Brand: the new architect of employee engagement

Historically, EX was considered the purview of HR, which has long worked to position itself as a strategic business partner. However, as organizations face new challenges in attracting and retaining top talent, CMOs are stepping in with a fresh perspective. By applying their expertise in brand communications and engagement, they are helping to redefine EX through the lens of storytelling—treating them as a key audience. They are also addressing employees as a stakeholder segment, in much the same way they would segment customers, in order to optimize the end-to-end lifecycle, where every touchpoint from recruitment to an alumni program is brand-aligned.

“We have established a dedicated focus to engaging with our employees as a key audience and applying a marketing sophistication and technology, including segmentation, channel management, and creative executions. We’re increasingly empowering our internal communications team to influence the marketing and communications strategy for the entire employee experience—from recruitment to prospecting for candidates, all the way through retention, advocacy, and referrals,” said Christa Carone, EVP and Chief Marketing & Communication Officer, LPL Financial LLC.

Marketing leaders have a proven track record of crafting compelling value propositions that ultimately influence behaviors and decisions. While traditionally focused on customers, the same techniques apply to attracting, motivating, and retaining employees

“Marketing has a larger role because we really know how to distil and understand a value proposition, build the stories, and tell the stories that help attract the right talent and [retain] talent,” explained one CMO.

And as Christine Daues, National Consulting Marketing Director, Forvis Mazars US, explained, “People who are looking for roles are expecting a most customized experience for themselves. That general way of recruiting doesn’t work anymore in this world. We think about account-based marketing, now we’re account-based recruiting”.

EX is now a brand differentiator

Another factor driving this convergence is the realization that employee experience directly impacts brand perception. In a notable shift, one CMO highlighted a “reverse feedback loop”—where employee experiences are influencing customer-facing brand strategies. This means that if employees feel disconnected from the brand’s values, customers will notice. Companies are now ensuring that the internal culture aligns with the external brand promise, making marketing and HR more interdependent than ever before.

The future EX delivery—the yin and yang of marketing and HR

One thing is clear: marketing has a seat at the talent table and is making valuable contributions in building internal advocacy. There are no standardized best practices for this new collaboration, but our study showed a strong interdependence between the two functions, working in tandem to build a cohesive and authentic brand from the inside out.

“The very best CHROs find partnerships with the marketers. If you were Head of Marketing and your CEO turns to you to say, ‘You’re in charge of culture,’ you can’t do it without the CHRO and the CHRO can’t do it without you,” said Ivan Pollard, Leader, Marketing & Communications Center, The Conference Board, and former CMO.