Workflow Examples
Real-world employer brand scenarios with step-by-step workflows and time estimates.
Scenario 1: EVP Development from Scratch (2 Days)
Situation: The organisation has never had a formal EVP. The CHRO wants one before the next graduate recruitment cycle. You have employee survey data, Glassdoor reviews, and exit interview summaries. Two days to deliver a strategic EVP recommendation.
Total time: 8-10 hours (split across two days)
Day 1 Morning (4 hours)
| Time | Task | Tool | Key Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00-9:30 | Gather context | Files | Collect employee survey results, Glassdoor review summary, exit interview themes, competitor careers pages. Convert to PDF if needed. |
| 9:30-10:30 | Talent challenge diagnosis | The Diagnosis | Upload all docs. Read AI reframe suggestions. The stated brief is "we need an EVP." The real challenge is usually more specific: retention of a critical segment, perception gap, or post-crisis credibility. Edit to sharpen. Define employer convention. Lock & Continue. |
| 10:30-11:30 | Talent segment mapping | The Listener | Generate segments. Reject demographics ("millennials in London"). Find the human tension. Example: "Mid-career engineers who want ownership but keep joining companies that micromanage." Lock & Continue. |
| 11:30-12:30 | Give/Get/Exclusion | The Promise | Map 5-6 competitor employers. Identify white space. Write the Give (covering functional, economic, psychological benefits). Write the Get honestly. Write the Exclusion. Lock & Continue. |
| 12:30-1:00 | Break | - | Step away from screen. The next phase needs fresh eyes. |
Day 1 Afternoon (4 hours)
| Time | Task | Tool | Key Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00-2:00 | Synthesise brief | The Brief | Review inherited context. AI generates one-page employer brand brief. Check: does it connect talent challenge to business outcomes? Does it include "What We Offer" and "What We Expect" as separate fields? Lock & Continue. |
| 2:00-3:30 | Employer brand platform | The Signal | Generate 4 territories. Review Territory Perception Map. Choose Sweet Spot or Recommended based on organisational risk appetite. Generate platform. Check Pitch Readiness score. Fix red flags. |
| 3:30-4:00 | Save & review | All tools | Save project ("Organisation Name - EVP Round 1"). Export Signal to PPTX. Review cascade flow for coherence. |
| 4:00-5:00 | Refine in PowerPoint | PowerPoint | Open PPTX export. Add organisation branding. Refine copy. Add employee quotes if available. This is where your craft shows. |
Day 2 (2-3 hours for activation concepts)
| Time | Task | Tool | Key Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00-10:30 | Activation brief | The Playbook | Use employer brand platform from Signal as "territory" input. Set format, platform, duration. Add executional considerations. |
| 10:30-11:00 | Generate concepts | The Playbook | Generate 3 activation concepts. If first batch misses, use Regenerate All. If close, use Vary This to refine. |
| 11:00-12:00 | Polish concepts | The Playbook + PPTX | Export to PowerPoint. Refine copy. Check activation concepts span attract and engage touchpoints, not just recruitment. |
| 12:00-1:00 | Final assembly | PowerPoint | Combine EVP strategy deck + activation deck. Add intro/outro slides. Rehearse narrative: Challenge → Tension → Promise → Platform → Activation. |
Day 2 afternoon: Rest. You have a coherent EVP strategy built in 10 hours that would normally take a consultancy 6-8 weeks.
Pro tip: Save before end of Day 1. If stakeholder feedback arrives overnight, you can reload and adjust rather than starting over.
Scenario 2: Post-Acquisition Employer Brand Integration
Situation: Two companies have merged. One was engineering-led and flat, the other sales-led and hierarchical. Both had strong employer brands. Talent from both sides is anxious. You need to recommend which EVP elements survive, which retire, and what the unified employer brand looks like.
