This morning I made a stop at Starbucks on the way to dropping my son of at school.  He casually started talking about why people would work at Starbucks and compared it to why people would work at McDonalds.  At 8 years old, he was evaluating the worth of their Employment Branding campaigns and was making decisions about where he would prefer to work when he is in high school.  (I will preface this now by saying that he is a lot like me and we are kinda planners...)

Let me share with you the insight of an 8 year old:

Starbucks is a better place to work because:

1.  " they pay better than McDonalds."  I asked why he thought that (in our town they pay the same) and he said because the people at Starbucks are happier - they must be treated better and make more money.

2.  "they must train their employees better - our drinks are always right and the people aren't ever stressed.  McDonald's always seems rushed and makes mistakes."

3. "they encourage their employees to be themselves"  While Mcdonalds has strict clothing guidelines that my son refer's to as "dorky" (Lets keep in mind that he is 8, talking about employment branding, in a gifted class, likes pokemon and calls McDonald's outfits Dorky)  he thinks it is cool that Starbucks allows people to wear black shirts and just the apron.

4.  "they aren't trying to tell my why it's better"  This one to me was one of the most telling.  Based on the advertising he is exposed to from both companies he thinks starbucks is better because they aren't trying to be pushy about it. They aren't screaming they are a "best place to work" people just know they are "based on the experience you get when you come in"

So as you think about your own companies branding - think about that next generation and the fact that they are already watching what you do.  Their vision of you and your organization is already being shaped and decisions are already being made - years before you even start thinking about recruiting them.