In today’s saturated job market, competition for top talent has intensified. With more companies vying for the same pool of skilled workers, standing out from the crowd is more important than ever. This is where employer branding comes in.
Employer branding refers to the reputation that a company has as an employer. It encompasses everything from the company culture to its values and benefits and how employees and potential candidates perceive the company.
In this blog, we’ll explore employer branding, why it matters, and the steps you can take to build a positive employer brand. By the end of this blog, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to develop and maintain a strong employer brand that will help you attract and retain top talent.
Why Employer Branding Matters
The reputation of a company as an employer has a significant impact on both job seekers and employee retention rates. According to Glassdoor, 86% of HR professionals reported that recruitment is becoming more challenging as the labour market tightens. A strong employer brand can help your company stand out and attract top talent, even in a saturated job market.
According to LinkedIn, 72% of recruiting leaders worldwide agree that employer branding significantly impacts hiring. Furthermore, a strong employer brand can also improve employee retention rates. Employees who feel valued and engaged are likely to stay with the company long-term. In contrast, a negative work environment or lack of opportunities for growth and development can drive employees to seek other job opportunities.
“84% of job seekers would change jobs for a company with a better reputation and 69% would not take a job with a company with a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed.”
Alison Hadden – Glassdoor’s Director of Product Marketing
Strategies to Build a Strong Employer Brand
Building a strong employer brand requires a comprehensive approach that considers every aspect of the employee experience. Here are some key steps you can take to build a positive employer brand:
- Conduct a brand audit
A brand audit is the process of evaluating the current state of a company’s brand and reputation. This includes reviewing the company’s website, social media channels, job postings, and employee reviews. The goal of a brand audit is to identify areas of strength and weakness in the current employer’s brand and reputation.
Conducting a brand audit has several benefits, including identifying areas for improvement, ensuring consistency in messaging and branding across all channels, and uncovering any negative sentiment or reputation risks that must be addressed. By gaining insights into the current state of the employer brand, companies can develop a roadmap for building a positive and attractive employer brand that will help them stand out in the competitive job market.
- Establish policies aligned with core values
A company’s core values are the fundamental beliefs and guiding principles that shape its culture and operations. Aligning work policies with core values ensures that employees work towards the same goals and values, creating a cohesive and engaged workforce.
It is important to align work policies with core values because it fosters a culture of transparency, trust, and accountability. Employees who feel that their company’s policies align with their values are more likely to feel engaged and committed to their work. This also helps attract like-minded individuals more likely to thrive in the company’s culture.
- Encourage and ask for employee feedback
Employee feedback is a valuable tool for shaping the employer brand. Encouraging employees to provide feedback can help identify areas for improvement and address any concerns before they become major issues. Accessible feedback methods, such as anonymous surveys, suggestion boxes, and regular manager check-ins, can encourage employees to provide honest feedback.
The importance of employee feedback in shaping the employer brand is that it fosters a culture of openness and communication. Employees who feel that their feedback is valued are likely to be engaged and committed to their work.
- Act on employee feedback
Acting on employee feedback is crucial for building a positive employer brand. Identifying and addressing recurring themes shows employees that their feedback is valued and that the company is committed to improving their work experience. Outlining a plan to address employee concerns and providing updates on progress can help build trust and engagement among employees.
Acting on employee feedback demonstrates that the company is responsive to employee needs and concerns. This can help improve employee retention rates and attract top talent looking for a company that values employee input and actively seeks to improve the employee experience.
- Know your Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
An Employer Value Proposition (EVP) is a company’s unique set of benefits to its employees in exchange for their skills, experience, and commitment. A strong EVP is important for attracting and retaining top talent and building a positive employer brand.
The components of an EVP can include salary and benefits, career development opportunities, management style and leadership, employee evaluation and recognition, volunteer opportunities, job security, and flexibility. By understanding and promoting its EVP, a company can differentiate itself from competitors and attract employees who share its values and goals.
