Employer branding is a term that has been circling around the business world for a couple of years. But why should one invest time and effort in it? Does it affect your overall brand? And how to get started with employer branding?
We asked Jaclyn Majarich, the Founder and Director of the employer brand consultancy, Culture Ignite, to answer some of the questions around the topic.
Is employer branding crucial even if the organization doesn’t have problems in getting job applicants or keeping people within the company?
Absolutely. Even the most attractive organizations in the world need to have a strong employer brand, because there will always be competition for top talent. For example, Google may receive thousands of applications per role, but when it comes to quality candidates, they’re likely interviewing at Amazon and Facebook as well. This is where having a strong employer brand is key as it will sway the candidate to accept your opportunity over your competitors.
Organizations should focus more on getting quality applicants over quantity. By having a strong employer brand that clearly showcases what a career looks like with your organization, this gives candidates the opportunity to opt-in if they align with your workplace culture, or opt-out if they don’t think the culture is right for them.
How important part does the way an organization treats its current and potential employees play in building the brand identity?
This is incredibly important. If an organization does not put its people first, then that will ultimately impact the employer brand. Companies with the strongest employer brands are ones where their people speak highly about their workplace – unprobed. Word of mouth about the employee experience travels far – and if a company has a poor reputation about how they treat their people, any effort put into promoting their workplace will not come across as authentic. The reality of the workplace culture needs to match the messaging used in recruitment marketing efforts.
“The candidate experience is directly linked to the customer experience.”
Jaclyn Majarich
Does employer branding affect the way consumers and customers perceive the brand?
For sure. The candidate experience is directly linked to the customer experience. If a candidate applies for a role with your organization and has a poor experience, this can negatively impact their perception of your brand as a whole. Often, your candidates are also your customers, so it’s imperative to have a strong candidate experience in place so that even if they aren’t successful in getting the role, they will still feel positively about your brand and continue to be a customer.
Should employer branding be included into the same category with other branding actions taken by an organization?
Not necessarily as they have different objectives and audiences. However, the consumer brand and employer brand should absolutely align in terms of the tone of voice, and the look and feel of the creative execution. There will be crossover between candidates and customers, so the overall experience, whether you’re purchasing something or applying for a role, should be consistent and both should seamlessly feed into the overarching brand of the organization.
What are typical mistakes done in employer branding?
How many job ads have you seen that promote ‘flexible working’ or ‘competitive salary’? Too many organizations play it safe when it comes to promoting their EVP, and unfortunately, this means many organizations end up sounding the same. For the candidate, it’s hard to differentiate between employers. It’s really important that organizations are authentic, but also unique with their messaging to help stand out from the pack.
How to get started with employer branding?
Whether you like it or not, your organization already has an employer brand. But if you’re ready to take control of the narrative and actively promote career opportunities and insights into your culture, then it’s critical to start with research: directly from your people. By uncovering the realities of what it’s truly like to work for your organization (the good and the not-so-good), this will ensure that the messaging used to attract talent is authentic. Otherwise, you’ll risk high turnover if the employee experience doesn’t match what candidate expectations.
This article was first published in Silicon Luxembourg magazine. Get your copy.
