In this episode of the VMJPod’s Employer Brand Series, hosts David Macciocca and Grant O’Donnell sit down with Jamie Holder, Head of Talent at MUFG Retirement Solutions, to explore what happens when Talent takes the lead on employer branding.
With no dedicated EB function, Jamie shows how a lean team can still create meaningful impact by putting employee voices at the centre and focusing on proof over polish.
With no employer brand team or large marketing budget, agility became MUFG’s advantage.
"You bring people on the journey. You talk to them about what it might look like and get ideas from them. Once you start, they can see the value."
By involving leaders and employees early, Jamie built trust and reduced reliance on agencies. The shift was not about doing more work, but about doing the right work.
"We’ve shown we can move fast without losing quality. People understand we don’t need a film crew or six-week turnaround to create something impactful."
Rather than crafting EVP statements behind closed doors, Jamie’s team grounded their approach in employee feedback.
"We wanted to understand what people value, why they stay, what they love, what frustrates them. It’s not about slogans, it’s about what’s true."
Flexibility emerged as one of the strongest themes.
"We’ve committed as an organisation that we won’t go back to full-time in the office. Our hybrid is 50 per cent a fortnight, and we’ve got policies for individual arrangements. We’ve promoted that internally more than we ever have before."
Stories like these became proof points in MUFG’s EVP, tangible examples employees recognised as authentic.
Jamie emphasised that leadership sponsorship was crucial from the beginning.
"Our CEO was the one who really championed the EVP project. That set the tone, that this wasn’t a HR initiative, it was a business priority."
Today, Jamie reports directly to her GM of HR, who continues to sponsor employer brand initiatives at the executive level. That senior advocacy keeps EB connected to the organisation’s strategy and signals that talent experience is part of business performance.
For Jamie, employer brand only works when the message matches reality.
"It’s not ‘you told me X and I got Y.’ We had to make sure our flexibility story actually showed up in onboarding and how we support people from day one."
By focusing on consistency from attraction through to onboarding, MUFG built trust with new hires and reduced the risk of brand disconnects.
"We talk about being flexible and people-first, so that has to show up in how we welcome and manage people. It’s the proof behind the promise."
Jamie highlights the tangible business impact of employer branding.
"Agency spend, that was the first one. But it’s a big one because it adds up really fast. We don’t use agencies for contact centre recruitment anymore unless it’s a short-term or temp need. Otherwise, we do it all ourselves."
She also points to referrals as a key sign of engagement and credibility.
"When people refer their friends, that tells you something about your brand. They’re putting their own name to it."
Tracking metrics from MUFG’s career site helped the team understand what messages resonated, giving leadership confidence that the work was driving measurable results.
Jamie is clear that EVP is as much about protecting your brand as it is about promoting it.
"The last thing you want is someone leaving and writing on a review site, ‘They say they’re this, but they’re not.’ That’s really damaging."
By grounding EVP in lived experience, MUFG has built an employer brand that employees believe in, one that reflects reality rather than aspiration.
MUFG’s employer brand journey was not about big budgets or glossy campaigns. It was about listening, proving, and amplifying the voices of its people.
"The most powerful thing you can do is put employees at the centre. That’s what makes employer brand real, and that’s what gets leaders on board."