Every company has a\nreputation. It could include thoughts about your products, services, leaders,\nteam members, history, and more. And your company\u2019s reputation can also go\nbeyond to inspire a specific perception \u2014 emotional, instinctive, intellectual\n\u2014 in the people who see your ads, use your products, and eventually, speak to\nothers about you. That reputation is known as your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your company also\nhas a second brand related to its primary brand about how you\u2019re viewed as an\nemployer. This is your employer brand, and it lives and breathes in the minds\nand hearts of your former, current, and future employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In today\u2019s increasingly competitive job market, a positive employer brand is critical. Without one, hiring and retaining the best employees becomes challenging \u2014 and costly. You need talented, leadership-bound workers to drive your business forward, and the best way to find them is to cast the impression that your company is a great place to work. Everything from the salary and benefit packages you offer to advancement opportunities to weekly happy hours, the culture of an organization<\/a><\/em> <\/a>and the treatment of its employees can greatly impact the impression you\u2019re trying to make on potential candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An employer value proposition encompasses your organisation\u2019s mission, values, and culture, and gives employees a powerful reason to work for you. It\u2019s everything your company can offer as an employer, in exchange for all the skills and experience your employees bring to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An organisation benefits from a well-designed EVP, communicated often to both potential and current employees. A strong EVP can attract and retain the best people, help prioritise goals and agendas company-wide (especially in HR and workforce planning), help re-engage a dispassionate workforce, and reduce hiring costs. Most of all, it contributes to a favourable and robust employer brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you craft\nyour employer brand proposition, your company\u2019s benefits should be\nwell-established, well-defined, and a proven hit with your current employees.\nAnd if they\u2019re not, and you\u2019re looking to revamp things, consider what\ninfluences a person\u2019s decision whether to accept a job offer or not<\/p>\n\n\n\n There can often be confusion about who owns the organisational task of employer branding. At smaller shops, it could be the CEO controlling the messaging or, more traditionally, talent or HR leads. At larger businesses, recruiters might lean on their HR, communications, or marketing departments to help them craft and hone an employer brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s most exciting\nis that your employer brand is no longer just what your company website says it\nis. Like it or not, employer branding starts and ends with your employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re able to define your company\u2019s unique attributes, it\u2019s easier to hone an EVP. Get to know your organisation\u2019s core business, vision, mission, values, and culture. Understand what your company objectives are, and what sort of talent is needed to accomplish those objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You probably\nalready know exactly where your product or service stands in the marketplace,\nbut you may not be as aware of how your company is viewed in the market or how\nit\u2019s perceived by your current employees. Conduct research both internally and\nexternally with applicant surveys, internet and social media searches, and\/or\nfirms that conduct reputation monitoring. See what\u2019s working at your company so\nyou can keep doing it, and what areas need improvement \u2014 both when it\ncomes to company operations and morale, but specifically with the talent\nacquisition process in order to discover ways to improve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now comes the part when you can make your corporate messaging sing. Draft an EVP that clearly communicates the values of your corporate brand, while reflecting what\u2019s special about working at your organisation. It should align with your customer brand, but also speak directly to your employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When designing an EVP or other employer brand messaging, consider enlisting the talents of the creative wordsmiths in your own marketing or communications department (or outsourcing this and other brand work to an agency). By borrowing a few marketing techniques \u2014 such as starting every branding endeavour with the questions, \u201cWHO are we trying to reach? And WHAT do they want?\u201d \u2014 you\u2019ll be in the best position to craft an employer brand that speaks to your exact target audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you\nbecome a trusted employer, look no further than your own workforce. For finding\nout what it\u2019s like to work for your company, employees are 3x more likely to be\ntrusted by leads than your CEO. Your employees also shape your company\u2019s\nculture, live your values, achieve your objectives, and manifest your company\u2019s\nmission. Without their participation, your employer brand would be nothing.\nHere are a few ways to get your workers more engaged with your employer brand:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use a set of words or phrases that become a part of the company\u2019s vernacular, as a way to describe your company\u2019s values and what the experience of working for your company is all about. Keep it simple, clear, informative, and unique. Use this language in HR or recruiting meetings, and focus this language for your career pages, recruiting sites, social media accounts, and anywhere else your employer brand can be leveraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you know that one in four candidates view other employee profiles immediately after finding out about a job opportunity? Encourage your workers to update their online profiles<\/a><\/em> so they\u2019re current, professional, and attention-worthy. Your People or HR department can send out helpful email reminders, no-hassle links, and tutorials on how to do this. You can