The Employer Branding Emergency

Employer branding is not a new concept.?Many companies have proactively worked on their EVP (Employer Value Proposition) and have an Employer Branding Strategy already established.?In fact, according to CareerArc, 96% of companies believe employer brand and reputation can positively or negatively impact revenue, yet less than half (44%) monitor that impact.?In addition, nowadays with the ‘great resignation’ and more competition for top talent, all employers should make sure that their employer brand is rock solid.?Understanding the benefits of having good employer branding, and the negative impacts of not having one, can significantly alter the success of a company.

First, let’s define employer brand: it is a company’s reputation as a place to work. In other words, employer brand is how people perceive the company’s values and work environment. Therefore, employer branding is everything a company is doing – whether intentionally or not – to promote its unique identity as an employer among current and potential employees.

If you are doubting the impact of employer branding, you shouldn’t;?it is real.?A well-planned employer brand can give your company a huge competitive advantage in the ‘war for talent”.?There is ample evidence showing the impact to the bottom line thanks to good employer branding.?For example, according to LinkedIn, good employer branding can reduce employee turnover by 28%, help them receive 50% more applicants for jobs and reduce cost-per-hire by 50%.

Especially in SME’s where attracting the best talent could be key for scale up and the successful launch of a product, having a tight employer brand is critical.?When you attract the best talent, you?are likely to grow faster?than your competitors with weaker talent brands.

THE AUDIT

If you aren’t sure how your company is seen in the employer market, if you are confused about the messages your company is sending to potential employees or how your company rates compared to your competitors, an audit may be the first place to start.?

A combination of external and internal audits may need to be done.?An external audit is useful to see how you rank with potential employees and competitors.?An internal audit with your current employees can also be done to see where you stand with retaining employees.

Some of the typical properties that are audited are:

·????????Career site – How good is your career site at showcasing opportunities??Are your graphics inviting?

·????????Employer content – What are you actually saying about opportunities, is it positive and consistent across medias?

·????????Candidate experience – What is your application process like? What is the drop-off rate and what are the reasons for drop off?

·????????Social media – How are you using social media to share your employer messaging??{see in following section}

·????????Online review sites such as Glassdoor – What is your rating??What are candidates as well as current and ex-employees saying about you?

·????????Perks, rewards and compensation – What are you offering??Is it complete??Are your current employees happy with them and how do they compare to the competition?

Now that the audit is done, you’ll need to look at the gaps and opportunities.?This usually requires a cost-benefit analysis depending on the resources and time available.?

THE EVP

Once the research is completed, you’ll need to devise an Employer Value Proposition (EVP). The Academy To Innovate HR defines the EVP as “the promise you make as an employer to your employees in return for their commitment. This promise entails the sum of all the benefits and rewards employees receive from the organization they work for.”

The EVP is not quite the same as your employer branding.?The Employee Value Proposition is internal while your Employer Brand is external. Your Employer Brand is the face your company shows the outside world as a potential employer. Whereas the EVP is the face your company shows its current employees.

Some of the components of a EVP could be:

·????????Financial Awards

·????????Employee Benefits

·????????Career Development

·????????Work Environment

·????????Company culture

A good example of a EVP is Unilever. Their EVP is “When you join Unilever, it is not just a job; you are joining a movement to create?a better business, a better world, and a better you.”?They have gone further to join it with four pillars:?Purpose Power, Be The Catalyst, Brilliantly Different together and Go Beyond.

THE GOALS

Now you can define your goals.?What do your employer branding goals look like??Some of the common ones are: getting more career site visits and therefore more applicants.?Or perhaps it is getting more applicants specifically from online platforms and therefore increasing your online presence at the same time.

In addition, what is really important to remember is that employer branding doesn’t stop here.?Employee retention is also part of the branding exercise.?Here are a few ideas that can help to stand out from your competitors:

·????????Foster a healthy onboarding system

·????????Promote a training and development program

·????????Establish a winning diversity and inclusion program

Overall, employee branding is key to attracting good talent.?All companies, no matter their size, should consciously make an effort to improve the work environment as more and more employees are not just seeking a great place to work but a great experience.

Author: Maggie Goudy - August 2022

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References:

LinkedIn Talent Solutions.?https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/business/talent-solutions/global/en_us/c/pdfs/ultimate-list-of-employer-brand-stats.pdf

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Isaeva, Mary. (2021, August 9). The Importance of Employer Branding. Flair. https://flair.hr/en/blog/employer-branding/

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Tallulah, David. (2017 November 13). 29 Surprising Stats on Employer Branding – Infographic. Careerarc. https://www.careerarc.com/blog/employer-branding-study-infographic/

Verlinden, Neelie. The Employee Value Proposition: Definition, Key Elements and Examples. Academy To Innovate HR.?https://www.aihr.com/blog/employee-value-proposition-evp/