Employer branding is more important now than ever. In a competitive talent market, it’s often your employer brand that’s able to set you apart from the competition. Salaries and benefits can be easily matched, but company culture, mission and values often cannot. People, for example, really make a workplace what it is; your colleagues and the general atmosphere make coming to work enjoyable and set you apart from any other company. Similarly, a shared vision and mission will form motivations for work and give that all-important sense of purpose and emotional connection.
However, now everyone realises the importance of employer brand, it will take a lot more to stand out. Every business out there will claim to be a great employer. It would be stupid to say they aren’t if they wish to attract new talent. Plus, a lot of benefits like flexible working are now taken as standard. They’re not going to help you to stand out in the race for talent. Therefore, when it comes to communicating employer brands, companies who wish to attract the best talent will have to think outside of the box, tailor their messaging to resonate with the right talent and get loud with the aspects that make them unique.
This means looking for effective communication strategies through recruitment marketing and content. Your employer brand communications need as much consideration as your consumer and b2b brand if you’re hoping to attract the best talent in today’s market.
Here’s why employers need to get bold and loud when it comes to their EVPs and employer brands.
It helps you to stand out from the crowd
For many years, employer branding has been the tool to stand out from the crowd, especially when salaries and benefits are almost level. However, what happens when the crowd increases? With more companies fighting for talent before, it’s getting much harder for businesses to stand out. This is why you need to amplify your employer branding efforts, if you wish to really stand out to candidates.
Raise employer brand awareness through recruitment marketing campaigns and careers sites, but ensure your messaging is focused and targeted. Everyone claims to be “the best” or “award-winning”, so it’s time to shout about other aspects if you want to stand out, and when we say shout, we mean it. In a tight race for talent, you can’t afford to take a wishy-washy approach to employer branding communications. When trying to attract tech talent, being vague about your culture and values will do nothing but drive candidates to an employer who is surer of themselves and their mission. The employers that offer an exhilarating prospect will win.
For startups, defining your employer brand early on means you have focus and can attract the right kind of talent early on. But for everyone else, who may have a vague idea of how they’re perceived and how they wish to be perceived, employer branding needs to become louder and more prominent if you wish to stand out to candidates.
Consider how many job adverts candidates see every day. Why should a software developer position at your business be different from a software developer position at another? These are the aspects you need to be pushing. The days of pool tables and free beer Fridays are gone. Instead, you need to think about fundamental, tangible elements that will appeal to candidates and improve their career, personal life or sense of well-being.
A defined EVP makes sourcing easier
Every culture is different, but so is every candidate. Not everyone wants a relaxed culture or a super-kind, supportive employer. Some candidates thrive on intense, target driven environments. Some employees crave a kind company culture that will put their well-being first, while others want a high-impact culture to learn and progress in their careers. Similarly, not every business can survive if it offers a flexible, relaxed culture. Sometimes, the nature of the industry demands a more cut-throat environment if a company is to succeed within it. It’s time for EVPs and Employer Brands to be bolder and more specific, avoiding the generic terms that will help them appeal to broad audiences but instead digging deep into the real, niche aspects of your company culture.
By turning up the volume on these specific aspects of your company culture, you stand a better chance of attracting the right kind of candidate. In order to attract the individuals most likely to succeed within your company culture, you need to not only paint an authentic picture of it but also get loud in your promotions. There are positives in every culture. Yes, you may not focus on employee well-being or social aspects, but you may offer world-class experiences and opportunities for progression that will appeal to career hungry candidates.
Employers need to consider who their ideal candidates are and create employer brand messaging and communication strategies to appeal directly to them looking. Saying you’re a great place to work is no longer enough. You need to be specific to entice suitable candidates and also exclude the wrong ones. This will reduce your talent pool significantly, but it will also reduce candidate drop off and attrition rates as it will ensure you’re resonating with the right people for your culture.
Creates internal engagement
Retention is almost as significant as recruitment right now. As we’re in a candidate-driven market, there are more opportunities out there than ever, and this is enticing otherwise comfortable employees to move onto pastures new. Unfortunately, the idea of a new challenge or slightly higher salary is causing more employees to leave their jobs than ever before, and employers who are already trying to scale their business cannot afford the extra recruitment efforts.
But how can employer branding help? Well, if you get louder about employer branding, then it will help to improve employee engagement. By building more of a coherent culture and promoting your values more internally, you’ll be able to unite teams and really build excitement for your mission. Remind everyone why they joined your business and then turn up the volume, ensure that your core mission and values run through everything you do. This includes the onboarding process, team meetings and even social events. Creating a culture internally that inspires and motivates teams will entice team members to stay, build loyalty, and help with your future recruitment efforts.
Unites hybrid teams
While teams embrace remote or hybrid working, it’s even more critical to turn up the volume on employer branding and unite teams. New starters may be joining a company without ever meeting the entire team in person, while existing team members may begin to feel isolated and forgotten about. After all, it’s been almost two years since we worked as “normal”.
Company culture is dwindling and with it, so are internal perceptions of employer brands. It’s harder to understand the company you’re working for if you work from your kitchen table and speak to colleagues through instant message. It’s only natural that employees will lose passion for a brand if this continues for so long. Therefore, employers really need to amplify their employer branding efforts. If your brand identity is bold, loud and communicated creatively through all business areas, you’ll be much more successful in re-engaging employees and instilling that sense of excitement. Know who you are, what makes you unique and shout it out loud. This way, new employees and existing employees will have the same enthusiasm and a sense of purpose. As a result, your retention efforts will not falter.
