Today, the reputation of a company is more important than ever. In fact, one in three people has turned down a job offer due to the company’s bad reputation. If you’ve never wondered how much time you spend cultivating a good reputation for your company that is powerful and ensures you attract and retain top talent, you need to consider reinforcing a compelling employer branding. Randall Castillo Ortega, the founder of SME lender RACO Investment, explores what employer branding means and how to implement your own employer branding.
Employer branding is the reputation of the company among the workforce, as well as the perception that employees have of the employer. In other words, employer branding is how you market your business to job seekers and internal employees. The better your brand as an employer, the more likely you are to attract and retain the best talent. Explains Castillo, “You may have done an exceptional job building your brand in relation to your products or services, but that’s not enough, because that won’t convince anyone to work or stay in your company. You should consider, then, employer branding when it comes to communicating the leadership, values and culture of your company.”
For example, if a job seeker asks an employee of your company, “How do you work there?” the employee is not going to say, “We have some amazing products.” Instead, it will focus on people’s relationship on a day-to-day basis, company values and workplace culture. Therefore, to ensure good employer branding, you must tell a compelling story. It won’t be enough to tell your employees and the general public that your company is a great place to work because you have ping-pong tables. You have to go further.
Employer branding is fundamental to your bottom line, as good employer branding can reduce turnover rates by 28% and cut hiring costs by half. In addition, 75% of active job seekers are likely to apply for a position if the employer actively manages their employer branding. If you have a company, it is important that you better your employer branding so that both you and your employees can be completely proud of your brand.
An employer branding strategy allows you to positively control and change the dialogue surrounding your company to ensure greater talent acquisition and retention. In its most basic form, employer branding is how your company is marketed to job seekers and what your employees say about your company as a workplace. Good employer branding can help you attract better talent, reduce hiring costs and decrease employee turnover.
To create powerful employer branding, it is essential that you start focusing on the mission statement, values, vision and culture of your company. It might be helpful to identify what your business needs are and then work backward to understand what kind of talent you need to acquire to meet those goals.
The branding can tell a compelling story of employer branding on its values page. In it, among other things, it could show employees the opportunity for continuous learning. In this way, this company can link its values with its employer branding and its business objective.
You may not be fully aware of your company’s reputation among job seekers or even among your own employees. Send internal surveys, perform social media searches, visit sites like Glassdoor to read reviews, or hire a company to manage reputation monitoring. “Ultimately, your research should uncover your employees’ favorite aspects of your company’s culture,” adds Castillo, “which you can emphasize, as well as areas for improvement to ensure solid employer branding.”
Once you’ve researched and cultivated a list of values and benefits your company offers, it’s important to create a value proposition for the employer, that is, a marketing message and a promise. Don’t say anything that isn’t true or that your employees don’t agree with; to do this, you can place this value proposition on your website, hiring materials or LinkedIn page of your company. The employer value proposition is something your recruiters and HR team can discuss with potential candidates, and would have nothing to do with compensation. Instead, you should evoke passion in potential candidates by expressing your company’s positive impact on the world or its deeper purpose. People want to feel that their work is meaningful, even at the cost of a higher salary.
When job seekers want to learn more about the employer’s brand, they will want to know and see real employees of the company. Take advantage of your employees by conducting interviews or asking your employees for testimonials to share on your website. You can also tap into employees by asking them to post to their social media accounts when your company makes a fun draw or business outing. For example, you can create an event titled “Women in Technology” and organize a panel discussion. You can then ask your employees who participated to post an Instagram or Facebook image with a hashtag you’ve created. This is a fun and powerful way for your own employees to share your company’s culture on their own social networks.
Onboarding is the first exposure a new employee has with the company and an adverse impression can have significant consequences. In fact, people who have a negative onboarding experience are twice as likely to look for a different opportunity. Instilling a positive company brand image starts with a good onboarding process. It’s critical that employees get involved and excited about their roles and teams from the start. By arming your new employees with the instructions and tools needed to excel in their roles, you’re ensuring a smooth transition, lower turnover rates, and more productive teams.
If you want to create solid employer branding, it is essential that you demonstrate your commitment to form diverse teams. There are many benefits to the company when they invest in these initiatives, including more innovative ideas, a strong work culture, and better customer service. However, it is also necessary to cultivate positive employer branding to ensure that you are extending the reach of your brand to new groups of people.
