Employer Branding: Definition, Process, and its importance

As an employer, if you think employer branding is just a buzzword or a trend that would fade away, you are missing out a major tactic in your marketing strategy.

If you are an HR or a CEO, let us tell you employer branding can help you hire the best talent quicker from the global talent pool. Let us break employer branding for you.

WHAT IS EMPLOYER BRANDING?

Employer branding is about establishing the image of your organization in the eyes of your employees and job prospects. It is a perception you build on the premise of what your employees can expect from you as an employer.

In employer branding, your customers are your potential recruits who may work for you one day. And it is them who are looking upto you and exploring what you have to offer them.

Take the case study of any successful organisation in the world, there are two primary reasons why a organization succeeds in the market.

#A Great Idea
#Hardworking employees.

Now, throughout history, a lot of great ideas have failed because they couldn’t get a great team who could execute to success. Every Idea that changed the world has a team behind it. It is always the hard working employees who script the success of organizations.

As an organization if you want to be successful and stay relevant in current times, you need to hire great talent to work for you.

And in the digital era where unemployment is ridiculously low, your perception as an employer has become incredibly important.

Getting the best talent to work for your company has become tough in a competitive market. Everyone wants the best for themselves. Think of it as like this, your potential candidates are your customers and business flourishes well if they serve their customers well.

So, the question is how will you serve your job seekers? The building of an employer brand heavily depends on HRs and the CEO of a company. They must consistently invest in building a better employer brand each day.

As per a Universum report, 60% of the 200 senior executives who were surveyed firmly believed that a CEO is responsible for the employer brand of an organisation.

Perhaps, that’s why Glassdoor has a separate section for rating a CEO.

WHY IS EMPLOYER BRAND SO IMPORTANT?

Here are a few noteworthy statistics:-

• As per a LinkedIn report, 75% of people seeking jobs use an employer brand to decide if they should apply for a particular job or not.
• According to Glassdoor, people seeking jobs these days read at least six reviews about a company before forming an opinion about them.
• According to LinkedIn, an organization that has a stronger employer brand than its competitors on an average see a 43% decrease in the cost per candidate they hire.
• If you aren’t developing your employer brand, you may end up paying up over $4,000 in salary premium per employee hired.
• 88% of millennials firmly believe that being a part of the right company culture is very important for their overall development and growth.

WHAT DO YOU GAIN BUILDING A STRONG EMPLOYER BRAND?

When you have a good image among job seekers, it helps you as an organisation to grow because of the following reasons-

1: YOU ATTRACT THE RIGHT TALENT-

Today most job seekers check Glassdoor reviews of organisations before they choose to work for them. As said before millennials want to join companies that have great work cultures.

It is not about hefty paychecks anymore but the overall growth of an individual. If you are a company whose values they can resonate with and have a culture that breeds positive well being, they will come to you.

As per a report by LinkedIn, focusing on employer branding leads to a splurge of 50% more qualified job applicants.

2: YOU RETAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES FOR LONGER TIME PERIODS-

When you are investing in making yourself an employer brand, your work doesn’t stop once you hire someone. It is just the beginning.

As an employer brand, you need to invest in nurturing a healthy work culture that promotes self-development and healthy expectations.

Make your employees feel that they are not merely working but contributing to the vision of the organization. The bigger picture keeps the employees invested at work. And moreover, time to time hikes and well-deserved perks is always an added bonus.

Keeping your current employees happy makes them brand ambassadors of your employer brand helping you hire better talent.

3: BETTER EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT-

Now, when you invest in your employer brand, it is obvious you will focus on how engaged your employee is at work. You will make sure your employee is aligned to the greater purpose of the organization.

When the motivation is right, it takes productivity to a whole new level. So, employer engagement is the third attribute you achieve with employer branding.

4: DECREASE IN RECRUITMENT COSTS-

As per a LinkedIn report, a company that has a stronger employer brand witness more than 40% decrease in cost per candidate they hire compared to its competitors.

When you have a strong employer brand, you don’t have to spend too much time in active recruiting. Your incredible reputation is enough to attract the right talent towards you. Who wouldn’t want to work at a place that treats its employees right?

Now, since we have talked about how building an employer brand can benefit you. Let’s discuss how you can build a employer brand for your organization. Here are four ways to do it-

#Define why working for you is a good choice-
If I put it simply, document why should someone work for you? In short, develop a employee value proposition. When I say document, it should include the following.

• What is the vision of the organization?
• What kind of work culture do you have?
• What are the career opportunities you offer?
• How can a employee grow in your organization?
• How does your business impact and contribute to society on a whole?

#Invest in training your employees-
Your employees can be your greatest brand ambassadors for your employer brand. So, make sure your employee grows with the organization as well. Invest in their learning, help them get certifications, and develop their personal skills.

Doing so will make them more efficient making them contribute more to the development of the copy and also letting them feel good about the company and themselves as a whole.

#Use Social Media wisely-
In the digital era, it is quite easy to put yourselves out there before people on social media. Build a strong presence on social media via platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Share the origin of your company. Showcase your vision through your social media posts. Give a peep in into the daily life of your employee at your workplace. Highlight every point that enhances your employer brand.

Let your content do the talking, the brand will build on its own!