Total time: 4-5 hours
| Time | Task | Tool | Key Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00-0:30 | Decode both EVPs | The Evidence | Run The Evidence twice: once for each legacy employer brand. Upload careers site content, internal comms, and Glassdoor data for each. This surfaces the implied EVP of each organisation. |
| 0:30-1:00 | Map the conflict | Notes + Evidence output | Compare the two decoded EVPs. Where do they align? Where do they contradict? Which elements are being kept in the merged entity? Be honest about what is being retired. |
| 1:00-1:45 | Diagnose the real challenge | The Diagnosis | Upload both Evidence outputs plus any integration planning documents. The stated brief is "unified employer brand." The real challenge is usually "retain the best people from both sides while building something new." Define the convention: merged companies always promise "best of both worlds." |
| 1:45-2:30 | Map talent segments | The Listener | Generate segments for the merged entity. Key question: are the talent segments from Company A the same as Company B? Usually not. Find the tensions that exist across both populations. |
| 2:30-3:30 | Build the unified EVP | The Promise | Map both legacy employers plus 3-4 external competitors. The white space is not "between the two legacy brands." It is a new position that draws from genuine strengths of both. Write Give/Get/Exclusion for the merged entity. |
| 3:30-4:30 | Brief and platform | Brief + Signal | Synthesise the employer brand brief. Generate territories. Choose one that feels genuinely new, not a compromise. Export to PPTX. |
| 4:30-5:00 | Package recommendation | PowerPoint | Structure as: What we heard (two EVPs decoded) → What is changing → The new promise → How it shows up. Be explicit about what is being retired and why. |
Critical: Do not position this as "the best of both worlds." Employees see through it instantly. Be honest about trade-offs. The Promise's Exclusion is particularly powerful here: "The merged entity is not [thing employees from Company A valued] because we are building [something different]."
Scenario 3: Employer Reputation Recovery
Situation: Organisation has a 2.8 Glassdoor rating. Negative press coverage. High attrition. Recruitment is suffering. Leadership wants an employer brand refresh, but the problems are real.
Total time: 3-4 hours
| Time | Task | Tool | Key Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00-0:30 | Audit the current state | The Evidence | Upload current careers site content, recent job ads, any existing EVP documents. Let The Evidence decode the implied strategy. Compare what the organisation says with what employees say on Glassdoor. |
| 0:30-1:15 | Honest diagnosis | The Diagnosis | Upload Glassdoor review themes, attrition data, exit interview summaries. The Diagnosis will ask: is this a perception problem or an experience problem? If the experience is genuinely poor, no amount of branding fixes it. Be honest about which themes are fair criticism. |
| 1:15-2:00 | Find the credible Give | The Promise | Map competitors. Write the Give based on what is genuinely true today, not aspirational. Write the Get honestly: if the work is demanding, say so. The Exclusion should acknowledge what the organisation is not yet able to promise. This honesty IS the strategy. |
| 2:00-2:45 | Build credible platform | Brief + Signal | The employer brand platform must pass the employee recognition test: would current employees read this and nod? If they would laugh, it is aspirational, not credible. Choose territories with lower stretch and higher believability on the perception map. |
| 2:45-3:30 | Activation plan | The Playbook | Focus on internal-first activation. The employer brand must be credible to current employees before it is marketed to candidates. Generate concepts for internal comms, Glassdoor response strategy, and manager briefings before external recruitment content. |
| 3:30-4:00 | Package as roadmap | Export | Export as PPTX. Frame as three phases: Phase 1 (now): honest EVP + internal activation. Phase 2 (3-6 months): external employer brand once internal sentiment shifts. Phase 3 (6-12 months): full lifecycle activation. |
Key principle: The EVP for a reputation recovery is not "who we want to be." It is "who we honestly are today, and what we are doing about the rest." Pitch Readiness Check will flag "Evidence Base" as amber or red. That is correct. Present it honestly to leadership: "This is where we are. Here is the roadmap to where we want to be."
Scenario 4: CHRO Rejected the EVP
Situation: You pitched an EVP. Leadership said "too honest" or "too negative" or "does not reflect our ambition." You need alternatives fast.
Total time: 60 minutes
| Time | Task | Tool | Key Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:00-0:10 | Diagnose rejection | Notes | Why did it fail? Too honest about the Get? Exclusion felt uncomfortable? Get/Exclusion seen as negative? Write down specific feedback. |
| 0:10-0:30 | Re-run The Promise | The Promise | Load previous project. If "too honest", soften the Get language without removing it. If "too negative", strengthen the Give while keeping the exclusion. If "not ambitious enough", increase the aspirational element of the Give but ground it in one real thing. |
| 0:30-0:50 | Alternative territories | The Signal | Generate 4 territories from adjusted EVP. Map all on Territory Perception Map. Show leadership options across the spectrum: credible today vs aspirational stretch. |
| 0:50-1:00 | Package alternatives | Export | Export Signal to PPTX. Keep rejected EVP for comparison. Present as: "Based on feedback, here are three alternative territories with different risk/credibility profiles." |
Key move: Do not remove the Get or Exclusion. Soften the language, not the structure. An EVP without a Get is a wish list. Show leadership why the two-sided exchange makes the promise credible, not negative. The Territory Perception Map makes the trade-off between honesty and aspiration visible and defensible.
