Branding — Not Just for Products
When someone is looking for a new job or challenge, one of the first things they are going to Google is “top companies to work for” or “top companies in X industry.” It makes sense that a company’s reputation matters more than ever.
You spend hours upon hours creating a compelling story about your brand around your products or services, but how long do you spend cultivating a compelling employer brand to ensure you attract and retain the right people?
Employer branding is your reputation as a workplace and an employee’s perception of you as an employer. Employer branding is how you market your company to job seekers, as well as internal employees. The better you are at employer branding, the more likely you are to attract top talent. Additionally, a positive employer brand can also help you retain top talent.
What you put out as your brand strategy does not necessarily reflect what is inside. It won’t convince someone to work at or stay at your company. It would be best if you implemented the same branding strategy when it comes to communicating your company’s leadership, values, and culture.
It’s more than a story; you also need to walk the walk. Telling your employees and the general public that your company is a great place to work because you have ping-pong tables, kegs, or even free lunch every day isn’t going to cut it. Employer branding is critical to your bottom-line. A good employer brand can reduce turnover rates by 28%, and lower your costs-per-hire by half. Additionally, candidates who apply for roles are 50% more qualified when the company has a good employer brand.
An employer branding strategy allows you to control and positively change the dialogue surrounding your company to ensure higher talent acquisition and retention. In a nutshell, employer branding is how you market your company to job seekers, and what employees say about your company as a workplace.
A good employer branding strategy can help you attract better talent, cut down on hiring costs, and reduce employee turnover.
1. Know your company’s unique value proposition. To create a compelling employer brand, you must start by focusing on your company’s mission statement, values, vision, and culture. It could be helpful to identify what your business needs are and then work backward to understand what type of talent you need to acquire to fulfill those objectives.
2. Conduct an employer brand audit. You might not be fully aware of the reputation your company has among job seekers or even your employees. Send out internal surveys, conduct social media searches, check out sites like Glassdoor to read reviews, or hire a firm that administers reputation monitoring. Ultimately, your research should uncover your employees’ favorite aspects of your company culture that you can focus on highlighting, as well as any areas for improvement to ensure a strong employer brand.
3. Write an employer value proposition. After your research and cultivated a list of values and benefits your company offers, you’ll want to create an employer value proposition. It is a marketing message and a promise, so you shouldn’t say anything that isn’t true. You might use your employer value proposition on your website, recruitment materials, or LinkedIn company page.
4. Leverage current employees. When job seekers want to learn more about your employer brand, they’re going to want to hear from and see real employees at your company. Leverage your employees by conducting employee interviews or testimonials to share on your website.
5. Cultivate a robust onboarding process. Instilling a positive company brand image starts with a good onboarding process. You must get employees engaged and excited about their roles, and their teams, from the start. By arming your new employees with the instructions and tools necessary to excel in their roles, you’re ensuring a smooth transition, lower turnover rates, and more productive teams.
6. Offer learning and development opportunities. The number one reason people leave their jobs (other than salary) was that they were bored and needed a new challenge. Ultimately, this should be a relatively easy fix. If you allow employees to pursue learning opportunities and become proficient in new skills, you’re demonstrating your company’s emphasis on continuous learning and improvement.
7. Use video, blog posts, photos, and slideshows to tell your company story. When you’re implementing a strategy to improve the market’s perception of your product or service, you don’t just communicate your message through one channel. Instead, you provide videos, photos, slideshows, blogs, and other forms of messaging to ensure you’re reaching the most massive audience on various platforms.
8. Create a healthy diversity and inclusion initiative. If you want to create a strong employer brand, you must show your commitment to building diverse teams. There are plenty of company benefits to investing in D&I initiatives, including more innovative ideas, a stronger workplace culture, and better customer service. However, it’s also necessary for cultivating a positive employer brand by ensuring you’re extending your brand’s reach to new groups of people.
