5 Recommendations for Creating an Authentic Employer Brand, According to Leaders at Netflix

This post was co-authored by Amir Moini.

Employer branding is a relatively new function and as a result, it is continuously evolving and changing. It sits at the intersection of marketing, recruiting, and communications and it is largely impacted by culture — current events, pop culture, identity, values, and more.

The stories you tell about your company need to reflect that of the world and what people want in an employer.”For Netflix, employer branding began in 2017, and throughout the years, it has grown and evolved. Our LinkedIn page grew from 300,000 to 6.5 million followers. We created a WeAreNetflix podcast, which has more than 1 million downloads. We’ve extended our reach to YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. And we also had to pivot during tough times. We don’t have all the answers and our approach is all about constant improvement. For example, as Netflix became a global company, we’ve also had to shift the work from being U.S. centric, which we are still learning how to do.

Below are our top recommendations for improving your employer branding strategy and for what you’ll need to do to be successful. A disclaimer — these are our personal recommendations. You have to do what’s right for you and your company and that may look different depending on your industry, location, and work culture. 

1. Find the right home: Employer branding should sit in communications

Employer branding is an evolution of communications. As the media landscape shifts and companies consolidate, there is more of an initiative to tell proactive stories through a company’s own channels. Since its start at Netflix, employer branding has sat on three different teams, including talent acquisition, marketing (editorial and publishing), and now communications. While most employer branding functions sit within talent acquisition, we believe employer branding should be part of a company’s communications strategy in the future.

Employer branding is not only about hiring, it is also about shaping the perception of a company’s work culture and having those stories be aligned to its larger brand.”Being on a communications team has advantages, including more internal and external expertise, larger campaigns that can involve press and media, and more buy-in cross-functionally within your company. For example, we recently launched the company’s first inclusion report, as well as a 10-minute short film documenting specific case studies of inclusion at Netflix.

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