5 Essential Learnings from Employer Branding Uncut: The Unconference 2025
by Rebecca Reffell | Published on June 12th, 2025
As we reflect on the month gone by, one of our favourite moments was EB Uncut, where we were lucky enough to host some of the brilliant minds in the Employer Brand world. Claire and Alex – founders of The EB Space – have created a community where people in our sector feel safe and able to have real conversations about what really matters to them in this (sometimes crazy) world of Employer Brand. The attendees came from a huge number of leading brands from Siemens, EY and Walmart to AstraZeneca, Microsoft and Haleon (any many more in between) and the agenda was set for a thought provoking day of chat, networking and exchange of ideas.
So what did we hear?
1. Employer branding demands grit, not just creativity
For people in our space, it’s a given that employer brand work is strategic, impactful – and delivers real benefits. But it remains misunderstood within an organisation itself. The reality is that EB professionals are frequently navigating shifting stakeholder priorities and under-resourced teams, meaning that grit and resilience is as important as creativity. Panellists spoke of the employer brand team as an enabler, coach, champion of the organisation – not necessarily the star of the show. If you’re looking to raise your personal brand – do it with substance. Be known for creating results and making things happen rather than someone who just signs things off. They spoke about the need to pick your battles, know when it’s right to ask forgiveness rather than permission and being clear and confident in your expertise.
Building a strong support network and community both within the organisation and with other EB professionals is essential for your own development, network and a sense of perspective when times get tough.
2. Inclusion = Performance
The panellists shared some really interesting, personal and candid insights about what inclusion means to them. But ultimately, inclusion should not just be about compliance – it’s a critical driver of high performance. We loved the point that ‘inclusion is not just about dancing around singing songs around a campfire’… fostering an inclusive environment is essential for leveraging cognitive diversity, which drives innovation. The advice was to lean into friction, difference and tension in positive ways to enable better business outcomes. And, in challenging times, true inclusion involves creating safe, open spaces for honest conversations which leads to psychological safety. The message was clear: inclusion should be a core business strategy, not just a checkbox to tick.
3. The real role of AI in hiring
AI is a hot topic in the employer branding, talent and recruiting world. Recruitment processes could always be smoother – but while AI has the potential to improve productivity, there’s a catch. If you automate broken processes, you’ll just make the existing problems worse. It’s not just a ‘button’ you press to make a shiny thing. It is a great tool and enabler, but only when used properly with the right level of human connection and intervention from brilliant recruiters.
The panellists encouraged everyone to think about the why behind a lack of adoption in TA teams – is it fear that it’s coming for our jobs? Is it being time poor? Or a combination? There is also a need to consider how AI fits into your culture; how it helps you act in line with your values and what effect it has on succession planning (especially for entry level talent).
And of course, it’s not just one sided either. Candidates are using AI more and more to create CVs that meet and exceed recruiters’ expectations. The panellists discussed that there is a need to be clear and candid about use of AI on both sides; the fact that paid for AI LLMs lead to higher quality CVs and so the need to democratise AI as a recruiting tool becomes ever more urgent. There’s also a clear need to REALLY make sure the platforms you’re procuring solve for the challenges your organisations face and to ensure teams are upskilled to use AI to its full potential.
4. EVPs must be dynamic, not dusty
A healthy debate rages on about whether the traditional EVP still serves today’s fast-changing organisations. As the workplace evolves, so must the EVP to ensure its agile and responsive to the ever-changing needs of employees. The discussion was fierce, but it’s clear that in today’s tumultuous world large, multi-year EVP projects are more challenging and less useful than dynamic, content-driven approaches that reflect the real-time employee experience. Either way EVPs and Employer Brands HAVE to stay relevant in an ever-changing world and be fully aligned with current workforce expectations.
5. Agencies as allies
In uncertain times, shifting budgets and uncertain futures, it might be tempting for organisations to ditch their agency relationship. But we heard (in our networking time and in the panel discussion) that agency partners still have an important role to play. If the partnership is strong, they can act as advocates, sounding boards and partners for EB professionals. They can bring a fresh external perspective to challenges your organisation might have; they can spot the low cost, high impact wins that can make a big difference; they can keep you focussed on the end game even while immediate priorities absorb every available moment day to day. We also heard a call to bring more people from in-house roles into the agency environment – and vice versa. People who can see both sides of the coin can bring a lot to the table.
But, ultimately, the message was clear – work with us, not against us. Be aware of our challenges and the uncertainties we’re facing. Always think about the value add and where agency skills can add impact that we might not have ourselves.
Final thoughts
It was refreshing and reassuring to be in a room with so many likeminded professionals dedicated to the world of Employer Brand. EB Uncut 2025 was an energising reminder that employer brand is about more than messaging and design – it’s about resilience, inclusion, human connection, and the courage to believe in your expertise and challenge norms. As roles evolve and pressures increase, EB professionals must lean into their influence, supported by trusted partners and a thriving community.
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