People aren’t falling out of their seats these days when they hear that recruiters and HR teams are finding it increasingly more difficult to find quality talent. In today’s competitive job market, organizations need to develop an employer brand that attracts top talent and keeps their current workforce happy. According to a recent LinkedIn survey, a staggering 72% of recruiting leaders worldwide attest to the substantial impact of employer branding on hiring outcomes.
A strong employer brand serves as an attention-grabber for candidates. Think of a moth to a flame. In this thought-provoking article, we take a look at the best practices for building a brand that resonates with potential employees and how to expand upon your recruitment efforts.
1) Define Your Company Culture:
An organization’s culture is completely unique to it and is part of what sets it apart from the competition. The importance of defining and articulating your company’s values, beliefs, and working environment for prospective hires cannot be overstated.
2) Develop an Employee Value Proposition:
Your employee value proposition (EVP) is what sets you apart from other employers. It should be specific to your organization, authentic, and compelling. A survey from Glassdoor revealed that 69% of job seekers would not take a job with a company that had a bad reputation, despite unemployment.
Communicate your organization’s core values through various channels such as your website, job postings, and social media platforms. This helps potential employees understand the principles that drive your company and allows them a chance to see how their values align with yours.
3) Create a Strong Candidate Experience:
What kind of impression are you making for potential employees during the hiring process? The name of the game is to make a positive and memorable experience for each and every candidate, even if you don’t plan to make an offer. According to a CareerBuilder survey, 78% of job seekers say the overall candidate experience is an indicator of how a company values its people.
4) Encourage Employee Advocacy:
Nobody is going to be a better brand ambassador for your company than its employees. Encouraging team members to share their experiences and success stories helps attract like-minded candidates whether it’s through word of mouth, on social media, or somewhere in between. According to LinkedIn, content shared by employees receives 8 times more engagement than content shared by brands.
5) Prioritize Diversity and Inclusion:
It shouldn’t be news to anyone that having a diverse and inclusive workplace leads to success in attracting top talent, improved engagement, and increased employee retention, just to name a few. Creating an environment where your entire team feels respected, included, and valued leads to success in countless areas such as creativity and innovation, productivity and efficiency, and teamwork and collaboration.
6) Highlight Employee Benefits:
Let’s be honest… on the list of things that matter to your employees, benefits rank towards the top. A competitive benefits structure is key to attracting and retaining top talent. Not only is it attractive to the job seeker for the obvious financial reasons, but it shows your commitment to your employees, shows that you value them in a tangible way, and in the long term, a healthy team is a happy team.
7) Provide Opportunities for Growth:
The large majority of employees are looking to learn, grow, and acquire new skills in their roles. According to a LinkedIn survey, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. If your goal is to create a destination workplace and retain your employees, it’s crucial that you invest in their professional development. They learn new or improve existing skills, and you get a more well-rounded employee.
8) Leverage Social Media:
Social media is no longer optional for recruitment teams, it’s essential for amplifying your brand. Share engaging content that showcases your company, its culture, employee success stories, and community involvement. Start connecting with potential candidates as you display your organization’s personality and put your best foot forward.
9) Measure Your Employer Brand:
Ok, so now that we’ve implemented our strategy to develop an employer brand. Now it’s time to measure the effectiveness of your initiatives. Some key performance indicators to measure your success will be Employee Engagement, Candidate Experience, Social Media Engagement, and Overall Brand Reputation. Monitoring user engagements and asking for feedback from your prospects and employees will allow you to identify areas of success and conversely, areas for improvement. Let the data drive your decision-making.
Conclusion:
Crafting an employer brand that appeals to your target demographics and attracts top talent requires a strategic and intentional approach. It will take some time for your roots to take hold, but the fruit of your efforts will be exponential. Embrace these best practices and put your best foot forward.
For more insights and resources on recruiting military talent, visit the Military Friendly® Talent Exchange, claim your free employer profile, and start your journey today.