Orientation: Companies leverage employer, internal and corporate brand building practices as they compete to attract and retain the rare talent required for organisational success.Research purpose: To explore, in the context of global leading practice, the talent attraction and retention practices pertaining to employer, internal and corporate brand building in companies that are top South African brands.Motivation for the study: There is a shortage of South African studies providing relevant current insights into talent attraction and retention through brand building within the local context.Research approach/design and method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with strategic-level leaders in human resources and brand and line management across five companies that are top South African brands. Thematic content analysis yielded six themes that provided insight into local leading practices in talent attraction and retention through brand building.Main findings: Corporate brand building dominated talent attraction and retention, with talent lured by the commercial success of the brand and drawn to purpose-driven brands. Rigorous assessments confirmed whether talent met clearly articulated requirements and offered optimal brand fit. The employer and internal brands were currently under development, with learning and development as a central theme to both.Practical/managerial implications: This research provided insights from strategic-level leaders across human resources and brand and line management, providing current and practically applicable insights for all cross-functional leaders involved in talent attraction and retention.Contribution/value-add: South African companies and their leaders gained insight into leading practices in talent attraction and retention from an unprecedented sample of companies that are top South African brands.

With critical global talent shortages, the compounding effect of socio-economic challenges and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, companies in South Africa and other emerging marketplace economies are struggling to attract and retain the talent required for organisational success. The literature supports the use of employer brand-building practices to attract talent and internal branding to retain talent. The corporate brand plays a central role in both talent attraction and retention as it navigates the employer and internal brand and aligns all stakeholders, including talent. A lack of insight into talent attraction and retention through brand building in South Africa fuelled the need for a qualitative study in companies rated as top South African brands. Interviews with cross-functional strategic leaders provided data for thematic analysis. Notably, the dominant theme, which accounted for more than half of the cumulative content data, indicated the prominence of the corporate brand in talent attraction and retention. In this article, we discuss the significance of this finding in context of the current business landscape in emerging economies such as South Africa, in which widespread disruption continues to change the reality within which talent is attracted and retained. Ten leading practices are presented, along with five related management implications, which provide human resources and talent management with guidance on leveraging the corporate brand to attract and retain talent. Research limitations related to the sample of top South African brands inform recommendations for further research into brand building for talent attraction and retention in other emerging economies.

This article explores the symbiosis between the fields of responsible leadership and purpose-driven brand building to offer a new, integrated perspective along with strategic guidelines for implementation by leaders in Africa.Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper is based on a critical review of literature that follows a three-phased approach, with 87 literature sources included across 4 literature domains. Thematic content analysis of data delivers five themes revealing the symbiotic nature of responsible leadership through purpose-driven brand building.Findings: Findings are captured in a conceptual model, which suggests that responsible leadership should be embedded in brand purpose which serves to benefit brand stakeholders and society. Responsible leaders align all decisions and actions to build and enhance cohesive brands -creating ecosystems that cogently work together toward a shared goal. Through purpose-driven brand building, responsible leaders could bolster socio-economic development in Africa, garner trust and attract investment. Practical implications and value:The central value of this article lies in the integration of the previously separate domains of responsible leadership and purpose-driven brand building as well as the directions provided for further research. The new perspective is practically operationalised with strategic guidelines for responsible leadership on the African continent by serving brand purpose to the benefit of all stakeholders.

Purpose: This article explores the symbiosis between the fields of responsible leadership and purpose-driven brand building to offer a new, integrated perspective along with strategic guidelines for implementation by leaders in Africa.Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper is based on a critical review of literature that follows a three-phased approach, with 87 literature sources included across 4 literature domains. Thematic content analysis of data delivers five themes revealing the symbiotic nature of responsible leadership through purpose-driven brand building.Findings: Findings are captured in a conceptual model, which suggests that responsible leadership should be embedded in brand purpose which serves to benefit brand stakeholders and society. Responsible leaders align all decisions and actions to build and enhance cohesive brands - creating ecosystems that cogently work together toward a shared goal. Through purpose-driven brand building, responsible leaders could bolster socio-economic development in Africa, garner trust and attract investment.Practical implications and value: The central value of this article lies in the integration of the previously separate domains of responsible leadership and purpose-driven brand building as well as the directions provided for further research. The new perspective is practically operationalised with strategic guidelines for responsible leadership on the African continent by serving brand purpose to the benefit of all stakeholders.

The way employees embody brand purpose and values build or erode the brand’s equity. It is people who bring the brand to life as they interact with brand stakeholders across brand contact points over time. Traditionally, brand management is concerned with the corporate and customer-facing brands. Inside organizations, the functional ownership of the employer and internal brand often resides with human resources management, with brand management having varying levels of involvement. Yet it is the employer and internal brand that defines the brand’s culture organization wide, straddling the theoretical domains of business, brand, marketing, corporate communication, human resources, talent management and more. In this chapter, we’ll explore the nature and purpose of the employer and internal brand, discuss approaches to the alignment thereof, and propose ways in which a strategically aligned leadership team can ensure brand alignment, co-creation, loyalty and advocacy through people living the brand.