As digitization, coupled with the global pandemic, propels contingent hiring online and with more individuals relying on employer reviewer sites to evaluate businesses, delivering a positive[...]
There’s a reason employer branding lands in the top three recruiting trends: appearances matter.
Your employer brand defines your company’s identity as an employer. Done well, it can foster a reputation as a great place to work. Maintaining a positive employer brand, made up of both your candidate and employee experiences, reaps many benefits. In fact, organizations that invest in their candidate experience improve quality of hire by 70 percent, and companies with a formal employee engagement strategy are 67 percent more likely to improve their revenue year-over-year. On the other hand, companies with a bad reputation end up paying employees at least 10 percent more than other organizations.
Take note: If you want to hire the best without having to dole out higher salaries than your competition, then start with your employer brand.
Compensation isn’t the only factor candidates consider when evaluating a job offer. Research shows that high-quality candidates are attracted to purpose-driven organizations that align with their values, provide a great work environment, and invest in their growth.
When your employer brand successfully communicates your values, not only is conscious hiring easier, but you’re also likely to get twice as many applications compared to organizations with poor reputations. This means that your recruiting costs could drop by as much as 43 percent. Plus, companies with strong employer brands reduce their turnover and increase employee engagement.
Keep in mind that your corporate brand is impacted by your employer one. While they are (and should be) separate, they strongly tie into one another. Consumers’ growing social awareness means they care about your reputation as an employer—enough to affect their buying decisions.
All branding is based on great storytelling, but there are a few important things you need to get right.
First, identify your target audience(s): who are the ideal candidates, and what do they care about? Then, flesh out your employee value proposition: the set of values and benefits you offer to candidates in exchange for their work.
Remember, your employees are your best brand ambassadors. Candidates trust current employees three times more than the organization, itself, to provide reliable information on what it’s like to work there. Put your employees at the center of your branding efforts, from interns to executives. Ask them what they love about working at your company and then amplify their voices. Go beyond standard written testimonials. Encourage employees to review your company on Glassdoor and share their experiences through photos and videos on your website. Some great employees even give their employees shout-outs on the company social media accounts.
Finally, consistency ensures credibility. To ensure that your company’s overall identity is in sync, consider working with your marketing department to relate your employer brand directly to your corporate brand. Make sure that all channels and touchpoints, from social media, to your careers page, to your recruiting process carry the same messaging. For instance, imagine that you want to showcase your fast-paced and tech-savvy work environment. Your website and social channels look great, but your recruiting process is slow and conventional, and you take too long to respond to applicant queries. From a candidate’s perspective, the inconsistency between your customer-facing brand and your employer brand may make your organization appear inauthentic and confusing.
Building an employer brand requires HR and marketing teams to work together and think strategically, putting an additional burden of time and resources on these departments. Automate aspects of your recruiting process and candidate experience by using intelligent hiring technology so your these teams have more time to focus on and back up their employer branding strategy.
Don’t forget that candidates deeply value the human touch in recruiting. Automated resume screening and intelligent AI-matching can significantly reduce recruiters’ workloads, freeing them up for a more high-touch recruiting approach.
Hiring technology with built-in machine learning can analyze data from both past and current employees to identify factors common to successful hires. Using that intelligent data can also help you recruit with your company culture in mind, further upholding your employer brand. Then hiring teams can use an evidence-based approach to understand who their ideal candidate is and shape their employer brand around it.
Are you looking to build a strong employer brand and create a hiring process that supports it? Our modern contingent hiring vendor management system is an all-inclusive recruiting solution that provides consistent experiences for candidates. Plus, its AI can free up your talent acquisition team and hiring managers from mundane processes so they can provide a more human experience. Want to know more?
