Welcome back to our Friday blog on tips for employee retention. Remember to join us here every Friday for a new tip each week. This week, we’ll look at employer branding to see how adding this strategy to your organization will not only increase retention, but also boost recruitment too.
What is employer branding?
Employer branding began in the early 90’s and has since become a staple strategy for organizations worldwide. Essentially employer branding is communicating and shaping an organization’s reputation as an employer. Employer branding caught on because it is an effective way of attracting, recruiting, and retaining staff. The Corporate Leadership Council claims that successful employer branding gives businesses 20 percent more access to quality candidates, a 30 percent increase in productivity, and an 87 percent reduction in turnover probability. Businesses report that employer branding has saved thousands in recruitment and training costs.
Research shows that incorporating branding efforts into your employee recruitment activities will strongly reinforce the image and message that you want to portray as an employer, which is as a great place to work. Start incorporating the brand message with the small items like basic job board postings, brochures, and event booths, and then work up to new employee orientations, onboarding, employee communications, training, and other activities. At all times you should be asking — is your employer brand saying the message you want?
The employer brand proposition
Authors on the subject and employer brand practitioners recommend that for effective branding, an organization needs to create a clear employer brand proposition, also known as an employer value proposition (EVP). This will set out to define how the organization is associated an as employer, how the organization differentiates from competitors (i.e. other employers), and the physiological contract between the employee and employer, which is what the employee is expected to contribute to the organization and what will be received in return for their contribution.
Employer branding gives SMEs a competitive edge
Small organizations may think that employer branding is only for large companies, however this is not the case. In fact, employer branding is best for small to medium-sized enterprises, because it gives them a chance to compete with the big players on something other than salary. Some high quality candidates claim they have reservations about joining an unknown SME; however, if an employer has the reputation of being an excellent place to work, this will act as an enticement for more quality candidates. So don’t stop at your products, or services, when it comes to branding — no matter what the size of your organization.
It is more than a recruitment campaign and different to the corporate brand
Getting employer branding right means understanding what employer branding is, and also, what it isn’t. Let’s start with what it isn’t — employer branding isn’t simply a recruitment advertising campaign to roll out to job seekers with buzz words on the organization. It also isn’t the same as your corporate brand for customers and clients; these are two distinct brands, but they are linked together through consistency. Therein lies the challenge, to create an employer brand is to create and implement a broader concept and strategy into all aspects of the organization.
Tips for employer branding
- Communicate your company’s values, particularly in regards to what it promises employees (for example: fair treatment, environmental sustainability, etc.). Employees want to be proud of their work and organization and some job seekers claim that they would accept a lower salary for an employer they believe provides a great place to work.
- Show potential employees your organization in action; let them see your brand (i.e. how the organization presents itself as an employer to the employees and the type of employer it is). The organization should ensure that it demonstrates and puts into action the values and promises implied by the employer brand. Use written and video testimonials from employees on your website.
- Assess the needs and values of the target employees to determine what elements would make for an effective employer brand in this organization. Some characteristics that communicate well with employees are growth and innovation, challenging work, pay for performance, and an organization driven by values.
- Be authentic. Employer branding needs to be based on the reality of how employees see the organization. It would be fruitless to try to portray an image that is inaccurate. Conduct a focus group with your employees to find out words and phrases that describe working at your organization.
- Assess your current reputation. You can discover what people have been saying about your organization online using popular forums, such as glassdoor.com. It’s worth looking into, as past and current employees, and customers and clients, may have discussed your organization and shaped your employer reputation without your knowledge.
- Combine the skills of human resources, public relations, and marketing departments in creating your employer brand. Getting everyone on board will help ensure successful employer branding.
Use these tips to incorporate an employer brand strategy into your organization and better attract, recruit, and retain employees.
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