When we go shopping, we look for renowned brands because they offer quality and better deals, right? Why do we have this mindset? It is because the brand has earned respect and a reputation in the market for the best quality of product.
It’s the most common mindset of a human being. When we talk about an applicant who is looking for job, there is no different perspective. The applicant also influences their decision to apply for a job in a particular company by its brand name, also known as an Employer Brand.
What are we even talking about? How do a company and brand correlate? Relax guys, we are here to help you out. So, fasten your seat belt and get ready to dive in this ocean of knowledge!
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What is Employer Branding
An example would be better to understand this sub-topic descriptively. Let’s suppose that one of your good friends was looking for a job and they got it in a big shot company, let’s say Google. What would you say? You will be stunned that they got into a company that is known for its best. But how do you know it’s the best? It is because of the branding of the company.
So now we clearly understand what an Employer Brand is.
In technical terms, an Employer Branding is the process of how a company differentiates itself from others in a job market. It is the practice of marketing the company to attract job seekers and top talent just by the name of your company.
A company’s image plays a very crucial role at the time of recruitment. It is a major factor affecting the wideness of the talent pool, quality of the candidates and applicant’s retention.
Why is employer branding necessary?
We see no reason to not have an employer brand for the company. Let’s learn more about the reasons for having an Employer Brand.
- Attracting top talents: An employer Brand plays a very notable role in talent acquisition.
When a candidate looks for opportunities, they see the name of the company and immediately search for it on Google. They notice what type of company it is, what employee strength does it carries and what’s in the news about it. It influences the applicant’s decision to apply to the company.
- Fastening the recruitment process: A good Employer Branding does not keep your open job positions vacant for a longer time but a good employer branding strategy in recruitment would.
Employer Branding helps the recruiters to attract qualified and worthy candidates in no time. Open job positions, when they stay vacant for a long time, not only frustrates the employer but also tarnishes the image of the company in the market.
- Increasing application completion rate: A strong Employer Brand affects even the minute parts that leads to attracting the best talent in the company such as, application completion rate.
Application completion rate is the metric that is used to compute the number of people or the applicants that have begun the application process and completed it. When a company has an influential Employer Branding, the applicant willingly stays on the application page and applies for it with their absolute interest no matter how long the application is (although, it shouldn’t be).
- Representing your company values: An Employer Brand represents your company values to the world.
A positive employer branding shows the values, goals and the culture of the company to the aspiring applicant. They can identify the company’s objective besides just the name and reputation of the company.
- Reducing cost: An appreciable employee branding reduces the cost of the recruitment process naturally. (It could be reduced even more with effective recruitment software!)
When you have a positive and influential employer branding, willing candidates wait for job openings in the company. You as an employer don’t have to put much effort into advertising the vacant job positions. The applicant comes to the company, reducing the cost of marketing and vocalizing the open role.
- Increase employee retention rate: Employer branding not just helps the employer to attract new talent but also gives leverage to the current employees.
“Charity begins at home” we must have heard of this phrase quite often. Well, a strong employer brand lifts a sense of pride in the current employees of the organization. They feel extreme pleasure at being part of such a great organization. It, hence, increases the employee retention rate.
Top 7 ways to build an Effective Employer Branding Strategies
Now that we know what an employer branding is and why it is so important, let’s examine and discuss the top 7 ways to build a successful employer branding strategies
- Showcase who you are: A company is not just known for its name but also for its values and objectives. Outcast your company values in the best possible way to ensure that the applicant knows what you do along with how you do it.
- Take feedback: Conduct surveys and take feedback from your existing employees to know where you are lacking in providing the best culture. This will help you understand and work on the areas that need improvement.
- Act on the feedback received: Just taking the feedback is not enough. Get into some action when you perceive the way your employees think about you. Try to act it in a more viewable way so that the employees know that you are trying your best to have them stay in the company.
- Understand the applicant’s expectations: An employer should understand the need and expectations of the applicant. By doing so, you will become a brand that speaks for the employees and supports them, not the one who doesn’t care.
- Use technology: Post stories, create posts on different social media platforms to approach as many candidates as possible. This will help you descriptively present your ethics and morals to more and more people.
- Encourage learning: Be a company that encourages learning and training for newcomers and for existing employees when they feel bored and need something new and interesting.
- Focus on employee development: Employee development is one of the most crucial factors that can make an applicant your potential employee. When a candidate knows that the company encourages employee development and growth, they are motivated to join the organization.
Wrapping up
Today every applicant wants an opportunity that harnesses their growth and development and gives them flexibility in their job. A report by Deloitte. reveals that 55% of Public Sector respondents rank this trend as highly relevant today (the highest).
We know that talent acquisition has been one of the most crucial and tiring tasks for HR, but we have these unknown yet known shortcuts that can ease our career lives. Just kidding, there is nothing like shortcuts. There are a few techniques mentioned above that we should use.
I hope we enlightened you with some great knowledge. We’ll keep bringing in more for you.
Till then Keep Reading, Keep Thinking and Keep HRing!