Employer Branding - Attract and Retain Talent

What’s in a Name? 

It is the perception and accumulated meaning associated with a non-generic name and often it will mean different things to different people.

What is an Employer Brand 

The employer brand is your organization’s reputation as an employer. It is the perception and accumulated meaning associated with the name of your company. It sets out or presents the value you create for employees in return of their skill set, social network and experience. 

5 reasons to have a Positive Employer Brand 

1. To be distinct - you must be well defined in the minds of your audience: who you are, what you do as an organization and what you stand for. It is your authentic voice that can be none other. 

2. To attract diverse talent -  Employer Branding is the first step in attracting and creating a diverse workforce. Being aware that gendered and ‘non-diverse’ language can self-select certain genders and ethnic minorities out of your talent pool.  A McKinsey research established that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.

3. To penetrate deeper in the job market - In today’s increasingly competitive job market, a positive employer brand is critical. Without one, hiring and retaining the best employees becomes challenging and costly. Gartner research shows that your organisation can reach 50% deeper into the job market and potentially reduce compensation premium when candidates view you as an 'attractive' employer. 

4. To attract top flite talent - Research of 600,000 data points concluded that top talent is 400 percent more productive than others. In highly complex occupations— software developers, data scientists and the like—high performers are an astounding 800 percent more productive.

5. Reduce your cost per hire - Various sources claim that a strong Employer Brand will reduce your costs to hire by 43%. It just makes sense that a strong brand will have a stronger network effect and social engagement to drive a larger talent pool of qualified applicants. Here is a  LinkedIn research with some stats you may find of interest if you have to preach to the not yet converted! 

Building your Employer Brand 

Data from a 2019 candidate experience research reveals the following ‘marketing content’ that candidates prefer - Information on the culture of the company (39%), answers to “why” people want to work here (29%), career sites in multiple languages (28%), employee testimonials (26%), answers to “why” people stay here (26%). You may want to bear this in mind as you develop your Employer Brand and set its success criteria. 

1. Culture DNA - a well articulated Vision, Purpose, Values, forms the essence of who you are as an organization. 

2. Employer Perception - turn to data. Finding out what your current employees, alumni and prospective employees think about your company as an employer generates useful data to refine your EVP and messaging. This can also be carried out as a benchmarking exercise for future comparisons. Generate testimonials. 

3. Talent Personas - consider creating talent personas. Personas represent the ideal target candidates. This lets you a) understand the needs of your target audience and their diversity, that will feed into the creation of your EVP and b) be more strategic in addressing each target as you are trying to attract and recruit, and helps you relate to them as potential team members. 

4. Employer Value Proposition (EVP) - eventually it will all culminate into your EVP. It is the core of a successful employer brand. The culture, development opportunities, rewards and recognition, quality of work that can be expected, social impact, how you practice inclusion and diversity. These are the pillars of your employer brand. There can be more. Your EVP shouldn’t attract everyone, but it should attract the right people and keep them with you.Employer Value Proposition forms the basis for communication via multiple channels. Some are listed below. 

5. Ownership - who should own Employer Branding in your organization? It's a tough question, and you may get different answers depending on who you talk to. The Harvard Business Review presents a strong argument that, because of the increasing strategic importance of talent acquisition, CEOs need to get more involved. They also point out that marketing should take interest too, considering how much of the company brand is being created on social media (i.e. social media employer branding).

Some key attributes your brand can be connected to:

1. Culture

2. Company Purpose and Values

3. Career Progression

4. Diversity and Inclusion

5. Employer Reputation

6. Well-Being

7. Compensation and Benefits

8. Social Impact

9. Quality of Work

10. Workplace

The objective of this article is to provide some insights in Employer Branding, why it is important and how you can begin to build one. In the next one I will cover the objectives, measurement and communication of your Employer Brand.