I am a firm believer that while your verbal communications are your most powerful communications, your internet based tools and your call center are your most frequent methods of communication.
Employees will hit your self service portal for anything from viewing paychecks, enrolling in benefits, looking for policies, and just generally getting information. If your portal isn't up to par, the employer brand communicated is one of deficiency or even dysfunction. If integration is lacking and employees are logging in multiple times to multiple systems, you are sending a message about beauracracy and administration. The portal should be a smooth experience that they don't have to think about. OK - forget about the technology and user experience for a moment. The portal is also where you can consistently communicate a message. So if part of your employer brand is about community involvement, perhaps you have messaging about your matching gifts program featured prominently in the home page.
Managers are focused on certain things when they verbally communicate the employer brand. Things like the above "community involvement" often are missed by managers because they don't directly impact the operational business. This is ok - so long as you are effective in using the other communications tools. What managers are more concerned with are the obvious - performance feedback, compensation, employee relations... They are also concerned about hiring and training. Ease of use still apply here. However, the managers will also be exposed to tools and systematic processes that help them along the way. Effective communication requires dynamic tools to explain not only the manager's process, but how to communicate results to employees as well. So managers have access to the TAS, PMS, CMS, and LMS as great tools, but the use of the tools, explanation of policies, and communication to employees are all factors that must be thought about before the tool "goes live."
HR Service Centers and call centers are really another topic series. (forgive me...)
