Having a solid employer brand is essential to acquire top talent in today’s competitive market. No wonder, employer branding is one of the most important aspects of talent acquisition. Accordingly, to survive amid this vicious competition, companies need to have a strong employer brand that attracts top talent. It’s the best way to make sure you have a pool of highly qualified candidates that can nudge your company to success.
However, to have a solid employer brand, you need also a solid employer branding strategy. In a nutshell, an employer branding strategy is about understanding your company’s hiring needs, identifying your target audience (desired candidates, ideal employees…, etc), and analyzing your main market competitors.
In return, this allows you to design a killing employer branding strategy that sets you apart from competitors, appeals to your target audiences, and helps you attract top-talent & highly qualified candidates.
If the dots don’t connect yet, just bear with me for a moment!
In today’s article, we’ll define what an employer brand is, list some of its benefits, and provide 6 effective steps to help you create a strong employer branding strategy.
Now, let’s get going!
What is an employer brand?
An employer brand refers to the perception and reputation of an organization as an employer. It encompasses the values, culture, and working environment of the company, as well as its policies and practices related to employee recruitment, retention, and development.
An employer brand is essentially the employer's identity, personality, and promise to its current and potential employees. It helps the organization to attract and retain top talent by conveying a positive image of the company and its work conditions. Also, an employer brand can be communicated through various channels, such as the company's website, social media, job advertisements, and employee testimonials.
In short, your employer brand is your company’s public image or persona. And, it determines how your employees and potential candidates perceive you in comparison with other companies. So, your employer brand is critical to the success of your organization. That’s because it’s what attracts top-talent candidates or puts them off. It also influences your current employees and whether they’ll continue working with you or not.
I mean no one wants to work with a company that has a tainted public image and bad work conditions!
Benefits of an employer brand
Let’s see some of the benefits of having a strong employer brand:
Attracts top talent
Having a strong employer brand can help a company attract the best and brightest candidates, who are more likely to seek out companies with a good reputation as an employer. As mentioned before, top talent seeks well-reputed companies with a strong employer brand.
Improves employee retention
Moreover, companies with strong employer brands are more likely to retain their current employees. Again, almost no one would leave a company that has a great public image along with great work conditions. This boosts employee retention while minimizing turnover rates.
Improves employee morale
Also, a positive employer brand can boost employee morale and job satisfaction, as employees feel proud to work for a well-regarded company.
Boosts company reputation
It can also have a positive impact on a company's overall reputation, as it reflects the company's commitment to its employees and can lead to increased brand loyalty from customers.
Increases productivity
When employees are proud of their employer and believe in the company's mission and values, they are more likely to be productive and committed to their work. This leads to a more creative and innovative work environment wherein employees are motivated to achieve the company’s goals.
What is an employer branding strategy?
As you know, business is a game of strategy! To succeed in any business, you need a strategic plan, and the same goes for developing a strong employer brand. In other words, you need a killing employer branding strategy.
In a nutshell, an employer branding strategy is a process that involves creating and promoting a company's unique identity and value proposition to attract and retain talented employees. It also includes shaping a company's image, reputation, and culture to appeal to potential and current employees and differentiate the organization from competitors.
Here are 6 steps to building a strong employer branding strategy
1. Develop a strong employee value proposition (EVP)
The first step to developing a killing employer branding strategy is to create a strong EVP that sets your company apart. Simply, your EVP is your unique trademark that makes your company different from the rest. It encompasses your company’s core values, mission, and culture. Think of it as a representation of who you are and what you stand for as a company.
Accordingly, you should define a clear and attractive employee value proposition. Your EVP should be communicated and desirable to attract top talent and retain current employees. However, remember to keep your EVP realistic and aligned with what your company stands for. Moreover, the best method to make your EVP solid and attractive to talent is to make your organization a great place to work!
2. Understanding your hiring needs
Understanding your hiring needs means identifying the specific skills, experience, and cultural fit required for each role in your organization. This requires a deep understanding of your business goals, organizational structure, and the current and future demands of your industry. Once you have a clear understanding of your hiring needs, you can then develop a hiring strategy that aligns with your employer brand.
One way to align your hiring strategy with your employer brand is to create job postings that accurately reflect your company's culture and values. Job postings should be more than just a list of requirements; they should also highlight the unique benefits of working at your company. This could include opportunities for growth and development, flexible work arrangements, or a positive work culture.
Another way to align your hiring strategy with your employer brand is to invest in employee development and training. When employees feel supported and valued, they are more likely to stay with your company and recommend it to others. This helps build a positive reputation for your company as a great place to work and attracts top talent. In turn, it helps build a strong and positive employer brand.
3. Define your goals
Another step in building a strong employer brand is defining your goals and objectives. This should be an essential part of your branding strategy. That’s because your goals help you measure the success and impact of your employer brand. In other words, without setting clear objectives you will never be able to assess the success of your employer branding strategy.
4. Develop clear candidate personas
Defining your candidate personas is crucial for developing a strong employer brand. That’s because it helps you understand the needs, preferences, and values of the candidates you want to attract. By creating candidate personas, you can tailor your employer branding messages, content, and strategies to better resonate with your target audience. This makes your brand attract the right type of candidates & talent you’re seeking.
Here are some key reasons why you should define your candidate personas:
- Enhance candidate experience
- Attract top talent
- Improve recruitment marketing
- Increase retention
In short, defining candidate personas is a critical step in developing a strong employer brand that can help you attract and retain the right talent for your organization.
5. Optimize your branding channels
Another essential step in developing a killing employer branding strategy is about optimizing your branding channels. That’s because it allows you to create a consistent and compelling message across all the channels that you use to communicate with candidates and employees.
Here are some reasons why optimizing your employer branding channels is important:
Consistency
By optimizing your employer branding channels, you can ensure that your messaging, visuals, and tone are consistent across all the channels you use. This can help you build a strong and recognizable employer brand that candidates and employees can easily identify and relate to.
Reach
Optimizing your employer branding channels can help you reach a wider and more diverse audience of potential candidates. By using a mix of channels that are popular with your target audience, you can increase your chances of attracting the right candidates for your organization.
Engagement
Optimizing your employer branding channels can help you create a more engaging and interactive experience for candidates and employees. By using channels that allow for two-way communication and feedback, you can build stronger relationships with your audience and improve candidate and employee engagement.
Reputation
Optimizing your employer branding channels can help you improve your employer brand reputation by showcasing your company culture, values, and employee experiences. By using channels such as social media and review sites, you can give potential candidates an authentic and transparent view of what it's like to work at your organization.
6. Engage with your employees
One of the best ways to create and showcase a great employer brand is to engage with your employees. For instance, you can encourage your employees to tell their stories and experiences through your employer branding initiatives. This can include creating employee testimonials, sharing employee blogs or videos, and encouraging employees to share your brand's social content on their social media profiles.
By featuring your employees in your employer branding initiatives, you are not only increasing the visibility of your brand but also demonstrating that you value and appreciate the contributions of your team members. This can boost employee morale and create a positive company culture, which can in turn attract top talent and help you retain your best employees.
To wrap up
Short & sweet, having a strong employer brand is essential for attracting and retaining top talent, improving employee morale and productivity, and boosting a company's reputation. To develop a strong employer branding strategy, you should create a strong employee value proposition, understand your hiring needs, align your hiring strategy with your employer brand, and communicate your brand through various channels.