The Atlas · Glossary
The employer brand glossary
Every term in the field, defined clearly — 102 and growing. Click any term for the full definition and related concepts.
Employer brandYour reputation and value proposition as a place to work.Employer brandingThe activity of shaping the employer brand.EVPThe core promise an employer makes to its people.Talent brandThe employer brand as it lives in the market.Candidate experienceEverything a candidate perceives through hiring.Recruitment marketingReaching and converting talent through content and channels.Talent attractionDrawing the right candidates to an organisation.Talent acquisitionThe end-to-end function of finding and hiring people.Give and getAn EVP model framing the promise as reciprocal.Repel and compelDeliberately attracting the right people and deterring the wrong ones.Employer of choiceAn organisation widely seen as a desirable place to work.Employee advocacyEmployees promoting their employer to their networks.Employee generated contentContent created by employees about working somewhere.Brand ambassadorAn employee who actively champions the employer brand.Cost per hireTotal spend to fill a role, divided by hires.Time to fillElapsed time from opening a role to accepting an offer.Time to hireTime from a candidate entering the process to accepting.Quality of hireThe value new hires bring, by performance and retention.Source of hireThe channel a hire originally came from.Offer acceptance rateThe share of offers candidates accept.Application drop-offWhere candidates abandon an application.Recruitment funnelThe stages from awareness to hire.Candidate journeyThe full path a candidate takes with your brand.Candidate personaA research-based profile of a target candidate.Talent personaA profile representing a segment of target talent.Talent pipelineA pool of engaged, qualified potential candidates.Talent communityAn audience opted in to hear from an employer.Glassdoor ratingA public employee-review score used as a reputation signal.kununuThe leading employer-review platform in the DACH region.Employer review sitesPlatforms where employees rate employers publicly.Careers siteThe owned destination hosting talent-facing content.Corporate brandAn organisation's overall reputation with all stakeholders.Consumer brandA brand as experienced by customers.Employee experienceThe sum of what it is like to work somewhere.Employee engagementThe emotional commitment employees have to their work.Onboarding experienceA new hire’s first experience of the organisation.Alumni brandHow former employees perceive and speak of you.Employer brand auditA structured assessment of employer brand health.EVP researchUncovering what genuinely sets an employer apart.Sentiment analysisMeasuring how people feel about an employer online.Talent intelligenceData-driven insight on talent markets and competitors.Employer brand indexA measure of external employer-brand perception.Employer brand healthThe overall strength of an employer brand.Brand awareness (talent)How well target talent knows an employer.Brand considerationWhether talent would consider working somewhere.Employer brand activationBringing an EVP to life across touchpoints.Internal employer brandHow current employees experience the promise.External employer brandHow the market perceives the employer.Brand pillarsThe core themes an EVP is built on.Brand messagingHow the EVP is expressed in words.Brand architectureHow master and sub-brands relate.Employer brand guidelinesRules for consistent expression of the brand.Employer brand governanceHow the brand is managed and kept consistent.PurposeAn organisation's reason for existing beyond profit.BelongingThe feeling of being accepted and valued at work.Total rewardsThe full package of pay, benefits and experience.DEIDiversity, equity and inclusion.Inclusive job descriptionA job ad written to attract diverse talent.Programmatic job advertisingAutomated, data-driven job-ad buying.Recruitment advertisingPaid promotion of roles and the employer brand.Careers social mediaSocial channels dedicated to talent audiences.Employee testimonialA first-person account of working somewhere.Day-in-the-life contentContent showing real working days.Storytelling for businessUsing narrative to make a brand memorable and persuasive.Organisational cultureThe shared values and behaviours of an organisation.Culture addHiring for what someone adds to culture, not just fit.Employee net promoter scoreHow likely employees are to recommend the employer.AttritionThe rate at which employees leave.RetentionKeeping the people you want to keep.Hiring managerThe person a role ultimately reports into.Recruitment CRMSoftware to manage and nurture candidate relationships.Applicant tracking systemSoftware to manage applications and hiring workflow.ImpactThe sense that your work makes a meaningful difference.IkigaiA framework for purpose: what you love, are good at, can be paid for, and what the world needs.Harsh realitiesThe genuine challenges of a role or culture, used honestly to attract the right fit and deter the wrong.Give-and-getPairing each demand a role makes (the get) with a real reward (the give), so expectations are honest.Culture fitHow well a person aligns with an organisation’s existing values and ways of working.Employer brand strategyThe plan connecting EVP, audiences, channels and measurement to business goals.Employer brand measurementTracking perception, engagement and hiring outcomes to prove impact.Employer brand ROIThe return an employer brand delivers versus its cost, via hiring efficiency and quality.Business case (employer brand)The evidence-backed argument for investing in employer brand.Talent segmentationGrouping talent by need and value so effort and messaging are prioritised.Signature experienceA distinctive, hard-to-copy practice that defines what working somewhere is like.Moments that matterThe key points in the employee lifecycle that shape perception most.Reasons to believeThe proof points that make an EVP claim credible.Proof pointsConcrete evidence that substantiates an employer brand message.Message architectureThe structured hierarchy of an EVP’s themes and supporting messages.Rational and emotional benefitsThe practical and feeling-based rewards an EVP offers.Realistic job previewAn honest, upfront picture of a role so candidates can self-select.Employee listeningSystematically gathering employee feedback to inform the brand.Pulse surveyA short, frequent survey used to track employee sentiment.Exit interviewA conversation on why an employee is leaving, mined for insight.Boomerang employeeA former employee who returns to the organisation.Skills-based hiringHiring for demonstrable skills rather than credentials alone.Employer brand benchmarkingComparing your employer brand metrics against peers or competitors.Share of voice (talent)Your visibility to talent audiences relative to competitors.Employer brand refreshUpdating an ageing EVP or identity to stay relevant.Attract, recruit, retainThe three outcomes a healthy employer brand influences.Employee lifecycleThe stages from candidate to alumnus.Candidate self-selectionWhen honest information lets candidates opt in or out for themselves.Employer value proposition auditStructured research to uncover what genuinely sets an employer apart.Employer reputationWhat people already believe about you as an employer — the perception your employer brand works to shape.