The Top Strategies for Effective Employer Branding and Talent Acquisition

Companies invest significant resources and effort in creating a strong brand to appeal to customers. However, they frequently fall short of developing a solid employer reputation, which results in difficulty in attracting, engaging, and retaining suitable employees.

In the face of intensifying competition for skilled workers, numerous organizations have incorporated gamification and utilized social media in their recruitment procedures. They are now dedicating the same level of attention and consistency to their employer branding as they do to their branding aimed at consumers and corporations.

Organizations acknowledge that employer branding is an essential element not only for recruitment marketing but also for successful organizational leadership. If a company cannot attract talented individuals, it will unlikely achieve its business goals.

A robust employer brand can be beneficial in attracting new talent, particularly during periods of low unemployment. A positive employer reputation can offer a valuable advantage for talent acquisition. Standing out from competitors may result in more responses to job postings and a greater likelihood of job candidates accepting an offer. The most talented individuals may actively seek out the organization, reducing the resources required for recruitment marketing. 

What is Employer Branding?

The perception of your company as a workplace is encapsulated in your employer brand. This includes the market's view of your organization as an employer and your commitments to your employees. Your employer brand represents your organization's values, culture, practices, and mission.

Employer branding is a means of influencing the overall perception of your organization to attract job seekers. This can be accomplished by promoting values, qualities, and practices attractive to the type of individuals you wish to recruit.

By positioning your organization as a top employer within your industry, you can draw in highly skilled and talented candidates interested in joining your team. By creating a distinct employer brand, your reputation can speak for your company and its work.

Why is employer branding important for recruiting?

Employer branding can provide numerous benefits, particularly in terms of recruitment. Some of the advantages of employer branding for recruitment include the following:
 

• Increasing the Volume of Applications from Qualified Candidates: If your organization has a strong reputation, social media presence, and a positive work culture, you will likely attract highly skilled and talented candidates for your available positions. Additionally, your current employees may assist in spreading the word and recommending potential candidates to apply. 
• Enhancing Your Online Reputation: Increasing your social media activity and prioritizing your employer brand can enhance your online reputation. Sharing employee experiences online and responding to inquiries and comments from potential candidates can help create a positive perception of your organization. Given that a significant percentage of millennials and Gen Zers with work experience apply for jobs via social media, this approach can be particularly useful in appealing to candidates researching reputable companies.
• Enhancing Employee Retention: When a company has a strong employer brand, its employees take pride in working there. Employees are more likely to be motivated to perform better and advocate for the brand when a workplace has a positive reputation and fosters a supportive work culture. You can achieve high-quality referrals and organic word-of-mouth marketing by creating brand ambassadors from your employees.
• Decreasing the Cost Per New Hire: Organizations invest a significant amount of time and resources in recruiting high-quality candidates. However, having a strong employer brand can help companies reduce the cost of advertising job openings. The organization is already well-known and has a positive reputation in the industry. This can result in a lower cost per hire by reducing the advertising expenses required to attract potential candidates and a larger pool of qualified applicants

The Top Strategies for Effective Employer Branding and Talent Acquisition

Developing a strong employer brand requires deliberate and ongoing effort rather than a haphazard approach. In the following sections, we will explore some employer branding strategies that can help create a positive and attractive reputation as an employer.

1. Creating an Employer Branding Strategy to Meet Hiring Goals

Companies with clear goals for their future success understand the significance of having a capable workforce to achieve those objectives. They engage in strategic workforce planning to identify current and future staffing needs. As a result, their employer branding efforts should align with their staffing plans.

Employer branding should align with the staffing needs of a company's strategic workforce plan. To attract the right talent, leaders and stakeholders must identify the skills and qualities necessary to achieve their corporate goals and determine the best ways to attract that talent. Answering these questions will guide the developing and implementing an effective employer branding strategy.

2. Creating a Targeted Candidate Persona

Some organizations find it beneficial to imagine their perfect candidates, which can help them tailor their messaging to appeal to the right audience. A few important factors that are often included in creating a target candidate persona are the desired candidate's education level, work history, location, salary expectations, career aspirations, job search activity, preferred job search platforms, motivation to switch jobs, personality traits, and sources of influence and trust.

By clearly understanding the ideal job candidate and their preferences, it becomes easier to establish a connection that benefits both parties. This information can be used to allocate resources effectively, such as placing targeted advertisements in the right channels. Tailoring the messaging to align with the candidate's preferences, such as highlighting work-life balance, can also improve the effectiveness of the recruitment efforts. Additionally, by speaking in a language that resonates with the candidate, for example, by highlighting social responsibility on the company website, it is possible to capture their attention and increase the likelihood of successful recruitment.

