’d publish the videos. You’d slice them into clips. You’d post them on socials and add them to a careers site.

Valuable? Yes. Exhaustive? Also yes.

Once that content was “used”, it largely stayed where it was. Revisiting it months later meant manually rewatching footage, pulling quotes, or starting again with new filming.

What AI changes

Now those same videos can be treated as something more powerful: searchable, reusable data.

The words employees say — their experiences, motivations, doubts, and advice — can be revisited and reshaped for different purposes over time.

AI allows teams to:

* Turn employee interviews into blogs, social posts, and campaign messaging

* Reframe existing content around new hiring priorities or challenges

* Answer candidate questions using real employee language, not corporate copy

You’re not inventing anything new.

You’re unlocking what you’ve already invested in.

A simple but powerful example

Erik shared a great example from his work at Police Now.

“Why should I join Police Now?”

That question might be asked by:

* A graduate

* A career changer

* A former teacher

* Someone five years into a different profession

The question is the same, but the context isn’t.

With AI, teams can surface stories from people who’ve actually made those transitions and answer the question in a way that feels relevant to each audience — using the same core bank of employee content.

Not personalised one-to-one. But intelligently relevant at scale.

What this means for employer branding

Employer branding isn’t like selling a product.Candidates can’t return a career move.

They can’t undo a cultural mismatch.

They’re making a high-stakes decision, often over a long period of time.

That means brands need to:

* Show up consistently

* Earn attention repeatedly

* Stay front of mind long before someone applies

The problem? Most budgets and teams can’t support constant new content creation.

AI doesn’t fix that by making content fake or automated.

It fixes it by helping teams:

* Do more with what they already have

* Stay visible without burning out employees or budgets

* Keep authenticity at the centre, not polish

The real opportunity

Used well, AI doesn’t dilute employer brand content.

It amplifies it. Real voices. More relevance. More consistency.

And finally, a way to meet the volume the world demands — without losing the humanity that makes employer branding work in the first place.

That’s not something to roll your eyes at. Exciting times.

Erik shared how they do this in practice using Vouch — a platform that helps teams capture employee video stories and then reuse and resurface them intelligently over time.

In the world of employer branding, we can fall into the trap of polishing the truth until it shines like a commercial.

But after 20+ years in workplace content, I’ve learned a fundamental truth: Advertising sells, but content builds trust.

When candidates or employees are considering your organisation, they don’t want sales messages. They want real stories, opinions, and experiences from the people actually doing the work.

The Shift from “Corporate Gloss” to Authentic Reality

One of the most common challenges organisations face today is the desire for authentic stories coupled with an uncertainty of how to get them. Employer branding practitioners often tell me, “We want real employee voices, but we’re not sure how to capture them without it feeling forced or scripted”.

This is where the distinction between “marketing” and “content” becomes crucial. Traditional marketing relies on corporate slogans; strategic content relies on giving talented people a platform to build their reputation and the reputation of their organisation.

My approach sits right in the middle of culture and content. Whether I am directing documentaries with psychiatrists and nurses or producing a podcast series on the sports fields of the Royal Air Force, the goal is always the same: to harness workplace culture to drive recruitment and build thought leadership without the gloss.

Strategy Before You Hit “Record”

It is tempting to jump straight into high-production solutions. However, effective employer content requires us to be strategic partners who figure out what to make and why before we ever turn on a camera.

This means challenging the brief. It means separating “wants” from “needs”. Sometimes, the answer isn’t a massive 12-month campaign. I believe in momentum over perfection. I would rather pilot something quickly, learn from it, and iterate than spend months planning the perfect piece of content that never ships.

For example, I once helped a client repurpose and serialise content from a film shoot that wasn’t delivering its full value. By applying a strategic lens, we turned a handful of videos into a whole suite of content that lasted months.

Solving the “Bandwidth” Problem

Even when the strategy is sound, execution is often the bottleneck. “We need to scale our content, but we’re stretched”.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to this. Sometimes the answer is bringing in an independent producer to take the project end-to-end—assembling the crew and handling everything from strategy to delivery. Other times, the sustainable answer is building your internal capability through coaching and workshops, or having a partner embed with your team as an extra pair of hands.

A Privilege to Serve the Industry

My career has taken me from the NHS to working with brands like Hilton, Schroders, and Cygnet, winning 11 awards over the last five years. But my work isn’t just for organisations; it’s for the industry.

Through the Employer Content Marketing podcast and my work with the Employer Content Club, I try to facilitate discussions that help us all make better workplaces. Using content to make people happier and motivated to do their best work is a genuine privilege.

