| Employer brand represents a unique value proposition about what individuals might receive as a result of working for a particular employer. This proposition, if delivered as promised, also contributes to a firm's positive reputation as a workplace. However, much of the literature on employer brand focuses on the attractiveness of an organization in the eyes of potential employees. The importance of engaging existing employees and influencing their commitment to advance organizational objectives can be argued as an equally critical purpose of employer brand. In practice, this notion of applying employer brand management to the employee experience is a more recent focus and may be considered under explored.;Building organizational commitment and influencing workplace behaviors that drive employee engagement and high performance are often addressed by the learning and development function in a firm. Using a cross-case comparison method, this qualitative research study examined how learning and development activities are leveraged in firms with strong workplace reputations to fulfill the employer brand expectations of both individuals and companies in the employee phase of the employment lifecycle. Three significant roles for the learning and development function emerged from the data in this study. First, learning and development stimulates engagement by providing promised opportunities for professional development and career growth. Learning and development also builds required workplace behaviors, including the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver customer satisfaction (onbrand training) and the management skills necessary to create and sustain the working conditions promised as the employee experience (manager training). The third role for learning and development that emerged from the data was that of a reinforcer of the identity and values of the organizational culture. |
