The end of the year is a special time. On the one hand, there is a slowdown and a time for reflection, and on the other hand, there is a natural need to prepare the ground for what is to come. It is precisely during this interim period that it usually becomes apparent that Employer Branding is one of the areas that we have not had enough time for during the year. Reality has shifted, and our EB strategy no longer matches who we are today.

Employer Branding is not a one-off event. It is a living system that evolves along with the company and the labor market. And just as we clean our homes before Christmas, it pays to tidy up the future direction of the Employer Brand.

1. EVP – Employee Value Proposition

The basis of every EB is a clear answer to the question: why should someone choose us? And why should they stay with us? But the answers that were valid two years ago may not work today. That’s why it makes sense to start with the people for whom we are creating the EVP.

Update Personas, Not Images in Presentations

Personas are not decorations. They show what motivates different groups of people, what they fear, what their preferences are, and how their needs have changed over the past year. Without up-to-date personas, even well-written communication can be ineffective—it simply misses the mark.

So ask yourself:

• What personas are we actually serving today?
• What has changed in their expectations?
• Does our communication and the reality of the company reflect this?

Verify That the EVP Is Still Valid

EVP is not a slogan or a list of benefits. It is a strategic commitment that must be true, relevant, and distinctive. The end of the year is the ideal time to see if our EVP corresponds to the current reality of the company, aligns with what people want at different stages of their careers, and whether it still sets us apart from the competition or has “dissolved” into generic promises.

Look at EVP Through the Lens of the Pyramid of Values

Bain & Company’s pyramid of values helps reveal which layers of our value proposition work—and which don’t. It shows whether we are credible in terms of basic expectations (conditions, security, environment) or whether we can build on higher values (autonomy, growth, meaning, leadership).

A common finding is inconsistency: the company communicates the top of the pyramid, but employees deal with basic practical obstacles. Or, conversely, it offers a powerful experience but fails to translate it into a clear message. In both cases, it helps to think about what we actually want to emphasize in the coming year.

2. EBI – Employer Brand Identity

While EVP tells us what we offer, brand identity answers the question of who we are. And this question is often more complicated than it seems.

Brand Identity Prism as a Team Mirror

Brand Identity Prism is a simple yet very revealing tool. When HR, marketing, and management go through it, it quickly becomes clear whether we all see the brand in the same way. If not, we have our first important task ahead of us: identifying where the confusion lies.

Verbal and Visual Identity as a Brand Signature

We don’t just recognize a brand by its logo. We recognize it by how it speaks, what stories it tells, and what tone it uses. We also remember it by visual cues that are consistent, legible, and recognizable.

Before Christmas, it makes sense to conduct an audit: are we using the same principles across all channels? Do we know which voice style is “ours” and which is not? Do we have elements that candidates can recognize even without a logo?

Without Distinctiveness, You Will Get Lost in the Noise

The job market is flooded with communication. If you don’t stand out, you are invisible. Distinctiveness is not a creative whim, but a strategic necessity. Otherwise, we invest energy in content that will get lost among hundreds of similar messages.

3. RACE Model: Employer Brand as an Experience, Not Just Communication

Employer Branding is often understood as communication. But communication is just one step in the long journey that candidates and employees experience with a company. The RACE model beautifully maps this journey: from the first contact with the audience to the daily engagement of people within the company.

And it is precisely the Engage phase where the Employer Brand really comes into being. Not on a billboard, not in a campaign, but in everyday experience: how the interview goes, what onboarding looks like, how managers lead their people, how problems are solved, and how people are treated when they leave.

Pre-Christmas cleanup therefore also means reflecting on where this experience falls short. Not to create more work for ourselves, but because authentic experience is the strongest marketing channel a company has.

4. What You Can Accomplish Before Christmas

Cleaning up your employer brand doesn’t have to be a big project. Just a few specific steps will bring quick value and set you up for a stronger start to the new year.

For example, try:

• reviewing your current EVP and removing anything that no longer reflects reality,
• updating one key persona,
• correcting obvious inconsistencies in career texts or on the website,
• improving one critical moment in the “customer” experience that has the greatest impact,
• conducting a short internal survey asking, “What would you change if you could do it right now?”

Even small changes can significantly shift brand perception toward a more authentic and stronger image.

5. And What About After New Year’s Eve?

January offers a chance to start with a clean slate. If you already have basic organization in place, you can embark on deeper and more systematic work: aligning the team on brand identity, refining key messages, revising the RACE journey, or defining the main distinctive elements that clearly set you apart from the competition.

Employer Brand is not a campaign. It is long-term care for how people perceive the company, both internally and externally. Pre-Christmas cleaning is the perfect opportunity to restart this care.