I had a conversation with Nick Homer at Chapter 2 about the future of employer branding — it was such a good one that we decided to do a shorter episode on the future of employer branding agencies.
This article covers the things we talked about. Watch the episode above, or listen to it below.
The agency landscape has changed a lot across mine and Nick’s careers. Recruitment advertising agencies that used to book media and fill it with creative evolved into something more. Websites, brochures, events, social media, employee comms… and employer branding.
Then over the last decade we saw employer brand emerge as agency projects, new specialist agencies, and in-house job titles.
So with the rise of in-house specialists and them working with other in-house teams, there’s a commercial question from the bosses who hold the purse strings - do you need an agency at all?
But the question isn’t whether to use an agency. It’s what they’re actually there to do — and when.
Because the thing agencies do really well, the thing that’s hard to replicate inside an organisation, is creativity. Not creativity as a vague concept — but the kind that comes from working across dozens of organisations, sectors and challenges. From having different reference points in the room. From seeing the same problem play out in ten different ways and knowing what actually works.
And that’s not just “words, pictures and pixels” creativity. It’s problem solving creativity.
The opportunity is agencies bringing that creativity at the right time, alongside in-house teams who have their own deep knowledge of the organisation. Not taking over. Not just delivering a brief and walking away. But coming in when it matters, adding the thing that’s genuinely hard to build internally, and leaving something better behind.
That sounds like a true partnership, right?
The knowledge transfer opportunity
One of the things Nick and I talked about is how much value sits in the movement of knowledge — in both directions.
People who’ve worked agency-side before moving in-house are often great hires for an organisation. They’ve seen the same problems play out across multiple organisations, built instincts from a breadth of experience, and can transfer that to a team quickly.
But there’s an opportunity for agencies too. Rather than the traditional model — take the brief, go away, come back with the work — what if agencies embedded alongside in-house teams, filled in the gaps, amplified what was already happening, and left the team genuinely better than they found it?
That’s a different kind of engagement. Smaller maybe, but higher impact [and value]. And it keeps the relationship going — because you’re building capability rather than creating dependency.
Look at the RADs six or seven years ago. The usual suspects. Now there’s a much wider range — smaller agencies, boutique outfits, even in-house teams entering their own work. That diversity is healthy. It pushes innovation, it pushes the bigger agencies to think differently, and it creates better work across the board.
And when agencies shed people — as has been happening — you get independent consultants and small groups doing things differently. Faster to mobilise, lower overhead, able to bolt into a team for a sprint and step back out. That model is growing because it meets a real need [and one of the reasons I set up my business].
What next?
The future of employer branding agencies isn’t smaller or larger. It’s different, more targeted, and more about knowing when to come in and what to bring — rather than owning the whole thing.
What’s going to be happening in five years is being worked out right now. In new agency shapes, in how knowledge moves between organisations, in conversations like the one I had with Nick. That feels like an exciting place to be.
If you know someone who would find this topic helpful then please do pass it on to them.
And if you want to talk about how I can help you with my fractional content marketing capabilities then I’d be happy to talk.
Thanks
Chris
Chris Le’cand-Harwood
Host, Employer Content Marketing
Founder, Content Marketing Pod Ltd
