If you work in HR department, the concept of Employer Branding is probably familiar to you: it’s the set of techniques and processes to say to the world that your company is the best place to work.
Knowing these types of strategies is important because 50% of employees would refuse to work for a company with a bad reputation.
Even if the job offer were accompanied by a salary increase, half of people would not want to work for a brand with a bad image that does not promote and apply healthy values for the well-being of its workforce and the community where acts.
So, today we are going to explore different tactics to help you share your culture, values and work benefits and thus attract and positively influence candidates, employees, clients and investors.
What is Employer Branding?
We call Employer Branding the process by which a company promotes itself as an attractive place to develop professionally.
With this strategy, companies that do it well manage to differentiate themselves from the competitors and lead the market by showing the world what their corporate culture is like, what their values are, and what benefits the people who are part of the company have.
In recent years, Employer Branding has become a key part of all Human Resources operations. And it’s not surprising, because the benefits of investing in this strategy make the company much more profitable.
Factors that influence your Employer Brand
There are several factors that influence the perception of a company as a good place to invest talent. Among the most important we find:
- Benefits and rewards. A competitive compensation package, such as health insurance, flexible hours, work-life balance or retirement plans, helps attract top talent.
- Culture and values. A positive culture, aligned with the personal values of employees, promotes job satisfaction and the loyalty of team members.
- Development opportunities. Professional growth generates feelings of accomplishment. Employees are happier and therefore the brand image improves.
- Communication and transparency. Open, two-way communication promotes employee trust in the company.
- Employee comments and opinions. Comments posted by current and former employees on social media are a valuable source of information about what it’s like to work at the company, which has a huge impact on the brand’s reputation.
- Diversity and inclusion. A strong inclusive people management policy helps to raise awareness among the population, improving the perception of the organization as a good employer brand.
- Corporate social responsibility. The company’s commitment to the environment is one of the most critical aspects today, and one of the most relevant for the younger generation of employees who, moreover, is the most active in the RRSS. Making sure that the company is respectful of the environment helps to attract and retain the most conscientious candidates in the matter.
Benefits of implementing an effective Employer Branding strategy
Companies that implement Employer Branding techniques effectively achieve a number of benefits, including:
- Attracts the best-qualified talent. A strong employer brand helps a company stand out and attracts highly-qualified candidates looking to fit into a positive culture and values.
- Higher loyalty. Employees are more likely to feel proud of belonging to a company with a good brand image, leading to higher job satisfaction and commitment and reducing turnover.
- Improves employee engagement. When employees are satisfied with their company and happy in their work environment, they are more likely to not want to go anywhere else, increasing their commitment and performance.
- Cost savings. Companies that invest in Employer Branding hire three times better than those that don’t, significantly reducing recruiting and retention costs, while improving the productivity of the entire HR department.
- Greater business opportunities. A strong and positive brand image contributes to building a good reputation, which grants greater business opportunities and association with like-minded companies.
- Improves customer quality. Having a good brand image also serves to attract consumers who are looking for companies whose values align with their own, making them more likely to become loyal customers.
6 essential steps to develop your Employer Branding strategy
To develop an Employer Branding strategy that works, follow these steps:
1. Define your goals
The first thing you have to do is identify your key objectives. Ask yourself, what do you want to achieve? Maybe you want to increase the attraction of qualified candidates, improve employee loyalty, or increase team satisfaction and commitment.
2. Identify your audience
For Employer Branding to be effective, the message must be directed at your interest group. To do this, it will be necessary to find out what type of candidates you want to respond to your job offers, what are their needs, and what aspects of your company are the ones that can attract them.
3. Define your employer brand
This step is crucial, as it is about how you want your company to be perceived by others. What values and culture does your company represent? How do you want it to be perceived?
When defining your Employer Branding, take into account the needs and expectations of current and potential employees, and make sure that the company is meeting these expectations. In other words: don’t promise anything you can’t deliver.
4. Communicate your values
When you are clear about your employer brand, use different channels to spread it: corporate website, social networks, events and fairs, job interviews, publications in the media… Keep in mind that this should not only be from doors to the outside: the message must also be present in your internal communications and interactions.
5. Measure and evaluate
The use of specialized tools and metrics helps you measure the impact of your Employer Branding strategy to ensure that you are reaching your goals.
Resources like Team Insights allow you to keep track of the state of your employer brand through employee surveys, data analysis, and monitoring of key performance indicators. This way, you can make adjustments in real time and proactively whenever necessary.
6. Continue to improve
The Employer Branding strategy is a continuous process of constant improvement, so it will be necessary to monitor the KPI’s to maintain a good reputation as an employer.
One last piece of advice: knowing your company’s strengths is an advantage when designing your Employer Branding strategy. Knowing what makes your employees fall in love makes it easier to build a powerful and attractive message for others.
The good news is that discovering what makes your company unique is free with Team Insights. You just have to register and start using it. What to wait to start improving your brand image?