Scenario 5: Junior EB Practitioner, First Solo EVP Project
Situation: You are early in your employer brand career. Senior strategist is busy. You are running this EVP project solo.
Total time: 3-4 hours (first time), 90 min (after practice)
Preparation Phase (Before Brief Arrives)
- Watch all video walkthroughs (90 min total)
- Read Philosophy & Approach and Best Practices
- Study 3 case studies: Patagonia, Spotify, Tesla
- Run a practice project with a familiar employer (Spotify, Google, NHS) to learn the interface
Execution Phase (When Brief Arrives)
| Time | Task | Tool | Key Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hour 1 | Deep brief read | The Diagnosis | Read brief 3 times. Highlight what feels like symptom vs cause. Upload brief + employee research + Glassdoor data. Let AI suggest reframes. Choose one that creates tension. Write employer convention based on what every employer in the sector promises. |
| Hour 2 | Talent segment definition | The Listener | Generate segments. Reject demographics ("engineers, 28-40"). Find the human tension. Not "senior developers in London" but "Senior developers who want ownership but keep joining companies that micromanage." Customise if you know the talent market better than AI does. |
| Hour 3 | Give/Get/Exclusion | The Promise | Map 4-5 competitor employers. Find white space. Write the Give (all three benefit types). Write the Get honestly. CRITICAL: Make the Exclusion meaningful. Not "We are not boring" but "We are not a place for people who need structured management, predictable projects, or slow decision-making." |
| Hour 4 | Platform generation | The Brief + Signal | Synthesise brief. Move to Signal. Generate territories. Review Pitch Readiness score. If 73%, that is okay. Fix the red flags. Do not aim for perfection. Aim for honest assessment. |
Review Phase (Critical for Junior Projects)
- Export everything to PPTX/DOCX
- Read through your Golden Thread: Challenge → Tension → Give/Get/Exclusion → Direction → Platform
- Does each step logically follow from the last? If not, edit.
- Show senior colleague BEFORE stakeholder meeting (even just 15 min review helps)
- Rehearse pitch narrative out loud (you will catch awkward phrasing)
Confidence builder: You have used the same strategic frameworks that experienced employer brand strategists use. The tools forced you to articulate the talent challenge, the tension, the Give/Get, and the Exclusion. Your thinking is scaffolded, not automated. You did the strategic work.
Common Time Traps (And How to Avoid Them)
| Time Trap | Why It Happens | How to Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Spending 30+ min on the talent challenge reframe | Overthinking the perfect wording | AI gives 80% draft. Edit to 90% and move on. You can refine later. |
| Generating 10+ territories in Signal | Wanting more options | 4-6 territories is enough. Too many options paralyse decision-making. Choose and commit. |
| Agonising over the Exclusion | Fear of being too honest | The discomfort is the point. If the Exclusion does not make you slightly nervous, it is not excluding enough. |
| Editing every AI suggestion to perfection in-tool | Perfectionism | Export early. Polish in Word/PowerPoint where you have more control. |
| Reading all case studies before starting | Avoiding the actual work | Case studies are for learning, not procrastination. Read 1-2 max, then start your project. |
Quick Reference: Time Estimates
| Task | Tool(s) | First Time | After Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full EVP development | All 5 core tools | 3-4 hours | 90-120 min |
| Activation concepts | The Playbook | 45 min | 15-30 min |
| Competitor employer analysis | The Radar | 30 min | 20 min |
| Project costing | The Estimator | 25 min | 15 min |
| EVP alternatives | Promise + Signal | 90 min | 60 min |
| Employer brand platform only | The Signal | 45 min | 30 min |
For more detailed workflows, see Best Practices. For troubleshooting, see Common Issues.