A strong employer brand is extremely critical for attracting and retaining top talent in today's fiercely competitive labour market. As you may know, a company's employer brand is (at an extremely high level), how existing and future employees perceive your business. It includes perceptions of the mission, vision, values, culture, and employment practices of your business.
In this article, we have narrowed down 5 immediate practices you can use that will strengthen and enhance your employer brand:
Define your Employer Brand
While it might seem obvious, many companies have not actually defined their employer brand, and established clearly how they would like to be perceived by talent. Defining your employer brand is the first step to enhancing it. What principles and characteristics distinguish your business from others? What do you believe in? What type of workers are you hoping to recruit? You should take all of them into account while creating your employer brand and be sure to promote it in that way.
If you’re unsure of where to begin, you might start by conducting employee surveys to gain input on the good and bad perceptions of your company through the eyes of your employees. You may also check to see if your employer brand is consistent with your mission statement and corporate values. You can share your employer brand with workers and potential candidates through a variety of platforms, including your company website, social media, and job ads, after you have a clear knowledge of it.
Improve the candidate experience
For your employer brand to grow, a pleasant applicant experience is essential. The recruiting process a candidate goes through might affect how they view your company. An unpleasant encounter will hurt your employer brand and discourage future applicants from your company.
Think of it this way- even if the candidate was ultimately not chosen to fill your role, was the experience good or bad? This can be the difference between the candidate choosing to apply when other positions are available, or deciding to never apply for your company again, and encouraging their network to do the same as well due to the terrible experience.
To foster a pleasant applicant experience, you should maintain constant contact with candidates and offer feedback as the recruiting process progresses. Additionally, make sure that the information in your job postings about the responsibilities and expectations is accurate and transparent. During the interview process, you can also highlight your company's culture and values and give applicants a chance to speak with current workers.
Put employee engagement first
Building a successful employer brand requires engaging employees. Employees that are engaged are more inclined to speak well about their company and promote it to others, aside from the obvious of employee engagement increasing productivity. Additionally, they are more likely to work for the business overall if they are actively engaged and loving what they do.
Examples of prioritizing employee engagement include offering learning and development opportunities, fostering and promoting an environment at work that values recognition, teamwork, and open communication. You can even employees for input on corporate projects and include them in decision-making processes!
Make use of social media
With an overwhelming amount of people using social media every day, your employer brand can be strengthened via social media if used properly. Platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram provide you the chance to share employee success stories, highlight your company's culture, and connect with prospective employees. Do not underestimate the power of these platforms – many candidates also do their background research before applying- if the social media lacks authenticity and a strong employer brand, the risk of talent not applying is exceedingly high.
You may use social media to your advantage by producing interesting material that highlights the distinctive features of your business. This might consist of praise from workers, behind-the-scenes looks at business activities, and updates on business projects. Additionally, you can interact with potential candidates on social media and address their queries and remarks.
Keep an eye on your internet reputation.
Your employer brand is absolutely impacted by your internet reputation. Potential applicants may be discouraged from applying to your company if there are unfavourable reviews on platforms like Glassdoor. It's crucial to keep an eye on your internet reputation and give prompt, polite responses to any unfavourable comments or reviews.
Set up notifications for mentions of your company on social media and review websites to keep an eye on your online reputation. Additionally, you can motivate staff members to post complimentary reviews on websites like Glassdoor and reply to any critical comments to address any issues brought up.
In conclusion, developing your employer brand necessitates a mix of defining it, developing a great applicant experience, putting an emphasis on employee engagement, using social media, and keeping an eye on your internet reputation. By putting these suggestions into practise, you can create a powerful employer brand that draws in and keeps great personnel, eventually resulting in the success of your business.