Nikki Brown, May 13, 2020 4 min read
This is a guest post from Talent Works, a Tech Nation growth programme partner.
As many of us know, a company is only as good as the people that work for it. But how do you ensure that you’re attracting the right people to your business? The most important element is no longer how good your company or product is, but rather how good you are to work for. This is where your employer brand comes in.
During the current era of mass remote working, how you appear as an employer is even more crucial for attracting the right talent. It minimises the time it takes to hire, and cuts your recruitment costs. But how do you build an employer brand that will resonate with the candidates you want? We’ve collated some tips to help you successfully build and leverage your employer branding.
When it comes to finding the right people for your business, the first step is really understanding who you are and what you stand for. After all, how can you expect to find the right talent to move your business forward if you don’t know what your main objectives and messages are? To find a candidate that is the right fit for you, you need to make sure their key values match your company’s.
Make your key message clear and specific, so a job-seeker can instantly see what is most important to you. If someone respects your brand message and is excited by your brand’s proposition, then you’re much more likely to attract and retain them.
While having an application process that is too simple can lead to an abundance of CVs from a mixture of candidates; having one that is too long-winded, complex or full of errors can put off potentially great people and, quite frankly, doesn’t leave a great impression of you as an employer.
Technology is a great way to boost your employer brand as it allows you to personalise the candidate’s experience and streamline the whole application process. You may want to create a hub to host the job search, applications, assessments and interview scheduling in one user-friendly place. Candidates expect companies to be tech-savvy, so when they’re not it can give a bad impression.
Perks shouldn’t be at the heart of your employer brand, but they play a crucial part in becoming an employer of choice. When it comes to the bonuses you can offer employees, you don’t have to break the bank or try too hard to be creative, simply offer a competitive, desirable package.
Take the time to ask your employees what they’d like and what would help improve their working day. Not everyone will want a free gym membership, a free bar, unlimited holidays or a company pool so don’t waste your time and effort on something that won’t be appreciated. Things, like being more flexible with hours and allowing employees to work regular days from home, make them value you much more. Perks should be a benefit to employees’ life, not simply a quirk that will get them through the door. Remember, no one will be fooled by a gimmick for long!
There’s no red flag quite like constantly seeing job adverts for the same company or role. While this could mean the company is undergoing rapid expansion, the likelihood is you have a high turnover of staff, which is rarely appealing to potential candidates. By taking care of your existing employees, giving them benefits and making them want to come into work every day, you’re simultaneously boosting your employer brand. Create a positive company culture and this will reflect throughout your recruitment efforts, establishing you as an employer of choice when long-term career planning. It should also turn your employees into employer brand ambassadors.
One thing that new employees look for is a company’s willingness to invest in them. Allowing your employees to learn, progress and grow is not only a way to ensure your staff are always at the top of their game but also a great way to attract new talent that you know have an appetite for learning. In a recent survey by Gallup, over half of millennials said that training and the chance to learn new skills was ‘extremely important’ to them when applying for a job. Providing the relevant training shows you have faith in your staff and ensures that you’re retaining the best possible team, reducing the need to recruit.
Whether they’re looking to try a new product or looking for a new role, people love to read reviews from real people. In fact, Glassdoor claims 70% of people look at reviews before they make career decisions. As an employer, you can constantly tell people how great it is to work for your company, but you will never be as trusted as real-life sources. Potential candidates will dig deep when researching your business so encouraging employees to write a review on Glassdoor or write positively about your company on their social media.
Why only tell people how great your company is when you could show them? There are so many ways you can tell the story of your brand in an engaging and user-friendly way. You can make bespoke landing-pages users can interact with, make a series of videos interviewing employees and giving a preview of working life, or even create blogs and news articles interviewing current employees. By using real people as examples, and creating an experience that reflects your brand, you’ll attract candidates that can see themselves creating similar stories, which means they should be a great fit.
By promoting and focusing on these things you’ll show not only that you care about employees but that you’re a great place to work and your employer brand will soar!
Find out more about how to make the most of your employer brand in Talent Works’ new ebook, cooking up your employer brand – the startup edition.
