Meet the team: Erica Howes, Employer Brand Content Manager

Favourite quote: “It is equally important to listen as it is to speak,” from spoken word poet Sarah Kay.

Your top books or podcasts?

My go-to podcasts lately have been By the Book and Dear Hank and John, both funny listens for a walk in the park. I’m a big reader and love historical fiction and memoirs, and a few favourites are Anxious People, The Nightingale, and The Art of Leaving.

What do you do at The Employer Brand Shop?

I’m focused on creating employer brand and recruitment marketing content for our clients to engage their employees and attract qualified talent to their organization.

What are some of your favourite past work experiences?

I worked in internal communications and employee experience at CIRA, where I really enjoyed leading employee advocacy programs that celebrated staff as the company’s greatest ambassadors. It was exciting to work with employees across departments to better understand what motivates them in their work, and to tell their stories across our digital channels.

Before CIRA, I worked at United Way Ottawa where part of my role involved speaking at events and workplaces about giving back to the local community. I loved public speaking, sharing impact stories, and working with so many great community organizations in the city.

What do you like about working in employer branding?

My background is in communications, but over time I also became interested in learning more about HR, so employer branding felt like a great mix of the two fields. Culture and brand can be hard to define, but people can tell you what motivates and challenges them in their work, and telling those stories is what makes employer branding such an exciting field to work in!

What are the types of projects that get you most excited?

I love writing and creating stories that showcase what a workplace culture actually looks like in action through employee stories. Regardless of your role or industry, working in an environment where you feel empowered to do your best work is so important, and I’m excited to work with our clients to bring those stories to life.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?

I’ve been getting into art over the past year, especially watercolour painting and calligraphy. I’m also a fan of Zumba, yoga, and hiking.