Employer branding is, in its simplest form, your company’s reputation among employees and the working population as a whole. Your brand as an employer is what makes your company a desirable place to work and one of the key factors that keeps employees from leaving to join your competitors.
Why is Employer Branding Important?
Few factors deter people from applying to jobs more than if their potential employer has a bad reputation, but what’s worse is having no reputation. Building your company’s employer profile is much like marketing to potential clients; positive awareness is key.
Companies having difficulty retaining or recruiting top talent should consider taking a closer look at their employer branding strategies.
With focused efforts to market your company to the workforce in a positive way, you achieve two key goals:
- You can strengthen your current team of employees by bringing in the most qualified candidates.
- You will see improved employee retention in the long term.
Here are some of the reasons employer branding is so important:
- Attract Top-level Talent
Companies with a strong, recognizable brand, attract the best talent. Qualified candidates want to work with employers that appreciate their skills and offer learning and development opportunities.
It’s important to note that even a fairly new company can successfully build an enviable brand as a good employer. So, a company’s age is not necessarily a deciding factor in the strength of its image in the job market.
- Increase Employee Retention
While competitive salaries are important, they prove insufficient in drawing the best employees and retaining them for long tenures. If your staff feel valued, they are more likely to stay.
Good employer branding is not just about image management, it is also about manifesting the ideals you want your company to be known for, in your actual work environment.
- Optimize Your Recruitment and Training Budgets
Organizations with a high employee turnover spend far more money on hiring, onboarding, and training than those with higher retention rates.
Scouting new employees, taking care of orientation processes, and providing ongoing training proves a costly and time-consuming activity, with low ROI.
Conversely, a lower turnover rate means a stronger team that has the opportunity to work and grow together. Not to mention, it also keeps your accountants happy!
Employer Branding Statistics
The facts about the importance of employer branding speak for themselves. According to a LinkedIn report, 72% of recruiting leaders across the globe felt that the employer brand “had a significant impact on hiring”. Additionally, 59% of this demographic said that they are investing more in this area.
A greater impetus on employer branding further yields a significant change in not only the relationship employees have with their employer but also the bottom line.
LinkedIn found that among the small to mid-sized businesses they surveyed, 28% experienced a drop in their employee turnover after improving their employer branding. This led to a 50% reduction in the cost-per-hire, a 50% increase in the volume of applications they received from qualified applicants, and a 1-2x speed up in the hiring process.
“LinkedIn found that among the small to mid-sized businesses they surveyed, 28% experienced a drop in their employee turnover after improving their employer branding.
With all of this considered, it is clear that investing in employer branding pays dividends, not only financially but also by creating a positive work environment that encourages employee engagement. If potential employees feel excited to work for you, they will inevitably deliver better performances once hired.
Employer Branding Strategies
A company that wants to build a strong employer brand must recognize that this is a continuous process and it does not happen overnight. Looking for ways to improve your brand reputation involves carefully considered investments in areas that will yield lasting value.
When considering how best to begin developing your employer branding, here are three useful strategies to apply:
#1 – Define your value proposition
Too often in companies, employees are taken for granted, with hiring practices emphasizing why they might be good for the company rather than why the company might be good for them.
Any employer branding strategy needs a strong value proposition, which tells candidates why your company is a good place to work. This sends the message that your company values them and makes them more likely to accept an offer of employment.
#2 – Do your research
As part of an employer branding strategy, make the effort to better understand what your company does well and what it could do better. By surveying current employees, reading reviews on sites like Glassdoor, and hiring experts in talent acquisition, you can get clarity on what improvements to make and in what order of priority.
For example, if current employees complain about the food in your cafeteria but past employees leave disgruntled reviews about closed-door management styles, both points of feedback are important. But you may want to call an executive management meeting to discuss new, open-door approaches before you have a review meeting with your cafeteria manager and food service operators.
#3 – Make hiring and onboarding an experience of your company’s culture
How your company presents itself to potential and recently hired candidates makes a strong impression that sets the tone for their subsequent work experience.
If your company presents itself as disorganized, unreasonably fast-paced, or disinterested in employee learning and growth, a good candidate will be less eager to work with you.
By streamlining and optimizing your interviewing and onboarding processes, you can help ensure that new employees and even the individuals that don’t get the job will speak highly of your company. Your brand as an employer will remain in a coveted, top-of-mind position for those not hired today, but who will still aspire to be hired someday.
Benefits of Employer Branding
In companies with strong employer branding, everybody wins. Not only does this yield a happier workforce and better talent recruitment opportunities, but it also can save a company millions of dollars resulting from high turnover.
Internally, companies that invest in employer branding are rewarded with increases in employee engagement. It is proven that employees who feel valued will in turn, value their employers and respond to positive changes with quality work. This also means that in times of a crunch or when circumstances become challenging, employees will be more likely to make sacrifices such as late nights or working on weekends to serve the brand they love and respect.
Externally, companies with excellent reputations as employers are more likely to be a candidate’s top choice, giving recruiters better access to highly qualified individuals who often receive multiple offers from competitors. As a result, if companies are known for attracting top talent, they will likely see an increase in qualified applicants, faster recruitment times and the fostering of a more positive work environment.
The result of all these factors can be a company that fundamentally functions better on every level and is recognized for it, making it easier in the long run to maintain a good employer brand.
Conclusion
Investing in your employer brand is a move that sees immense returns in the overall wellbeing of your company. A strong employer brand will contribute to a better employee experience, increase employee advocacy, strengthen employee retention and help you attract top talent.
As recruitment and talent acquisition specialists in accounting and finance, we will make sure to understand your employer brand perfectly to help find the perfect candidate. Visit our Employers page to learn more about what we can do for you.
You may also be interested in this article: What is Employee Engagement? A Comprehensive Overview
