Employer branding is the proactive management of a company’s reputation as a place to work. This process involves differentiating the organization from its competitors and marketing it as a desirable place of employment.
Effective employer branding helps attract top talent. Showing what your company offers employees that others do not demonstrates why the best candidates should work for you.
Main Functions of Employer Branding in Attracting Top Talent
The three main functions of employer branding in attracting top talent are differentiation, reputation, and competitiveness:
- Differentiation supports your company’s unique identity.
- Reputation positions your organization as a desirable place to work.
- Competitiveness shows what your business offers employees that others do not.
Importance of Employer Branding in Attracting Top Talent
According to Universum’s Employer Branding NOW 2023 report:
- 78% of more than 1,700 global employers and 1,000 students and professionals surveyed considered employer branding a top HR investment.
- Approximately half of the employers increased their employer branding budgets for the year.
- 60% of the employers said differentiating their employer brands and employee value propositions (EVPs) from their competitors was a key objective for the following year.
Top talent is likely to reject job offers from companies with poor reputations. As a result, your employer brand must be as appealing as possible to attract and retain the best employees.
Advantages of Attractive Employer Branding
Attractive employer branding provides many advantages:
- Higher-quality candidate pools
- Greater offer-acceptance rates
- Faster time-to-hire rates
- More attractive employee experience
- Increased employee attraction and retention rates
- Additional employee referrals
- Reduced hiring costs
Methods to Elevate Employer Branding to Attract Top Talent
Consider implementing these methods to elevate your employer branding to attract top talent:
Define your employee value proposition
Identify the key selling points that make your company unique and attractive to top talent. Examples include your company’s culture, the ability to create a work-life structure, career advancement opportunities, and social responsibility initiatives. Then, communicate your EVP on your website and social media pages, in your job descriptions, and in other relevant areas.
Your EVP should help create meaning, purpose, and belonging within your organization. These are characteristics that top talent looks for when deciding where to work.
Prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion
Share examples of your DEI initiatives on your website and social media platforms to enhance your employer branding:
- Mention your diverse and inclusive hiring practices.
- Discuss your employee resource groups (ERGs).
- Include information and photos demonstrating your employee DEI training sessions.
- Share employee stories, photos, and videos of DEI in your workplace.
- Talk about how coaching, mentoring, and customized resources support employee career advancement.
Emphasize company culture
Share your company’s mission, vision, and values on your website and social media pages and through employee interactions. Top talent wants to work for companies whose values and social impact initiatives they support.
Employee alignment with your company’s culture increases engagement, productivity, and performance. The results include higher employee morale and attraction and retention rates for a stronger bottom line.
Offer attractive compensation, benefits, and perks
Research the pay ranges and benchmarks for similar roles in your industry and geographic area to determine competitive compensation for a position. Include a candidate’s knowledge, skills, and experience to ensure the range is relevant.
Make sure your employee benefits package and perks include what top talent desire to enhance their quality of life. Examples include health insurance, a retirement plan with a company match, generous paid time off (PTO), professional development opportunities, remote or hybrid work options, and a flexible schedule.
Engage in employee career planning
Work with each employee to develop a career advancement path within your organization. Include the advancement criteria, tailored resources, and coaching for upward mobility. Top talent wants clear examples of how to increase their duties, responsibilities, and income for professional growth.
Recognize and reward employees
Regularly recognize and reward employee accomplishments. Include the specific steps taken, the results, and the impact on the organization. Also, provide a bonus, pay increase, or promotion when appropriate.
Have an inviting website and social media profiles
Top talent typically views your company’s website and social media profiles when deciding whether to apply to your job openings. Therefore, your website and profiles should be appealing and inviting.
Your website and social media posts should:
- Share company information, employee stories and testimonials, photos, videos, and employer reviews.
- Demonstrate your company’s history, culture, commitment to DEI, and other relevant details.
- Include your employee value proposition (EVP) to clarify the benefits and rewards employees receive in exchange for their time and dedication to your company.
Share your employer brand story
Use text and photos or videos to tell your employer brand story. Include your brand’s origins, the founder(s), and the personalities behind the business. Also, share top employees’ passions and contributions to show how they made a difference within the organization.
Encourage brand ambassadors
Ask your employees to serve as brand ambassadors. They can represent and advocate for your company by sharing positive work experiences on social media, posting positive experiences on employer review sites, and participating in industry events. Authentic company promotion attracts top talent.
Request employee referrals
Ask top talent to refer members of their network for your job openings. The referrals likely have the required skills and experience to succeed in a role and fit with the company’s culture. As a result, they should remain engaged, productive, and loyal long-term.
Elevate the candidate experience
Use clear communication, prompt feedback, and a fast interview process to provide a positive candidate experience. Also, provide details about your company’s mission, vision, and values to attract and leave a lasting impression. These activities help hire and keep top talent.
Conduct stay and exit interviews
Schedule stay interviews with remaining employees and exit interviews with departing employees. Ask questions to determine what the employees like most about your company and specific ideas for improvement. Then, implement the most feasible methods to elevate your employer branding and attract top talent.
Example stay interview questions include:
- What do you like the most about your job?
- Have you recently considered finding another job, and why?
- Which accomplishments from this job have given you the most satisfaction?
- What would you change about your current work structure?
- What motivates you to continue working here?
Example exit interview questions include:
- What is your reason for leaving?
- What did you enjoy most about working here?
- What are your thoughts about management and opportunities for improvement?
- Were you given the proper tools, training, and assistance to succeed?
- How do you feel you were treated by your manager and coworkers?
Are You Ready to Hire Top Talent?
Partner with Vector Technical to hire top talent to help reach your Cleveland company’s goals. Contact us to start the process today.
