A brief that gets you comparable, useful proposals needs five things: the business problem you're actually solving, a defined scope, your current state, a timeline, and either a budget figure or a clear budget process. Miss any of these and you'll get back proposals that are hard to compare, because each agency will have filled the gap with its own assumption. This matters more for employer branding work than most categories, because the deliverable (a proposition, not just a campaign) varies enormously depending on scope, and agencies price and resource very differently depending on what they think you're actually asking for.
If you haven't decided whether to go external at all, see In-House vs Agency Employer Branding first. If you're ready to shortlist agencies, see How to Choose an Employer Branding Agency. This guide assumes you're ready to brief three to five shortlisted providers.
What a strong brief includes
Objective and business context. Why this project, why now, and what it needs to solve, not just "we need an EVP." An agency that understands the business problem behind the ask will scope more accurately than one working from a generic request.
Scope and deliverables. Which channels, which geographies and languages, and what you expect to receive at the end (a proposition document, creative assets, an activation plan, ongoing support). Be specific about what's in and out.
Current state. Any existing brand assets, prior agency relationships (and why they ended, if relevant), and known internal blockers, such as legal or brand-guideline constraints an agency will need to work within.
Timeline. Key milestones, not just a final deadline. Employer branding projects usually have internal moments (a leadership offsite, a careers site relaunch) the work needs to land around.
Budget or budget process. If you can't share a number, share a range or explain how the budget will be approved. A brief with no budget signal at all tends to produce proposals spread across a very wide range, which wastes everyone's time comparing them.
Evaluation criteria and decision timeline. How proposals will be judged, and by when a decision will be made. Agencies invest real time in proposals; being clear about the process respects that and tends to get you better-considered responses.
Stakeholders and decision makers. Who's involved in the decision, and who the agency will actually work with day to day if selected. These are not always the same people.
Common mistakes that produce weak proposals
Sending the identical, vague brief to five agencies and expecting comparable proposals back is the most common failure. Comparable proposals require a comparable brief, not just the same document. Withholding budget entirely is a close second. When an agency doesn't know the budget, it will often default to proposing the cheapest solution upfront as a way to win the pitch, expecting price to be the key deciding factor. The cheapest option is very rarely the best one.
Treating the brief as a one-way document rather than the start of a conversation is another common mistake. Good agencies ask clarifying questions before proposing; a process that doesn't allow time for that, or treats questions as a nuisance, filters out agencies that would have scoped the work more accurately. All agencies know that procurement processes often require multiple quotes to be compliant, and no agency wants to be there simply to make up the numbers. When a client running an RFP isn't forthcoming with answers to questions, the assumption is almost always that someone else has already been chosen and responding is probably a waste of time.
Overly long RFP processes, particularly ones asking for extensive free strategic work before any commercial commitment, tend to lose the strongest agencies, who are the ones with the least spare capacity to spend on unpaid speculative work.
How to run the process using the Directory
Shortlist first using the evaluation checklist in How to Choose an Employer Branding Agency, then send the brief to those three to five agencies rather than running an open call. A comparable brief sent to a deliberately shortlisted group produces better, more comparable proposals than a wide net.
If geography is a factor in scope, for example a brief spanning multiple regions, check Compare Providers by Region to confirm which shortlisted agencies actually have the regional delivery capability the brief requires, rather than assuming a global-sounding agency covers every region equally well.
Related guides
- In-House vs Agency Employer Branding: for the build-vs-buy decision, if you haven't made it yet.
- How to Choose an Employer Branding Agency: the evaluation checklist to shortlist before you brief.
- Compare Providers by Region: regional breakdown of the 565 screened providers.
Browse screened Employer Branding & EVP Agencies · Browse providers by region · If you run an agency and aren't listed yet, you can submit a free listing.