As the tides shift throughout the talent acquisition landscape, a new opportunity has emerged in the form of employer branding strategy. As the pandemic has caused a myriad of challenges and changes to organizational processes, attracting and retaining top talent has never been more important. However, this has become increasingly more difficult to do during these unprecedented times. As a result, organizations are focusing heavily on their employee value propositions and employer branding strategies to compete and excel.
To give some context to the ever-changing employee sentiment and why employer branding strategy is as important as ever, here are a few stats and findings:
- A recent CNBC article has termed these times the “Great Resignation” and states that roughly 1 in 3 workers are now considering leaving their job, while almost 60% are rethinking their career.
- A recent Monster poll has shown that 86% of workers feel that their career has stalled during the pandemic and 80% of workers do not think their current employer offers growth opportunities. Another 34% feel that the best way for advancement is to find a job with a new employer.
With numerous surveys and data points to reflect these types of feelings by employees, employer branding strategy is a critical component for HR professionals moving forward. So, what exactly is employer branding? In the simplest terms, employer branding is what job seekers and your employees think of the company. It is the process of managing your company’s reputation and positioning your organization as a great place to work and thrive.
Why is this so important to organizations? For one, employer branding will help with long-term recruitment needs, attracting higher-quality candidates. Next, it can lower turnover rates and overall expenses. Lastly, a strong employer branding strategy can improve diversity and help your company achieve faster growth in the marketplace.
With that being said, finding ideas for your company and adapting to the new normal should be prioritized. To assist, our team has put together the 6 best employer branding strategies that you can implement or use for inspiration:
Fine-tune your employee value proposition. As you know, your employee value proposition is a huge factor for the talent you’re looking to acquire. Now can be a great time to re-evaluate and fine-tune that proposition if need be. Once completed, your value proposition should be clearly communicated and considered when putting together the rest of your branding strategies, including the following outlined below.
Audit your current employer branding strategy. To start, take a deep dive into your current strategies to get a feel of what is working, what is not, and what can improve. If you do not have a solid strategy yet in place, now would be the time to lay the groundwork and foundation for the future of the company. For example, take a look at all of your talent acquisition processes, including your job postings, job descriptions, acceptance and rejection letters, and onboarding documents. Do they align with your employee value proposition, culture, and mission? Are they communicating your brand effectively? Finally, get feedback from employees and even applicants that were hired or did not accept a position. This can lead to invaluable insight that can lead to necessary adjustments to your strategy.
Proactively manage employer review sites. Part of any employer branding strategy is monitoring and managing online review sites. Platforms like Comparably have been gaining more visitors and many prospective employees are using them to get a feel of what your company is all about. Proactively managing and responding to any negative reviews, even if anonymous, can have a major impact on future talent acquisition.
Effectively manage profiles on job boards and social media. Keeping your job board and social media profiles fresh and up to date with your employer value proposition messaging is necessary. Current and potential employees are following your pages or reviewing these sites to understand your culture and to gain trust in your organization. Outdated or ineffective communication can adversely impact decisions from top talent that are considering a career within your company.
Engage your employees and use employee-generated content. One of the most effective branding strategies is engaging with your current workforce and team. Employee-generated content is any content that is created by your own staff or brand ambassadors. This includes employee testimonials, encouraging staff to share posts and updates from the company’s social media pages, and behind-the-scenes-type stories that showcase your work environment. Get creative and have fun, as this content, when done correctly, will increase your candidate conversions.
Measure results and adapt your strategy as needed. Once the above strategies are in place, you can’t just set it and forget it. Monitor and measure your results, such as increased social media impressions and followers, # of job applicants, # of new hires gained, and any other key performance metrics that are important. On a regular basis, adapt your strategy if needed. Notice one strategy making a much bigger impact than others? Put more time and resources into that to help fuel the fire. Additionally, research new ideas and implement others to learn what works best for your organization.
As you see, employer branding has evolved and will continue to adapt to market environments. Organizations that can effectively execute on these and similar strategies moving forward will have a competitive advantage. Those that do not will be left struggling to attract and retain top talent. Each and every company is unique, and employer branding strategies should represent those missions, values, and culture that makes you stand out.
