Your employer brand – in essence, your company’s reputation as a place to work – is just as important to growing your business as your quality product or service, because the latter simply wouldn’t be possible without the former. The stronger your brand, the more successful you’ll be at attracting and retaining the best talent to keep your organization top of mind in the marketplace.
- Research by the Harvard Business Review has shown that a negative reputation can cost a company at least 10 percent more per hire. On a more positive note, a strong brand can reduce employee turnover by up to 28 percent and cut costs per hire in half.
Define your EVP.
This is your employee value proposition: the unique set of benefits an employee receives in return for the skills, capabilities and experience they bring to your company. It’s also a promise you make to them in return for your commitment, so it must be truthful, authentic and clearly articulated. And it’s at the crux of your employer brand.
Leverage your current employees.
Motivated, engaged team members are your best brand ambassadors. Job seekers are likely to see them as highly credible sources to learn what life is really like at your workplace.
- Gather employee interviews and testimonials and display them on your website and company social media pages. In addition, ask employees to use their own social accounts to spread the good word about your company.
- Start or continue your employee referral program. If you can’t afford expensive cash incentives, offer personalized, albeit smaller dollar amount rewards like a gift card to a person’s favorite restaurant or tickets to a local sporting event. Or, give out gift bags of company swag.
Use multiple media to tell your story.
Start with your career site and continue with social platforms and other online and traditional media.
- Your career site is your front door. You own it and can completely control the message. So use it to your advantage and keep your content compelling and vibrant.
- Do the same with your company pages on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and other social media. Take a personal, humanistic approach to engage candidates and clearly visualize your brand image. On these platforms, you also need to be ready to participate in conversations and respond to comments.
Be proactive in asking for positive reviews.
As noted by Jeff Bezos, “reputation is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” The same holds true when it comes to experiences with your brand. People tend to write negative reviews more often than positive ones – but you can turn that tide. Don’t hesitate to ask employees, customers, vendors and others to chime in and help spread the good word about your company.
You don’t have to spend millions to perfect your employer brand strategy. All it really takes is a little planning, a proactive approach, and a dose of creativity as you map out your approach.
Let the Haley Marketing team be your go-to source as you develop all the elements of your employer brand, along with other tactics to build and maintain a winning recruitment strategy. Reach out to us today to schedule a free 30-minute focus call.
