Why Employer Branding Is More Important Than Ever Before

Strong employee retention starts with recruitment

Don’t look now, but the talent industry is at a bit of a crossroads.

The country is experiencing one of the tightest labor markets we’ve ever seen with one of the lowest unemployment rates in America’s history. This almost unprecedented labor shortage has caused a war for talent.
 

With attracting and hiring talent more difficult than ever before, positioning your organization as the preferred place to work is critical. Top talent will always have choices, so in order to keep up in this challenging environment, an employer needs to court and sell a candidate on the job as much as (or more than) the company screens them for fit, qualifications, and interest.

The script has flipped on talent. While hiring managers have traditionally asked why a candidate wants to work for their company, few are fully prepared to answer the question of why a candidate should want to work for their company.

When thinking about talent acquisition, employersneed to start by knowing why people want to work for your organization. Today, simply offering the opportunity to work on “important” projects for “big” companies in “leading” industries isn’t enough. Your employee value proposition has to be real and tangible with real-life evidence to back up these values. On average, millennials would be willing to give up $7,600 in salary every year to work at a job that provided a better environment for them.

That means the employer brand must be more than the company brand or a simple advertising campaign. At Nike, for example, the employment brand goes well beyond its company brand and slogan of “Just Do It.” Its employment brand focuses on empowerment, diversity, and innovation. On its website, Nike shares examples of their employees changing the sports world and improving the lives of athletes and their communities.

Today, employers can’t afford to focus solely on job responsibilities, salary, and benefits. While they are certainly very important, employers need to be prepared to answer questions about the day-to-day and life experience of working for the company.This message needs to be conveyed throughout the entire recruitment and hiring process…by recruiters, the receptionist, HR, hiring managers and fellow employees. It is not just about what is communicated, but how it is communicated. The visual and visceral is extremely important.

According to the iCIMS 2017 Job Seeker Report, 94 percent of candidates visit a company’s social media page during a job search. If your organization has a Facebook page or Twitter account– which it should – what you post is important. Content and photos of employees in action – not simply marketing messages – sends a strong message to the candidate community. It can be the difference between a candidate becoming an active applicant or passing on your opportunity.

According to CareerBuilder’s 2017 Candidate Experience from End-to-End Report, 78 percent of candidates say the overall candidate experience is an indicator of how a company values its people. Think about it – what message is the employer sending when they don’t take the time to follow up with candidates? When they don’t make timely decisions? When they don’t sell the opportunity? When they don’t treat the candidate with respect? When they don’t talk about the employment opportunity with excitementand passion? When they don’t allow the candidate to ask questions? When the interview process is rushed?

Take the time to think deeply and honestly about the last interaction you had with a candidate or your hiring process in general. Does this sound like your organization at all? If any of the above questions could be true, you need to make immediate changes to the way you interview.

But the interview is not the end of the candidate experience. Far from it, in fact. The Talent Board, in their 2017 North America Candidate Experience Research Report, indicated that 69 percent of candidates never receive an email thanking them for applying and 52 percent receive no communication 2 to 3 months after applying. Will this lack of communication and transparency all of a sudden change once the candidate becomes an employee? Candidates are asking themselves this same question.

From the moment before the candidate even considers you as a potential employer all the way to the time they leave the company for a new position,it’s all a part of your employee value proposition and branding strategy.

Strong employee retention starts with recruitment. Today, hiring for fit is more critical than ever. Employers need talent that not only possesses the skills, but fits the work environment and company culture.

Again, employer brand is not an advertisement but rather the real-life experience of working for your organization. Your recruitment process needs to be smooth and efficient conveying the message to the candidate that they are important and valuable to the organization. If not, you’re setting up your employment model for substantial new hire attrition.

Employer brand and employee value proposition are critical in attracting and hiring talent in today’s marketplace. And it all starts with providing a consistent experience from pre-interview to exit interview. Do these common-sense things, and you greatly increase your odds of winning the war for talent.

Kim Davis is the Vice President of Sales at Yoh and a recognized RPO thought leader and pioneer in the RPO space. He boasts senior executive leadership experience on both sides of the desk, including corporate HR, career management, consulting, staffing and outsourcing. With more than 30 years of experience in talent management, Kim was awarded E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year 2006. Connect Kim Davis