If you are tired of corporate sales slogans and want to start turning your culture into magnetic content, let’s focus on the stories that matter. Because sales messages can’t truly build the trust your employer brand needs—but content can.

Have a great week!

Chris

From October to December I had the pleasure of recording a series with my Employer Content Club co-host, Chris Murdoch [Host of the Employer Bland podcast and Co-Founder of Voyse].

And after conversations with practitioners like Ally Brown from VCA Animal Hospitals and Erik Rivas from Police Now, and a night out at the Recruitment Marketing Awards, I got into the studio with Chris just before Christmas.

We met up in London to record the final episode in our “Co-Created” Series. And it felt like the perfect way to wrap up this series.

Throughout Co-Created, we’ve explored how organisations of all sizes can build sustainable content operations. We’ve lifted the bonnet on real content engines, discovered what actually works with limited budgets, looked at award-winning work, and learned how practitioners are feeling about the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Episode 5 wraps the series up with a practical framework to help you co-create content with your employees.

Why these five pillars will help

If you’re a solo practitioner or part of a small EB team then the five pillars are here for you.

This is not a theoretical model, but five practical pillars built from real conversations with people doing this work every day [and based on our own experiences working in employer content marketing].

What we cover in the episode

Without giving too much away (because I really want you to watch or listen to get the most value from this!), here’s what we explore:

The mindset shift that unlocks creativity - It’s not about having more time, it’s about creating the right conditions for ideas to flow. I share my “Airplane Mode” approach and why stepping away from your desk might be the most productive thing you do all week.

Getting buy-in from busy people - Your colleagues are swamped. So how do you get them excited about creating content? We explore the “what’s in it for them” angle and why visibility might be the superpower your employees need in 2026.

The agile sprint approach - Can you really create meaningful content in four weeks? We break down how WhatsApp groups, voice notes, and co-creation can transform your content operation without fancy tech or big budgets.

Experience vs efficiency - As AI makes everything faster, we make the case for why doubling down on experience (not just efficiency) will be your competitive advantage in 2026.

The truth about creating content in 2026

The organisations succeeding with employee content aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets.

They’re the ones who’ve figured out how to create space for thinking differently, how to start small and iterate, and how to make their employees genuine partners in the content creation process.

They’re also the ones who understand that in a world drowning in AI-generated content and vanity metrics, authentic human experience cuts through like nothing else.

Watch or listen now

Whether you’re just starting to build an employer content function or you’re looking to level up your existing operation, these five pillars will give you a roadmap for the next 12 months.

Watch the episode here:

Listen to the episode here:

Join us for what’s next

This might be the finale of the Co-Created series, but it’s just the beginning for Employer Content Club.

We’re planning events for 2026, and we want you to be part of the conversation. Whether you’re a solo practitioner figuring it out as you go, or part of a team looking to do this more strategically, there’s a place for you in this community.

👉 Join Employer Content Club at employercontent.club

You’ll get early access to upcoming events, connect with other practitioners navigating the same challenges, and help shape how we build this community together.

And if you haven’t watched the previous episodes in the series, head over to the Employer Content Club website to catch up on all the conversations.

A huge thanks to Vouch

Their support has allowed us to have these important conversations about the operational side of content creation - the stuff that often gets overlooked at events and in communities.

If you’re looking for a frictionless way to capture employee-generated content at scale, Vouch is worth checking out. They’ve been brilliant partners throughout this series.

Check them out here.

What’s your biggest challenge with employee content creation? Drop a comment below or email me at [email protected] - I’d love to hear from you.

Chris

Welcome to the final episode of Employer Content Club's Co-Created series!

🎙️In this special studio session, me and Chris Murdoch wrap up the series by revealing the five essential pillars for creating authentic employee content over the next 12 months.

Whether you're a solo practitioner or part of a small EB team working with tight budgets, this episode gives you a practical framework to transform your content creation approach.

Throughout the Co-Created series, we've explored how organisations like VCA Animal Hospitals and Police Now are building sustainable content operations by co-creating WITH employees, not just creating content ABOUT them. This finale brings together all those learnings into five actionable pillars you can start implementing immediately.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction & Series Recap

03:15 - Pillar 1: Creating Space to Think Differently

12:40 - Pillar 2: Budget - Doing Better with Less

24:18 - Pillar 3: What's In It For Them?

35:22 - Pillar 4: The Agile 4-Week Sprint

45:10 - Pillar 5: Experience Over Efficiency

Discover why the iterative approach beats the big-budget campaign, how to incentivise employee participation authentically, and why doubling down on experience (not just efficiency) will be your competitive advantage in 2026.

