When talented people in your industry search for new jobs, where do you think you land on their “must apply” list? How often do you think your own employees recommend you to their peers who are looking for employment? If you think you could do better, that’s okay. In fact, it shows you have the insight and awareness to understand that your employer brand could use a bit of improvement.
Are you ready to position your company as a top employer? Here are some action steps you can take to attract great talent.
Start with a Reality Check
You can’t position yourself as a top employer until you clearly understand where you stand right now. That includes learning what your current employees genuinely think about your company culture, work environment, salary, and benefits. Additionally, you’ll need to explore how people from outside your organization perceive you as an employer. It’s important to know that what you intended to be your employer brand is what you are actually putting out there.
If the feedback you get isn’t what you want to hear, don’t sweat. Remember, it’s better to know what you need to work on rather than continue assuming that you don’t have employer branding issues at all.
Create a Clear Definition of your Company Culture
The company culture you create should be designed to attract the talent you need and gently encourage those who won’t be a good fit to look elsewhere. At its core, it should reflect your company’s vision, values, and primary mission. Keep in mind that your true organizational culture isn’t what you say it is. In reality, it is what your employees experience as they work for you.
In addition to conceiving the culture you want, you have to make sure that you foster that culture in your daily operations. That means developing managers that apply those principles in the way they lead people and put your policies into action. If they aren’t modeling the right things or treating workers how you have determined they should, that will impact your standing as an employer.
Use surveys and other tubes to conduct a cultural analysis. Then, use the results to continue to improve on a culture that will make you a top employer.
You can also use this information to determine what you want to prioritize in your recruitment marketing content, job listings, and interviews. Once you know what your current employees truly value about your culture, you can emphasize those aspects to potential employees.
Emphasize the Most Important Characteristics of Your Company
Your culture is in place, but how do you communicate it to your employees, candidates, recruiters, and others? That’s where consistent messaging comes into play. You can’t talk about everything all the time, so this is where you need to emphasize the most important characteristics of your company culture.
Prioritize the key points that you want people to know about your employer brand. That’s what your messaging should focus on. Everything else comes second.
How do you identify what you should emphasize? Learn why people accept jobs in your organization and why they stay. That’s what you use to convince people that they want to work for you.
Of course, salary and benefits are important. But dig a bit deeper. What keeps your workers engaged? What makes them look forward to going to work each day? When they face something frustrating or difficult, what do you offer that makes it worthwhile? Which unique perks do members of your time find to be particularly enjoyable?
For example, maybe you offer your team members two days off with pay each quarter to dedicate to volunteering for any organization they support. While small things may not make up for low pay and benefits, they can really push your organization over the top when it comes to being a sought-after place to work.
Engage Your Happiest Employees
Your happy, engaged employees can play an immeasurably important role in helping you attract new talent. However, turning these team members into employee ambassadors isn’t as easy as just asking them to recommend you to their friend. You have to provide them with the proper guidance to ensure they communicate your message as intended.
That begins with getting them engaged in your business as a whole. They must understand your mission and values, not just the limited part they play. Your best ambassadors will be able to explain exactly what your business does and how the product or service you offer benefits people and promotes the company’s culture and values. They should be able to summarize your work culture and employer value proposition. Then, they can speak to the things they value about their employment, based on their own experience.
However, guidance isn’t micromanagement. The best brand ambassadors will communicate through natural channels, using methods of communication that are natural for them. For example, some workers may be willing to post testimonial videos. Others may prefer to put their recommendations in writing.
Continue to Monitor Your Reputation
You’ve established yourself as a top employer. Now, you want to remain in that position. To do this, you have to continue to monitor your reputation. That means conducting regular sentiment analysis of your company culture, responding to candidate reviews, and taking other steps to ensure that you are in control of your employer brand.