- Create a positive hiring process
A positive hiring process can greatly impact the employer brand by enhancing the candidate experience and creating a positive company perception. It is important to have a professional and rewarding application and recruitment process that aligns with the company’s values and culture.
To create an effective and positive hiring process, companies should:
- Clearly define the job description and requirements
- Make the application process easy and accessible
- Provide timely and transparent communication with candidates throughout the process
- Conduct structured and fair interviews
- Provide feedback to candidates, whether they are successful or not
- Ensure a smooth onboarding process for successful candidates
- Develop and promote your brand
Developing and promoting your employer brand is crucial in attracting and retaining top talent. Companies should create a brand identity and messaging strategy that aligns with their values, culture, and EVP.
To develop and promote your brand, companies should:
- Define your brand identity, including your mission, vision, values, and culture
- Develop messaging that communicates your brand identity and EVP to potential candidates
- Utilise social media and other marketing channels to promote your brand and communicate your messaging
- Ensure consistency in all brand communications and messaging
- Monitor and manage your online reputation and address any negative feedback
Case Studies: Companies Successfully Implementing Employer Branding
Employer branding has become a key strategy for companies to attract and retain top talent. Two companies that have successfully implemented employer branding are Lloyd’s of London and Knight Frank.
Lloyd at London
Lloyd’s of London partnered with a research and insights company in early 2019 to redefine its strategy for attracting and retaining high-quality graduate, intern, and apprenticeship candidates. The biggest challenge for Lloyd’s was finding emerging talent who wanted to come and stay at the corporation. The company needed a new emerging talent brand with a more accessible and human touch. The research company conducted face-to-face interviews with people from apprentice-level to senior managers to get to where Lloyd’s is as an employer now and where it is heading as part of its future at Lloyd’s strategy.
The research informed the development of four key messaging pillars: transparency, the future, the past, and expertise, and the emerging talent campaign theme of ‘Perspective.’ This messaging was created in a new early careers website, a campaign video, a Perspective video series for social media, an early careers brochure, and targeted marketing campaigns. The campaign resulted in 5000+ applications, a 14.58% increase in BAME applications, and a 300% increase in social media engagement.
Knight Frank
Knight Frank is the largest privately-owned property firm in the world, with a global network of more than 19,000 people across 60 territories. The company partnered with a research and insights company in 2019 to diversify its early careers talent strategy. The company wanted to attract more talent from fields outside of real estate and property, particularly STEM, and achieve a balanced representation of gender, BAME, and socioeconomic diversity.
The research company conducted an ECVP research project to understand what talent who had never considered a career in property thought of the industry and of Knight Frank. The project informed the development of an early careers brand focused on inviting talent to join Knight Frank to ‘Build your potential.’ The brand was brought to life across an early careers microsite, an early careers brochure, a graduate campaign video, an intern video series for social media, and all marketing and advertising content.
The company also adapted its internship program into a virtual insight program to adapt to the effects of COVID-19, which resulted in recruiting 60 interns who could discover and fulfil their potential with Knight Frank over the summer while many other internship programs across industries were delayed or cancelled. Overall, Knight Frank’s campaign resulted in 55% female representation at assessment, 25% BAME representation at assessment, and 50% microsite-apply clickthrough.
Conclusion
In today’s highly competitive job market, building a positive employer brand has become essential for attracting and retaining top talent. A strong employer brand can help a company stand out from the crowd and increase employee engagement and retention rates.
In this blog, we explored employer branding, why it matters, and how companies can build a positive employer brand. By conducting a brand audit, establishing policies aligned with core values, encouraging and acting on employee feedback, knowing the Employer Value Proposition (EVP), and creating a positive hiring process, companies can develop a strong employer brand that will help them attract and retain top talent.
By investing in employer branding, companies can differentiate themselves from competitors and create a positive reputation that will attract top talent for years.