🔗 Join Employer Content Club:Sign up at to access all episodes and connect with other EB practitioners building co-created content strategies. https://www.employercontent.club/co-created

📧 Connect with the Employer Content Club hosts:Chris Le'cand-Harwood - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrislch/Chris Murdoch - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismurdoch/

About the Co-Created Series:

A series exploring how to build authentic content WITH employees, not just about them.

Hosted by Chris Le'cand-Harwood (Content Marketing Pod) and Chris Murdoch (Voyse), co-founders of Employer Content Club.https://www.employercontent.club/co-created Series partner:

This series is proudly created in partnership with Vouch - the tool that makes employee content creation frictionless. https://vouchfor.com/

While Employee Generated Content is essential, it’s important [and realistic] to balance high-production content with employee-generated stories.

While it would be great to be able to go on multiple film shoots, the real world doesn’t always have the budget for that. So employee generated content is the answer.

As part of the Employer Content Club series that I’m hosting with Chris Murdoch [host of the Employer Bland podcast], we chatted with Erik Rivas from Police Now.

Here’s a segment of that conversation.

Erik explains that while high-quality videos are important for specific campaigns, they can be time-consuming and expensive to produce. In contrast, employee generated content can be produced quickly and at a lower cost, allowing the organisation to respond to changing recruitment needs promptly.

Watch or listen to the episode here

Join Employer Content Club

If you’re building an employee-generated content function in-house, this episode gives you the practical playbook.

Get access to the next episode in this series (including bonus content about AI) by joining Employer Content Club.

Become a founding member and help shape how we build this community. You’ll get early access to upcoming events we’re planning and be part of the conversation from the start.

👉 Sign up at employercontent.club

About the Co-Created Series

How to build authentic content WITH employees, not just about them.

Hosted by Chris Le’cand-Harwood (Content Marketing Pod) and Chris Murdoch (Voyse), co-founders of Employer Content Club.

Proudly created in partnership with Vouch - the tool that makes employee content creation frictionless.

Connect with Erik on LinkedIn

What’s your biggest challenge with balancing high-production and employee-generated content? Drop a comment below or email me at [email protected] - I’d love to hear from you.

Chris

In this episode of the Co-Created Series, Erik Rivas, Head of Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing at Police Now, reveals how building an efficient employee content engine - balanced with high-production content - drives authenticity, agility, and measurable ROI for their employer branding and recruitment marketing.The Core Message:It's not either/or - it's about balance. High-production content fills your campaigns and website with polish, while employee-generated content gives you the agility to experiment, pivot quickly, and capture authentic day-to-day realities. Together, they create an efficient content engine that maximises return on investment.Key Topics Covered:⚖️ The 50/50 balance: When to use high-production vs employee-generated content🎬 Co-producing with employees: Getting authentic stories from those who've lived it⚡ The agility advantage: Responding to changing recruitment needs in weeks, not months🔧 Building an efficient content engine that extends investment lifespan💰 Reducing cost per hire and attrition through strategic storytelling📦 Centralising content: No more lost videos or WhatsApp file transfers🔄 Extending the life of expensive production shoots through smart repurposing🧪 How flexibility enables fearless experimentation with new topics and voices🎯 Proving ROI by connecting content to core business metricsWhy This MattersErik explains how Police Now created a content engine that balances both approaches. High-production shoots have a role to play in campaign-specific content and website hero videos - but they can be expensive and time-consuming. When priorities shift and you need content about new locations or roles, you can't wait five months for another production shoot.That's where the balance matters. Employee-generated content gives you the flexibility to experiment with new questions, try different angles, and respond rapidly - all while maintaining quality. The key is having both working together: polished branded content for campaigns, and agile employee content for day-to-day realities and rapid response.The result? Authentic stories that set realistic expectations for candidates, the agility to pivot when recruiting different roles or locations, and centralised content management that extends ROI on every piece of content you create.Connect with Erik Rivas:https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikrivas/About Police Now:Police Now is a top graduate employer recruiting graduates into neighbourhood policing, detective roles, and specialised areas including counterterrorism and economic crime.If you're building an employee-generated content function in-house, this episode gives you the practical playbook.👥 Join Employer Content Club and get the next episode in this series [including bonus content about AI]: https://www.employercontent.club/co-createdBecome a founding member and help shape how we build this community. You'll get early access to upcoming events we're planning and be part of the conversation from the start.👉 Sign up at[https://www.employercontent.clubCo-Created Series – How to build authentic content WITH employees, not just about them.Hosted by Chris Le’cand-Harwood (Content Marketing Pod) and Chris Murdoch (Voyse), co-founders of Employer Content Club.Our "Co-Created" series is supported by Vouch (the tool Erik and team use to make employee content creation frictionless).[https://vouchfor.com]Subscribe to Employer Content Marketing for more episodes

Yesterday reminded me and Chris Murdoch why building Employer Content Club matters.

