Employer branding is an essential strategy for recruitment, reducing marketing and hiring costs and improving employee retention and productivity.
In simple terms, employer branding is your company’s reputation.
Employer branding affects everything from the perception of a company to turnover and touches on social presence, company values, mission, impact and reputation. 96% of employers believe reputation and branding can directly impact revenue. In a recent Localized survey, 52% of students and recent graduates said they chose not to apply to a job because they had never heard of the company.
This article will uncover 5 top benefits a solid employer brand can have on employees, candidates, and customers.
Key benefits of having a strong employer brand
1. Attract top talent
When job seekers are planning their next career jump or searching for a company, their likely first step is to google: “top companies to work for in 2023” or “best companies hiring near me”. This search will lead them to a selection of 'top company' results.
And yet, it's not enough to keep your strategy focused on SEO just to appear on Google’s top results. In fact, 86% of employees and job seekers will research company reviews and ratings to decide where to apply for a job.
To attract top candidates, you need to manage your company's reputation.
Check review sites for employee, candidate, and customer opinions. This information can help your company work on its weaknesses or past mistakes, and to identify what differentiates your work culture from the competition.
To achieve positive results:
- Publicly engage with both positive and negative reviews
- Understand the “why” behind their comments and opinions and respond with action points the company has taken to resolve the issues.
- Use the information to improve your company’s processes and culture and reputation.
Former and current employee feedback can be incredibly valuable when planning to improve your employer branding, and top candidates want to know that their potential employer is willing to create spaces for tough conversations and improvements.
The fact is, people want to work for a company with a good reputation and a willingness to listen to their employees.
Developing your employer brand, leads to attracting high quality candidates.
2. Decrease time and cost-per-hire
Developing a strong employer brand can help you decrease costs and reduce the time to hire. In fact, businesses with strong employer brands can decrease their cost-per-hire by 43%.
A strong employer brand results in:
More candidates in your recruitment pipeline: Applicants are likely to seek out your company and open roles when your business is top of mind. Plus, in a market that allows talent to essentially pick who they work for - companies that are positioned as desirable places to work are likely to attract higher quality candidates.
More responsive candidates: Potential candidates are 31% more likely to a message from a company with a strong employer brand. A positive outlook of your company means that recruiters are more likely to hear back from applicants.
Better fit candidates: Strong branding leads to better informed applicants. Candidates who know about your work culture, recruitment process and expectations can self-select out of the application process if they're not the right fit.
Companies that take the time to speak to their potential candidates, share insights about their work culture and allow their employees to share their experiences find that they can streamline their recruitment process much more effectively.
3. Boost employee morale through a “people-first” approach
Your employer brand is heavily influenced by your employee value proposition (EVP), that is, how well you treat your employees.
Having a “people-first” approach means caring for your employees, listening to their feedback and creating mechanisms for learning on the job.
When companies care for their employees, their employees care for their customers.
Top employees value an organization that listens to feedback and treats them well. When employees feel valued, respected and heard they brand ambassadors for the company and even become more productive.
Considering that 53% of employees feel more exhausted now than before the pandemic and that 57% experience increased anxiety due to work-related factors, caring for your workforce as people first plays a huge role in boosting their feeling of belonging and morale.
A Harvard study found that each 1 star improvement in a company’s rating corresponds to a 1.3-point out of 100 improvement in customer satisfaction scores — a statistically significant impact, which was more than twice as large in industries where employees interact closely and frequently with customers.
Boosting employee satisfaction not only matters, but directly correlates to customer satisfaction.
4. Increase employee retention
If high turnover rates lead to low morale, great morale leads to low turnover.
For an employee, seeing a co-workers leaving can indicate that something is not working well. When a seed of doubt starts to grow regarding leadership that concern can be very contagious.
Employer branding can play a role in combatting this phenomenon.
A strong employer brand will generate engagement within your workforce and remind employees that they are working for a company with a greater mission. This combination of conviction and value alignment can help them overcome outlying concerns.
The magic of employer banding is that it is a self-feeding cycle.
The higher the morale, the more solid your reputation is. The more solid your reputation is, the higher the retention rate. The higher the retention rates are, the better the morale.
Actively investing in transparent employer branding can potentially reduce turnover by 70% and boost new-hire commitment by 30%.
5. Build better credibility with customers
In today’s market, customers are strongly driven by the “why” (what your product represents) and are less focused on the “how” (quality, cost, and processes).
This phenomenon is especially prominent in the younger generations of millennials, Centennials and GenZ.
Take Apple as an example: Apple’s most loyal customers aren't focused solely on high quality products, that they could get from a similar quality brand, instead they're bought into what the brand represents, a 'challenge to the status quo'
The same phenomenon happens between employers and employees. Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why, explains it in his book and TED Talk:
“...the goal is not just to hire people who need a job, it’s to hire people who believe what you believe.
If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money. But, if you hire people who believe what you believe, they will work for you with blood, and sweat, and tears.”
A strong employer brand means your employees won't only be working for a paycheck; they'll work for you because they are invested in what your organization does and how it does it.
Wrap up:
Marketing is to customer leads and sales as a solid employer brand is to talent and productivity. Companies that focus on building a strong employer brand attract stronger candidates, more productive employees and reduce churn.
Crafting a strong employer brand can be challenging when there are so many places to communicate online, but the key is to go where your potential candidates already are.
Platforms like Localized, that connect university students and graduates in emerging markets with employers can be a great place to share your message or connect with potential candidates who don't already know who you are.
Branding isn't always sharing your values and mission, it can also be providing valuable insights and resources like E&Y during a virtual career fair talking about developing your personal brand.
If you're looking for ways to connect with entry-level candidates and interns? Schedule a demo and learn how Localized can help your company create a quality talent pool and a flowing recruitment pipeline.