Many leaders struggle to explain the value of employer branding to their organisations. In fact, while 78% of organisations invest in employer branding, only 18% are able to clearly communicate the ROI.
If you’re in the majority still finding ROI conversations slippery, these tips are for you.
By the end of this post, you’ll know how to confidently measure and explain the impact of your employer branding work, so you can secure bigger and bolder investment from leadership.
1. Ask what stakeholders really mean by ROI
When leadership asks for “the ROI of employer branding,” they’re often not looking for a strict financial calculation. What they really want to know is: “Is this working?” or “Can you justify the budget?”
Here’s the best thing to do.
Reframe the conversation with questions, like:
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“What does success look like to you?”
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“What outcomes would make you confident this is working?”
This shifts the focus from abstract ROI debates to clear, shared definitions of success.
2. Remember ROI depends on the stage of activation
Not every employer branding activity drives immediate conversions – and that’s okay.
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Awareness campaigns (e.g. passive talent attraction) build visibility and plant the seed for future applications.
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Activation tactics (e.g. nurture emails, content journeys, CRM campaigns) can be tracked more directly with metrics like engagement and conversion rates.
ROI isn’t linear, the same way the talent funnel isn’t.
3. Use a marketing-style measurement approach
Employer branding ROI is easiest to prove when you track it through a marketing funnel lens:
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Top of Funnel (Awareness): impressions, reach, video views, brand search lift
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Middle of Funnel (Consideration): engagement rate, blog dwell time, career site traffic
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Bottom of Funnel (Conversion): application rate, source quality, cost per hire
This approach makes your results tangible and easier for stakeholders to understand.
4. Embed measurement from the start
Measurement shouldn’t be an afterthought. Build it in from day one:
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Define KPIs before you launch your campaign.
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Treat measurement as a design principle, not an audit.
When you integrate tracking early, you avoid retrofitting metrics later – and your reporting becomes much stronger.
5. Benchmark success in context
ROI doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Think about comparing performance against:
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Your own past campaigns (e.g. last quarter or year-over-year)
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Relevant industry benchmarks (to give stakeholders external context)
This helps you demonstrate growth, even when direct revenue attribution isn’t clear.
💡 Key caveat: Attribution in employer branding is never straightforward. Candidates often take a non-linear journey. They might:
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See a billboard
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Read a blog post
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Hear a podcast
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Follow your company on LinkedIn for months
… before they take the leap and hit “apply.”
Measuring ROI in employer branding is tricky, but not impossible. Stick to these steps and you’ll skip the dreaded uhms and ahhs, boost your credibility and get stakeholders on board with increasing your budget.
