This is a guest post from Neil Purcell, CEO of Talent Works International, as part of our Recruiting Weekly Series. Neil shares his thoughts on why it’s time to amplify your employer brand communications.
In today’s talent market, your employer brand is what will set you apart from the competition. Companies are pulling out all the stops to match salaries and benefits on offer from the competition, and therefore the focus of candidates is turning more to employer branding. This is because they care about the culture, mission, values and how employees are treated— choosing a job when there is so much choice is all about finding a company you find an emotional connection with. This emotional connection is formed through employer branding. 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. Another example is having a shared vision and mission, as this will form motivations for work and give that all-important sense of purpose and emotional connection.
However, now more employers are beginning to realise the significance of employer branding. It’s going to take a lot more to stand out, especially if you’re not a household name. Every business out there will claim to be a great employer; you’re not going to admit to treating staff poorly publicly. Also, benefits like flexible working are now expected by candidates, so they’re not going to help you stand out when attracting talent; they’re becoming standard practice. Therefore, companies who wish to attract the best talent will have to think outside of the box regarding their employer brand messaging and promotions. They’ll need to work harder to tailor their messaging to resonate with the right talent and get louder with the aspects that make them unique.
To win the race for talent in a competitive market, your employer brand communications need as much consideration as your consumer and b2b brand promotions.
Here’s why employers need to get bold and loud about their EVPs and employer brands.
You’ll stand out from the competition.
Your employer brand has been the go-to way to stand out from the crowd in the eyes of talent, especially when salaries and benefits are almost equal. However, when the competition for the same talent increases dramatically and more companies are fighting for the same skills, it’s getting much harder for businesses to stand out. Therefore it’s time for businesses to amplify their employer branding efforts to really stand out to candidates. You need to get creative with your recruitment marketing and ensure that your messaging is focused and targeted. Everyone claims to be “the best” or “award-winning”, so it’s time to shout about other, more specific aspects of your employee experience. In a tight race for talent, a wishy-washy approach to employer branding communications means nothing. Likewise, being vague about your culture and values will do nothing but drive candidates to an employer who is more sure of their company culture and overall mission.
Consider how many job adverts these candidates see every day. Why should a software developer position at your business be different from a software developer position at another? Once established, these are the aspects you need to be pushing. The days of pool tables and free beer Fridays are gone. Instead, it would help if you thought about actual tangible elements that will appeal to candidates on an emotional level. Communicate how choosing this specific role can improve their career, personal life or sense of wellbeing.
A defined employer brand message helps you to source
Every company culture is different, but so is every candidate. Not everyone wants a relaxed culture with casual clothing. Not every candidate needs a super-kind, supportive employer. In fact, some candidates thrive in intense, target driven environments. Working out which kind of culture your business needs to survive, and the type of employee experience you wish to provide will help you tailor your EVP. For example, do you want to nurture employees or throw them in at the deep end?
It’s time for EVPs and Employer Brands to be bold and specific. Your communications need to avoid generic terms that will help them appeal to broad audiences. Instead, it would help if you were digging deep into your company culture’s fundamental, niche aspects. 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 rather than just any available one.
There are positives in every culture. You may not focus on employee wellbeing 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. 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.
Helps retention rates
In the current talent market, retention is almost as significant as recruitment. As we’re in a candidate-driven market, more opportunities entice otherwise comfortable employees to move onto new pastures. The idea of a new challenge or higher salary is causing more employees to leave their jobs than ever before, and leaving with so many available vacancies poses less of a risk. Employers who are already trying to scale their businesses cannot afford the extra recruitment efforts.
But how can employer branding help? Well, if you get louder about employer brand, then it will also improve employee engagement. This messaging can run internally to build a coherent culture and promote your values, hopefully unifying teams and rekindling excitement for your mission. Now is a great time to remind your team why they joined your business and ensure that your core mission and values run through everything you do. Creating a culture internally that inspires and motivates teams will help convince employees to stay, built loyalty, and aid your future recruitment efforts.
Unites hybrid or remote teams
If you’re adopting remote or hybrid working, it’s even more important to amplify your employer brand in the hope of uniting teams. New starters may be joining a company without ever meeting the entire team in person. Also, existing team members may begin to feel isolated and forgotten about. After all, it’s been almost two years since we worked as “normal”. The pandemic has left many company cultures dwindling and as a consequence, 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 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 and existing employees will have the same enthusiasm and a sense of purpose no matter where they are based.
Neil Purcell, CEO, Talent Works
Talent Works enables organisations to scale through flexible talent attraction solutions. They are allowing businesses of all sizes to realise their true potential through talented people. They combine RPO, Recruitment Marketing and Digital Resourcing solutions that deliver unparalleled results that scale with an organisation’s needs. Most importantly, they place the organisation at the heart of everything they do. Building, enhancing and amplifying employer brand, reflecting culture and ambition.
