What is Employer Branding?
So, you’ve decided to learn about employer branding? Congratulations, you’re at the right place! The following is a comprehensive guide to all things employer branding.
Whether you’re a business owner, part of the senior management team, an employee – even an exasperated HR trying to champion an employer branding strategy – you will find this guide helpful.
Not to be confused with your company brand, which is designed to help position your business to sell products or services, your employer brand functions to attract talent to your business and help retain those already on the payroll.
Employer branding entails all the actions undertaken by an organisation to grow and compound its reputation as a good place to work, and embodies a company’s mission, values, culture and personality.
From the CEO down to junior-level staff, everyone plays a part in building the reputation of your company.
These actions could be intentional, like when a company strategically tries to grow its employer brand through functions such as benefits offered, internal communications, CSR activity, to the working environment and its work model.
Equally, an employer brand is also affected by unintentional actions. For instance, guidelines ruling the tone of voice in an email or the speed at which a company responds to prospective candidates during the recruitment process both come under employer branding as well.
Simply put, an employer brand refers to your company’s reputation and appeal as a potential employer and describes the values it gives to its employees.
Who is responsible for employer branding?
Your identity as a company is shaped by various stakeholders. The responsibility of building an employer brand depends upon the company. But for the process to work effectively, teams across the company must work together.
This includes:
a) The founders or business owners, the C-suite executives who need to lead on the strategic vision for the company and set the values they want to reinforce
b) Managers are expected to implement this through training, communication evaluation and leadership.
c) Human Resources and Talent Acquisition departments that source & attract talent, manage employee relations, and reinforce company policies can go a long way in helping establish employer branding strategies.
d) Marketing teams help align a company with the position it wants to take, communicating its values externally through all channels; be it news, social media content, candidate packs, careers pages or events.
It’s this smooth collaboration between these parties that will help culminate in a strong and successful employer brand strategy.
Why is Employer Branding important?
If you’re already clear on what Employer Branding is, you still might ask yourself, ‘Well, what’s the big deal about all of this anyway?’
An employer brand is vital in helping attract top-tier talent to your company. According to research, employer branding has a direct impact on talent acquisition.
LinkedIn’s analytical summary found that organisations with great employer brands can see a 28% reduction in turnover and a 50% cut in hiring costs.
Companies with better reputations have higher-quality and more satisfied employees. They will also retain employees longer – which long term saves you money; and from an employee perspective, their experience is considerably improved and thus productivity and ownership are enhanced.
From a recruiting and talent perspective, if your company wants to stay ahead in the race for the best candidates, reviewing your employer branding strategy should be prioritised.
Increases the job pool of qualified candidates:
When your company is making efforts to build its company reputation and showcase employee stories online, it will be much easier for you to attract the best candidates.
Designing a strong perks and incentives package that include growth opportunities, health benefits, flexible work options, along with offering the opportunities to learn and develop new skills will help in pulling top-tier talent toward your company.
Naturally headhunting will remain part of your talent attraction strategy, and evidence of a strong employer brand will secure better response from passive candidates engaged with.
In addition, external employer brand communications will increase your pull-factor, meaning that you would be able to attract a great number active job seekers sending applications for live jobs.
Saves your company money:
When your company enjoys a formidable reputation among the pool of potential candidates, you will be able to spend less money promoting your open job positions on various career sites.
A strong, positive company identity may need only a share on your company website or social pages, and you would be able to attract qualified talent.
Hiring candidates who align with your company values will make it easier for you to keep them on board.
Lends your company a positive image on social media:
Social media plays a heavy role in potential candidates evaluating a job offer. Over a quarter of all job seekers use social media as their primary tool for job searching and research, with the number continuing to grow.
A companies social media profile offers candidates a look into its culture, including who they will work with, giving them an idea of what it would be like to work with the company.
Focusing on your employer branding gives you the chance to shape the narrative and ensure people have a positive view of your company’s identity.
If your company’s culture and CSR efforts receive external recognition through awards, you’ll be able to attract more people who wish to work for a company with a successful reputation.