also leverage the experiences, expertise, and personalities of your employees by having them tell their stories on panels and become subject-matter experts or mentors on topics they\u2019re qualified to write or speak about in their field. Any time your former or current star employees bring positive attention to your customer or employer brand, you\u2019re putting your best recruiting foot forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As your employees update their personal and professional profiles, ask them to write (honest, but ideally favourable) reviews of your company on job listing sites, to post company news and updates, and to share job opportunities to their personal networks as they come up. The average network size of a company\u2019s employees is 10x larger than its own. Since your employees are your unofficial recruiters and marketers, the first step of a good employer brand strategy is to help employees use LinkedIn and other social media networks to represent themselves and spread the word about your company. Ask your social media manager to send guidelines on where and what to post and send links to make it easy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first 90 days of employment are critical to turning a new team member into a productive employee. Your company can make a deep and lasting first impression by offering a smooth onboarding process. Arm new hires with the tools, introductions, and orientations they need to hit the ground running and start thriving in their new roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nothing saves recruiting costs more than promoting from within, so give your workers opportunities for personal growth and professional development. Offer management and leadership training, special certifications, and plenty of avenues for career advancement to capture job candidate interest and commitment from your employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Job posts<\/a> are often the first contact candidates have with your company, so they\u2019re a perfect way to promote your employer brand. If you\u2019re going for a brand voice that stands out, instead of, \u201cmust demonstrate excellent communication skills\u201d you might try, \u201cYou\u2019re the type who\u2019d just as soon pick up the phone than wait for an email; the phrase \u2018cold call\u2019 doesn\u2019t give you the shivers,\u201d as a more descriptive, attention-getting way of bringing your organisation\u2019s personality to life. Then, optimise your search engine results using \u2014 but not overusing \u2014 words and phrases you know your ideal candidates are searching for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To increase the number of quality, enthusiastic applicants vying\nfor positions at your company, your CEO, leadership, marketing team, and\nrecruiters can all help develop and growth your employer brand. Whether you\nhave a big budget or small, whether you\u2019re a large company or a start-up, there\nare plenty of strategies you can use to think like a marketer, build deep and\nmeaningful relationships with your staff, and boost your employer brand like a\nboss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your employer\nvalue proposition will be the strongest if you can talk about how a role will\nbe meaningful (personally fulfilling or about a global good) or a superior work\nexperience, over compensation, especially if you want to attract younger\ncandidates. Your EVP should be unique, compelling, and tuned into the deeper\nmotivations of why a person might want to join your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a recruiter with a marketing mindset, you know that content \u2014 and lots of it \u2014 can be a great strategy for competing in a noisy marketplace. Job seekers often check out a company\u2019s blog to get to know an organisation on a more human level. You can post company news, culture updates, and articles written by your employees or company leaders, all in a personable voice. A blog can also be used to highlight the unique people policies, processes, and programs that show your organisation\u2019s commitment to employee happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Use high-quality videos,<\/a> photos, and slideshows to tell your company story, celebrate your diverse employees, and show off beautiful workspaces. A welcome video from your CEO or hiring manager is a great way to make an introduction, as are staff interviews talking about their experiences working for your organisation. Plan and budget for these and other marketing costs at the start of each quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s no surprise that who you hire says something about your brand. Having unique thinkers from a diverse range of backgrounds shows you’re not only walking the walk as an equal-opportunity employer, but also extending your brand\u2019s reach (both customer, and employer) into new groups \u2014 a sound business move, and a key strategy when building a powerful employer brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n SOURCE: LINKEDIN<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also see:<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is an employer value proposition (EVP)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Who does employer branding?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The employer branding process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Step 1. Get\nfamiliar with your company<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 2. Do an\naudit of your employer brand<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 3. Define\nan employer value proposition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 4. Use\nrecruitment marketing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 5. Build\nengagement among current employees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Step 6. Write snazzy\njob descriptions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to improve your employer brand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Don\u2019t focus\non compensation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Start a\ncompany blog<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Use rich\nmedia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Hire for\ndiversity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n