We spent the morning in a London studio filming the final episode of our “Co-Created” series about how to build authentic content with your employees.

In just one hour, we grabbed loads of valuable conversation, walking through a five-point framework for in-house teams who want to accelerate their content strategy and create work that moves the needle on talent attraction and engagement.

Then we hosted a mini Employer Content Club meetup over lunch with Claire de Souza, Ben Phillips, Rich Gordon and Andy Mallinson. A few hours catching up on the market, sharing stories, but more importantly, just connecting with good people doing this work.

That’s what this is really about.

The Co-Created Series: What We’ve Covered

Episodes so far have covered award-winning work, the challenges facing the industry, and conversations with in-house practitioners about how they’re co-creating content with employees. Real people, real challenges, practical solutions.

Episode 5 (dropping soon) brings it all together with a five-point framework. This one is especially valuable if you’re looking for a systematic approach to employee content that you can actually implement.

We Want You to Be Part of This

Here’s what we’re asking: join us.

We’re building Employer Content Club for in-house employer branders and content practitioners - people working solo or in small teams, figuring this out as they go. They’re exactly who this community is for.

Here’s how to get involved

Check out the Co-Created series - Episodes are available now with practical frameworks and insights from practitioners doing this work. Episode 5 drops either just before or after New Years.

Sign up at Employer Content Club - Get notifications when new episodes drop and be the first to hear about upcoming events.

Join us for events in 2025 - We’re planning both online and in-person gatherings. More details coming soon, but these will be real opportunities to connect, share challenges, and learn from each other.

The community is growing. Yyesterday’s meetup reminded us that there are so many talented people doing this work who would benefit from connecting with each other. That’s what we’re building here.

We’d love you to be part of it.

Chris Le’cand-Harwood

-----

P.S. If you know someone in-house doing employer brand content work who would benefit from this community, please share this with them. The more diverse voices we have, the better we’ll all become.

You might think AI is a threat to creative work. But in a recent conversation me and Chris Murdoch had with Ally Brown [Employer Branding lead at VCA Animal Hospitals] you’ll see AI as a “sidekick” — especially as a solo practitioner. For her, AI isn’t a rival, it’s a friend and force‑multiplier.

She explains how AI helps her:

* Work faster and smarter when she’s doing employer‑branding content alone

* Scale her output without increasing headcount or costs

* Unlock creativity and consistency that would be hard to sustain manually

If you build content to attract talent or engage employees — and you’re juggling it on your own — that mindset could be a game-changer.

If you’re building an employee-generated content function in-house, this gives you a practical playbook.

What This Means for Employer Branders

In the business world, employer branding is still in its infancy - employer brand job titles and teams have only been around since the early-mid noughties. So teams tend to be solo or small - this has held the profession back. Enter AI and its potential to be a huge enabler, if used in the right way.

✅ Stretch your bandwidth

As a one-person team, you often wear multiple hats: content producer, strategist, storyteller, recruiter liaison. AI lets you stretch your bandwidth — it doesn’t replace your judgement or heart, but amplifies your ability to deliver.

✅ Quality at scale

Consistent talent attraction and employee engagement content demands frequency and quality. AI helps maintain that rhythm, even when resources are tight.

✅ Fresh thinking, different outcomes

With AI handling time‑heavy tasks, you free up mental space to think bigger: crafting narratives, aligning content with EVP, experimenting with tone and format.

Want to watch the full conversation with Ally Brown?

Or listen to the episode here.

This is part of the Employer Content Club: Join us.

👥 Join Employer Content Club and get the next episode in this series: Become a founding member and help shape how we build this community. You’ll get early access to upcoming events we’re planning and be part of the conversation from the start.

👉 Sign up at https://www.employercontent.club/co-created

Co-Created Series – How to build authentic content WITH employees, not just about them. Hosted by me, Chris Le’cand-Harwood, and Chris Murdoch, co-hosts of Employer Content Club.

This episode is created in partnership with Vouch, the tool Ally uses to make employee content creation frictionless.

Thanks for passing by. Hope this helps.

Chris

www.linkedin.com/in/chrislch/