using your employer brand to attract the best talent.

Whether you realise it or not, your company already has an employer brand. Thanks to today's technology and dozens of online employer review boards, candidates have access to more information about your company than ever before.



Your current employees, past employees, and even past applicants all have the power to share their experiences anonymously online for future prospective candidates to evaluate.

Just one negative review can hinder your ability to attract top talent, especially without a strong employer brand to stand behind.



Should this concern you? Yes. A recent study revealed that 95 per cent of job applicants take a company's reputation into consideration when making career choices.



The real question you need to ask yourself is do you want to let the public build your employer brand for you, or do you want to create, cultivate and grow your own unique employer brand that helps you attract the best talent?

 

building a powerful employer brand

There are several things you can do right now to start developing a strong employer brand that impacts your talent acquisition strategies and helps you hire the best candidates.

determine where you are

The first step to building or strengthening your employer's brand is to understand where it is now. Go online and sift through various employer review boards and see what your current and past employees have to say about the company.



Your employees are one of your most powerful resources. They have a unique insight into what it looks like to work for your company. Conduct surveys with current employees, new hires and terminating employees to get a real sense of your workplace culture.

Pay attention to your company's strengths and weaknesses.

Your employer's strengths can help determine the direction of your employer branding strategies. Your weaknesses, on the other hand, must be addressed, especially if these weaknesses are driving employees out the door or enticing them to leave negative reviews.

know where you want to be

So, your employer brand isn't quite where you want it to be? This is the exact reason why a building or strengthening your brand image is so important - so you can tell the story of who your company is as an employer, rather than let someone write it for you.



It is important to understand the gap between where your employer brand is now and where you want it to be today. You also want to position your employer brand for the future and how you want to grow your company.

This understanding will allow you to develop strategies that can build a bridge that moves your employer brand into the future, which will enhance your talent acquisition capabilities.

develop strong EVP

A strong EVP (employer value proposition) can serve as the foundation for building a successful employer brand. Your EVP should explain to potential candidates why they should work for your company. You want to highlight the unique attributes that make your company special, so you can stand out from your competitors.



It's important to be authentic and to make sure that you don't offer promises within the EVP that you can't keep.

Reneging on promises or not meeting the candidates' expectations can tarnish your brand reputation instantly.



The right EVP, however, can help your company bolster its talent attraction even in today's busy job market. Most importantly, a solid EVP will attract the "right" candidates. Those candidates will "fit" well into the overall company culture.

make it a company-wide strategy

Employer branding cannot be a stand-alone strategy, but rather a company-wide campaign. Your employer brand should be consistent with your overall company brand and it should fit within the values and mission of the company.



Successful integration of your employer brand within the company structure requires cooperation from all levels of management. It is important to pull team members from various departments and management levels to develop a cohesive brand that effectively highlights your company as an employer.