When it comes to job hunting, today’s job-seekers are more selective about choosing their company than ever. With practically any information about a company at the candidate’s fingertips, transparency and a good corporate image are just some aspects of what is required to appeal to high quality candidates.
Therefore, a strong employer brand is vital to stand out amongst competitors. A study by Glassdoor revealed 70% of people are more likely to apply to a job if an employer actively manages its employer brand. That’s why it’s important to have a strong employer brand that sends out the right message to attract the right talent to help your business succeed.
We’ve come up with five easy steps you can take to help improve your employer brand.
Understand your current brand
A good place to start is by looking at your company reviews on sites like Glassdoor. This provides insight into what current and past employees think about working for your organisation. Another way to delve deeper is to send out a survey to current employees. Some potential questions to ask can include:
- How did you first hear about the company?
- What made you decide to stay/why might you consider leaving?
- How would you describe the work culture?
It’s important to make employees aware these are anonymous and that they can be honest in their response, that way you can gather the best feedback.
Review your findings
Once you’ve gathered findings, look for any key themes which you can address. What do employees want more of, or what is particularly successful that you can use as part of your employer brand? Finding out what your employees’ value most about your organisation will help you to find the best way to promote your organisation to candidates.
Plus, identifying key things employees don’t like means improvements can be addressed and made accordingly.
Encourage brand advocacy
Alongside reviews, peer to peer marketing is one of the most powerful and influential forms of marketing, 84% people trust it over any other forms of advertising. So, what better way to sell your company to jobseekers than through current employees.
A great way to show-off good company culture is through the social media of employees. Encourage staff to use social media to show parts of their working life. For example, if your company carries out virtual (or socially distanced) socials, sharing some photos on social media provides an insight into the appealing company culture. Plus, it shows the humanness and personality of the organisation.
Establish and enhance your core values and mission
The most memorable brands have a powerful story. The same can be said for employers. Through providing a strong and compelling narrative for your organisation, it helps turn it from a faceless entity to an organisation which people want to be a part of.
Your vision and mission statement should provide the key themes of your marketing. If you haven’t reviewed this in a while, you could get a group of long-standing employees to contribute and help come up with something that reflects the organisational culture and the message the company wants to put out.
Your core values and mission should be intertwined with your organisation’s story, so that the employer brand provides a true reflection of what the organisation stands for. These should be particularly strong on your career’s page, which is often the first-place potential candidates go before deciding whether to apply to a job.
Use social media to share ‘day in the life’ content
As well as selling your products and services, your company’s social media channels can be an effective way to sell your organisation as a great place to work. 79% of people currently use social media in their job search, so its presence has a big impact on the decision making process.
If you do a monthly bake-off, this can be shared on social media. Or if everyone dresses up for Halloween or goes on a team outing, sharing these fun and quirky moments makes for a stronger and more positive employer brand.
Having a great brand as an employer can heavily contribute to the success of your business. When you can attract and retain the best talent, you can stay ahead of competitors and stand out to candidates. By tapping into emotion and creating a sense of purpose and meaning behind your organisation, you can be a place that appeals to those with not just the right skills, but the right values and personality.
If you need any assistance sourcing the best talent for your business, request a call back from a member of our team today.
Written by Josh Smith