Having a strong employer brand is now a key area of focus for organizations. Why? Because today’s business leaders understand that their organization’s ability to attract and retain top talent is key to company success and growth.
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Let’s check out a few employer brand stats that demonstrate the importance of employer branding:
- 75% of hiring decision-makers say it’s easier to attract talent when they know of or about your organization, specifically when it comes to your company’s name, product, and services.
- 84% of job seekers say the brand reputation of a company as an employer of choice is important.
- 83% of job seekers are likely to research a company’s online reviews and ratings when deciding on where to apply for a job.
- Companies with positive employer branding get twice as many applications as companies with negative brands, and they spend less money on employees.
- 50% say they wouldn’t work for a company with a bad reputation, even with a pay increase.
At a time when the hiring and recruitment landscape has dramatically changed, business leaders must put their employer brand under careful watch. How companies treat and take care of their workers during this crucial period of disruption could define their employer branding for a long time.
4 Best Practices: How to Build a Strong Employer Brand
It takes more than posting job openings on LinkedIn or designing a fancy Careers page to create a brand that resonates with job seekers.
As part of their employee retention strategy, employers must also develop a range of initiatives, benefits, and perks that make a difference in the lives of the employees.
To understand what it takes to attract and retain the best possible talent, here are some tips that every employer and HR executive can follow.
1. Understand Your Value Proposition
It’s important for employers to conduct an honest self-assessment and ask themselves what exactly they bring to the table for employees and candidates. What are the things that make your company a great place to work?
Unless you’re planning to pay every employee and candidate the most money (among competitors) every single time, recognize that you must run an employer brand audit and build your employer brand based on things other than solely compensation.
Your value proposition as an employer could be your workplace culture, flexible hours, innovative technology, workplace diversity, remote work opportunities, or your package of office perks and benefits.
During this pandemic, the way you support your workers — how you prioritize their health, safety, wellness, and security — is also inevitably going to be part of your value proposition as an employer. After all, healthy and happy employees are the backbone of any business.
- 80% of respondents in one Deloitte study ranked well-being as the top-ranked trend, identifying it as important or very important to their organization’s success. (Deloitte)
Your value proposition should resonate with everyone in your organization. This is what will help you define what your employer branding message is going to be.
2. Listen to Your Employees
The world’s most productive companies invest in employer brand monitoring in order to listen to authentic, candid feedback from their employees.
Whether it comes from survey forms, online reviews posted by employees, one-on-one consultations with the leadership team, interviews, regular performance reviews, or pieces of paper dropped in your office’s suggestion box, employee feedback serves as an abundant, reliable source of the kind of information and insights you need to build a strong employer brand.
Are people happy with your benefits package? Do they feel like they are being compensated fairly? What do employees really think of your PTO policy? How has the pandemic economy impacted job satisfaction, productivity, and employee expectations?
Employee feedback serves as your key to answering these questions, helping you achieve a greater understanding of the employee experience. Know your employees like you know your customers, and speak directly to their best interests.
Listening to your employees is more important than ever during these difficult times. It’s the right thing to do. So make a point to be available, responsive, and empathetic for your employees, even if they’re working from home.
3. Grow Your Social Media Presence
Social media is a great tool for companies looking to strengthen their employer branding.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn aren’t just platforms for publishing branded product- or service-related communications. They are also venues for growing your network and sharing inside stories that at once show off your strengths as an employer and drive engagement with the kind of talent you’re hoping to attract.
- Candidates research companies on social media, with 70% saying they trust what employees say about a company over brand ads. (Betterteam)
4. Consistently Monitor Online Reviews
Companies that embrace — instead of fear — public-facing feedback, i.e., online reviews left by employees on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, are more likely to have stronger employer branding than those that don’t.
By signing up for services like Glassdoor for employers and monitoring employee reviews, you can determine whether or not your company is seen as a great place to work. You can also more accurately understand the perceptions that current and potential employees have of your organization.
Responding to reviews, meanwhile, serves as another engagement driver that can support your efforts to improve the overall employee experience. This is particularly critical for companies that may start to receive negative reviews because of a furlough or layoff.
Your responsiveness should also affect your hiring and recruitment strategy. Candidates feel more reassured when they see that you, as an employer, are active on employee review sites.
Final Thoughts
In the evolving landscape of recruitment and HR, companies with a strong employer brand stand out in the eyes of top candidates.
Strategically manage your employer brand, monitor employee reviews, and foster an organizational culture that promotes shared values, so you can boost your employer brand and attract just the kind of talent you’re looking for — even in times of uncertainty and crisis.
