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Employer Branding

How Microsoft Aligned People Promise with Purpose

How can a not-so-cool any more tech company attract the best talent? By aligning its people promise with its overall purpose (of course).

Paul Davies is a Consumer Marketing Director at Microsoft, and we spoke to him about the employer brand and people promise at Microsoft.

Have a listen below and be sure to tune in to the Employer Branding Podcast.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Paul’s role and where Microsoft is positioned today, what brands are represented under the Microsoft umbrella.
  • Is there an employer brand, a consumer brand, and a corporate brand, or is it all the same? Paul’s view on this as a marketer.
  • What’s the corporate culture like inside Microsoft? How a large enterprise can still be entrepreneurial.
  • What impact has new CEO Satya Nadella had? His presence is arguably a big shift from Steve Ballmer.
  • What are the talent challenges at Microsoft? Does the company have the same issues like everyone else?
  • Myths about millennials, and why they’re not that different from other generations. And they do watch normal TV apparently.
  • What is the EVP/people promise of Microsoft? How the EVP is a derivation from the overall mission of the company.
  • How the company communicates this message to prospective talent, both in offices and online.
  • Particular initiatives that Paul is proud of, including ways to get women into technology roles.
  • How to go about measuring the ROI on employer brand, Paul’s views on this from a marketing perspective.
  • Paul’s best tips for employer brand managers – how they need to buddy up with their counterparts in marketing.
  • What other companies are getting employer brand right and what’s next on the horizon for employer brand.

Connect with Paul on Twitter at @paul_davies.

By Jörgen Sundberg

Founder of Undercover Recruiter & CEO of Link Humans, home of The Employer Brand Index.