3. Assessing Your Employer Brand

When considering employer branding strategies, it is important to assess your current employer brand. Your organization already has an employer brand, whether or not you have actively promoted it.

Collecting valuable information about your company's reputation among the workforce is crucial. You can explore review sites like Glassdoor and Google, your company, to see what people say about working there. Social media is another useful tool to gather information on the candidate's experience, employee feedback, and the thoughts of former workers.

Once you have gathered information about your company's reputation among employees, it's time to take action. Although receiving criticism may be unpleasant, it's important to reflect on the feedback and make necessary changes. Ignoring negative comments will not help improve your employer's brand. Use the feedback to identify areas where the company can improve its behavior or procedures to address the issues or perceptions raised by current or former employees.

4. Develop a distinctive employee value proposition (EVP)

Employer branding strategy involves creating a clear and consistent message that conveys your company's identity and value proposition to potential and existing employees.

Organizations often create an [employee value proposition EVP for their employer branding strategy. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, an EVP represents all the valuable things an employer offers its employees, including pay, benefits, career development, technology, remote work, and flexible scheduling.

As previously stated, job seekers are interested in knowing what sets your company apart from others and why they should choose to work for you. An employee value proposition (EVP) clearly understands what they can expect from you as an employer in exchange for their skills and expertise.

5. Seek assistance from your workforce.

A useful approach to developing an employee value proposition is to involve exceptional or tenured employees. Inquire about their reasons for enjoying their job, how they would characterize the company culture, and what distinguishes your organization from others. Utilizing their input in crafting an EVP provides legitimacy and a perspective centered on workers. This also ensures that their responses to inquiries about your employer brand match your message, strengthening your credibility.

Ask things such as:
- How did they first hear of your company?
- What outlets did they use to gain more information about you as an employer?
- What factors most influenced them to apply?
- How easy or hard was the hiring process?
- Who weighed in on their decision to take the job?
- How closely has their experience so far matched what they expected from you as an employer? 

6. Examine the External Factors for Effective Employer Branding

When considering your employer branding strategy, it's important to not only focus on your brand but also keep an eye on your competitors' employer reputation. By understanding how job seekers and employees perceive them, you can gain valuable insights to inform your marketing efforts. For example, if a competitor receives negative feedback about not valuing their employees, you might highlight your employee appreciation initiatives on your careers page. This could include showcasing your recognition programs, employee perks, or stories of employees who have succeeded within the company.

7. Constantly Evaluating and Modifying Your Employer Branding Tactics

Creating an employer brand is an ongoing process that requires flexibility and adaptability to align with your company's hiring objectives and the needs and preferences of the workforce. It's important to regularly assess your employer brand to see if your strategies are achieving desired results. Are you seeing an increase in applicants per vacancy or a decrease in the cost per hire? If not, it may be time to make changes. Try testing new ideas and measuring outcomes. Tweaking your targeted ads or emphasizing a certain outlet can make a difference. If you're a large company, consider if geographical differences affect your branding initiatives' effectiveness.

It is important to keep your employer's brand up to date. If your website has the same images for years, people will notice, which may give the impression that your company is not current or relevant. Similarly, regularly checking and responding to reviews and comments shows that your organization is engaged and responsive.

8. Walking the Walk for Building an Authentic Employer Brand

It is crucial to maintain authenticity in your employer brand. While it may be tempting to exaggerate or deceive to attract attention, resisting that temptation is important. Disgruntled former employees will speak out, job candidates will be disappointed, and current employees will not want to promote a false image. Employer branding should reflect the reality of working for your company rather than being a gimmick to attract candidates. Think of it as a way of life, not just a marketing strategy.

Employer branding statistics

- 76% of candidates are explicitly looking for what makes a company an attractive place to work [Source].
- 28% Employee turnover can be reduced by 28% by investing in employer branding [Source].
- 80% of talent acquisition managers believe employer branding significantly impacts the ability to hire top talent [Source].
- 79% of candidates use social media in their job search. [Source].
- 50% of candidates say they wouldn't work for a company with a bad reputation—even for a pay increase [Source].
- 55% of job seekers abandon applications after reading negative reviews online [Source].

Wrapping Up

To gain a competitive edge in attracting top talent, it's important to recognize that offering just salaries and benefits isn't enough. While these factors are undoubtedly important for filling job openings, other aspects need to be considered to stand out from competitors.

In today's competitive job market, companies that strategically develop and communicate their employer brand have an advantage in attracting top talent over those that don't. A well-planned and consistent employer brand can significantly benefit your organization, from reducing hiring costs and improving the candidate experience to creating a community of engaged candidates. Building a strong employer brand is crucial for companies looking to implement a successful talent acquisition strategy and improve their brand perception. Contact our experts at HireQuotient to supercharge your employer branding and ace talent acquisition.