How to boost Employee Retention through Employer Branding.

Employer Brand?is the perception and reputation of an organization among its current employees and job seekers. It is the set of strategies and tactics organizations use to actively build this brand and reputation. In layman’s language, an effective employer branding strategy actively answers the question, what makes a certain organization the best place to work?

There are several ways employer branding promotes employee retention including:

• Attracting the right talent
• Enhancing employee engagement
• Increasing job satisfaction
• Encouraging employee advocacy
• Facilitating talent development and growth
• Improving employee morale and well-being
• Building trust and credibility, etc.

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Here’s how to create an employer branding strategy that brings organizational values to life to stay competitive in the market and desirable to current staff.

Step 1: Asses where you’re at

Start at the beginning: Do an audit to see where your employer brand currently stands. Consider;

• Surveying the employees
• Looking at reviews from different platforms
• Dig into social media
• Review recruitment and onboarding processes, etc.

Step 2: Develop an employee value proposition (EVP)

A strong EVP will outline rewards (both monetary and non-monetary) you offer to employees in exchange for their experience, skills, and effort. This includes;

• Salary
• Benefits
• Growth opportunities
• Diversity and inclusion efforts and promises
• Remote work flexibility
• Company culture and more

Note?that setting employees up for certain expectations that an organization can’t meet will only hurt its reputation.

Step 3: Define your goals and KPIs

Setting goals and KPIs is a crucial part of assessing how your strategy is going and securing buy-in. What do you want to achieve with your employer branding strategy? Set smart goals and identify KPIs to measure success.

Step 4: Identify the target audience and candidates

Before you can focus on attracting more talent, you need to first identify what kind of candidate you want to attract. Who is your target audience? What environment are they looking for? This goes beyond simply looking at job title or sophistication level. Creating a rough picture of your ideal candidate will guide how you build your job descriptions and more.

Step 5: Determine your channels and stakeholders

Determine individual responsibilities and get stakeholders on board now to prevent burnout and disorganization later. Who needs to be involved? What will each person be responsible for? How will you align stakeholders with the strategy? Think about all of your communication channels, like social media, newsletters, and internal emails. Determine which channels will be key to strengthening your employer brand and will reach the right audience—internally and externally.

Step 6: Involve the C-suite

Allow your C-suite to help provide that feeling of purpose by involving them in communications. After all, who wants to work on a ship when the captain doesn’t believe in its journey or purpose?

And don’t be afraid to involve your C-suite in your strategy’s day-to-day, too. Encouraging leadership to contribute to employer brand content, build their own social media presence, or be active in internal communications can show current and future employees that they’re involved.

Step 7: Create a rollout plan and measure results

A rollout plan will keep your strategy organized and consistent. It will also ensure your stakeholders know what to expect and outline how employee advocates across your company can get involved. Your strategy is a process, not a destination. Once you’ve launched your strategy, tracking your results will help you mark your successes, and pivot when something isn’t successful.