Your company’s employer branding strategy majorly determines what kind of employees will be working inside its cubicles. To help you pull off a great one, we’ve master-curated 7 pro-tips on employer branding.
Everyone in talent acquisition swears by the employer branding strategy, which is one of the key recruitment trends in 2020. As the industry quickly moves toward a long-term employer branding focus, attracting the right talent is becoming a key organizational capability.
And it goes without saying that the best talent wants to work at the best place in the industry. It brings us to the question, “How can you convey that your company is the BEST place to work?”. That’s where an effective employer branding strategy works its charm.
Employer branding is all about how your employees and future hires see you as an employer. It saves time and money spent on hiring, attracts more qualified candidates, and retains good employees. In fact, having a reputable employer brand can cut-down your hiring costs by 50%.
Developing an Employer Branding Strategy
Employer branding is highly specific to your organization. It depends on the type of audience you cater to. There are no cast-iron rules for creating a compelling employer brand strategy.
But you can always follow some best practices while formulating one. Keeping that in mind, we compiled these 7 actionable tips for creating a successful employer brand-
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Trace Back Your Business Goals
Business goals are the cornerstone of an effective employer branding strategy. After all, a workforce that’s not fit to meet your organizational goals is of no use. Before you ponder over ways to attract candidates, create a target candidate persona.
This can be done by tracing back your macro business goals. Let’s say your company wants to launch a new product or increase sales in the next 12 months. Identify what new skills and qualifications you’ll need in your workforce to achieve this goal.
An ideal candidate persona will have all these skills, along with values that resonate with your company. Now you have an idea of who you’re trying to lure into applying. You can develop your brand strategy that aligns with this candidate’s perspective.
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Conduct Employer Brand Audits
Even though you don’t work for an employer brand, you still have a brand image. This is because your employees will always have a perception of your company. So why not start with how your employees currently feel about it? Conduct internal surveys, check social media reviews or personally ask your trustworthy employees.
Employee feedback will give you an idea of where you presently stand. From here, you can start by filling in the loopholes that are present in your brand image. Working on employee satisfaction will highly boost your employer brand.
According to the latest meta-analysis conducted by the Gallup Organization, “higher employee engagement results in increased profitability and productivity of the firm by 22%.” Moreover, your employees will be more likely to refer your company to their personal network.
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Draft an Employer Value Proposition
An Employer Value Proposition (EVP) is a message from your company, highlighting what you offer to your employees. It goes beyond the paychecks and material employee perks. Your EVP should focus on the meaning your employees add to your organization.
It’s all about creating a sense of purpose and joy of contribution in the candidate’s mind. After all, people love to know that their work is creating a difference and making an impact. Your EVP should be present everywhere- careers page, social media handles, and recruitment brochures.
Want a great example of an employer value proposition? Check out this EVP by Canva that adequately describes why it’s a great place to work.
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Create a Career Page that Captivates
Your Career page is a supporting pillar for all your recruitment campaigns. Once a candidate makes up his mind about joining your company, this is where he’ll head to. So you should optimize your career page well enough.
Your careers page should have an organized job search feature as well as a creative copy throughout. Mention perks featuring non-financial benefits like paid leaves and insurance. You can also include employee testimonials, reviews, and company awards.
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Effectively Communicate Your Company’s Work Culture
Your employer brand should not be solely visible in your recruitment campaigns. Your social media handles should also actively advocate your work culture. Celebrating employee successes should be a part of your social media efforts.
Regularly reflect upon the USPs of your company as a workplace. It can include workforce diversity, inclusive decision-making, and employee wellness programs.
For example, a key feature of Google’s employer brand strategy is equal opportunity. They welcome PWD employees, different races, minorities, religions, as well as people with criminal histories.
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Review Your Hiring Process
Your job does not end with attracting potential candidates to your recruitment drives. Many candidates form opinions of a company after going through the hiring process. Provide the best representation of your company’s brand image while hiring and onboarding.
Talk to the applicants or new hires about their experience with the application process. Ask them how they came to know about the job and what resources helped them. It will provide you with relevant feedback and room for improvement. Inculcate this into your employer branding strategy for the next recruitment campaign.
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Keep Track of the Results
Needless to say, any branding strategy is fruitless if you can not measure its effectiveness. Focus on measuring important hiring metrics like cost-per-hire, time-per-hire, applicants-per-jobs, etc. You can compare these with the performance of your previous branding strategies for the scope of improvement.
Additionally, you must also keep an eye on your long-term organizational goals. Your fresh recruits should help in meeting the set targets. Only then can you call it a successful hire.
Conclusion
A successfully implemented employer branding plan can miraculously solve all your recruitment issues, and beyond. How an organization treats its people influences not only potential candidates but also your customers. That is why many companies amalgamate employer branding with their marketing strategies. And the tips mentioned above carry the potential to make your employer brand shine.
