employer branding

The practice of using personas is given in e-commerce, and I think it could be beneficial for recruitment. Understanding your target audience when recruiting or doing recruitment marketing makes reaching the right people and interacting with them more efficient. Here’s how to create a talent persona and when to use it.

Background

The practice of using personas originated somewhere at the end of the Nineties, when Alan Cooper wrote his highly acclaimed book ‘The Inmates are Running the Asylum’. He developed the concept of a user persona, with a very specific use case: design better software for the user. The concept of user personas is still very current nowadays, where it is buying software development a lot. Here is an example of Spotify from last year.

The other type of frequently used personas is called buyer personas. These types of personas describe an ideal customer for a product and are used by teams like Marketing and Sales. Here’s an example, taken from here: 24-year-old Casey is a college student at NYU. She’s grown up in an electronic age where walking around with a phone is the norm. She has a tablet, an iPod and a computer at home. Her television has over 200 channels. She has no idea how music was packaged before the digital age.

Both these types of personas help with understanding the target audience,theibehaviond behaviour patterns. It turns quantitive data into something tangible. That is essential to build the right product, and to market or sell it.

A trend in recruitment is just that; taking inspiration from sales and marketing, and applying their techniques to recruitment. I think personas are a great way to start.

How to create a talent persona?

So now that it is clear why talent personas could be beneficial for your recruitment, let’s dive into how to use it.

You are basically trying to answer this question: what are the specs of the ideal hire for a role? You want to base it on empirical market research and data, not on anecdotal assumptions. Besides that, you’ll need empathy and intuition to build this persona. Here are some questions to help get you started?

  • What are their current job titles? You might name your vacancy ‘PHP Developer’, but there are a lot of different titles for this role. You could use Enlighten JobsESCO or the Google Keyword Planner to find synonyms for your vacancy title.
  • Where do they currently work? This is both at which companies, but definitely also locations. This helps you with narrowing down your search to specific companies that you should focus on. You could also get inspired by similar vacancies from those companies. And it helps with identifying in which countries you should focus on. Hiring scarce developers for your company in The Netherlands? Maybe you should look in countries like Portugal or Brazil. A talent persona helps you with identifying this.
  • What are their skills and interests? This is a great starting point to identify where you reach your ideal candidate. Should do be able to use PHPUnit (a testing framework for PHP Developers), make sure that your vacancy is visible when searching for something related to PHPUnit. Also try to think outside of the box here, and find ‘proxy variables’. These are things that are itself not directly relevant, but serve as a replacement for directly relevant variables. They are always highly correlated, and usually generalized. An example could be: electrical engineers are usually a big fan of motocross. Be aware that this is not always the case, so you’ll to be smart about these.
  • What education have they completed or are they still doing? It could be great to become a partner of that school, so that they can help you with inspiring students to work for you. Or, you could use it for targeting on platforms like LinkedIn.
  • What is their seniority? You want to be able to tailor your messaging to your target audience, and this is a great indicator of that. ‘Yo wazzup, want to earn money?’ probably isn’t going to cut it with senior executives.
  • What drives them, what motivates them? This is a vital one, as it basically tells you what you should offer them. It helps with writing your job description, or with the focus of your ads. Super interesting one!
  • How do you currently interact with them, and can you learn from that? Is there a newsletter that contains specific content that drives a lot of interaction? Does your Working at Instagram page perform really well? These learnings can give you a head-start. Next to that, it helps you identify what types of content you should create.

To make these answers more tangible, you could add a fake first name and profile picture to this persona. For example, ‘Joan the PHP Developer’ and ‘Tom the nurse’. Although it seems like a small step, it helps with gaining empathy for these personas.

To help you with answering these questions (and also because it is great fun too), talk to the current employees who already have this role. They will be valuable in answering these questions. If they want, they can also act as the last check on the persona and on everything you want to publish based on that persona.

Next to that, this should be a collaborative process that includes different people from your employees. Of course recruiters and employees already in the role, but don’t forget to include for example marketing and hiring managers. You want to be aligned on this.

There will be some parts of a talent persona that needs refinement, so be open to feedback and change.

Although not completely matching the questions from above, you could use this tool from HubSpot as a starter.

When to use a talent persona?

As much as you can! To offer a few more concrete tips, here’s a list:

  • Tailoring your job description to better suit the needs of your candidates.
  • Sponsoring events that are important are frequently visited by your candidates, even if they are not directly related to jobs. Remember the proxy variables?
  • Off-course in your targeted job advertising, employer branding or recruitment marketing campaigns. You can use it in selecting the right channels, tailoring the ads towards your candidates and of course the targeting.
  • You could also think about writing blogs that spark the interest of your candidates. You could even ask the help of your current employees for this, as this is also beneficial for them.
  • It could also help with being aligned as a company, since there is less ambiguity on who your ideal candidate is.
  • Verify that your EVP actually resonates with your ideal candidate.
  • It might help to improve the recruitment process as a whole for these roles. If you find out your ideal candidate works in a different country than you, you have to take that into account for your process.
employer branding

The last few years have seen unprecedented disruptions in how, when, and even why we work. As we look to 2023, talent acquisition experts offer their thoughts on what talent acquisition trends will bring to the job market in the coming year.

TALENT ACQUISITION TREND #1

1 The rise of internal mobility: moving around – but not out

Thanks to an uncertain job market, professionals are no longer thinking of career growth in traditional terms. Instead, they are ditching the ladder for the lattice, making moves to other areas within their current organization and signaling a growing internal mobility trend. In many cases, companies will use talent analytics and workforce planning to determine which new roles are needed to futureproof the business and which employees might be a good fit for those roles.

Going forward, employers should boost their internal talent mobility efforts by focusing more on the talent development of their current workforce – offering regular training and certification programs to reskill or upskill internal candidates. Increasingly, companies will use artificial intelligence (AI) platforms to shortlist promising internal candidates, provide tailored career development content, and develop personalized career paths based on goals and interest areas. Experts say that investing in internal mobility will not only help organizations to attract top talent and develop more diverse pipelines but also fill open roles and critical skill gaps amid stalled hiring.

TALENT ACQUISITION TREND #2

2 Talent Acquisition and Talent Management: from “it’s complicated” to “in a long-term relationship”

It doesn’t pay to make a great hire if that person doesn’t stick around for very long. That’s why going forward, talent acquisition and talent management teams should work together more closely, from the start of the hiring process through career development and succession. By partnering together, recruiters and talent managers can create a more positive employee lifecycle – better career paths for professionals, which leads to providing the right training and development to move them along their career journey successfully.

Employers can strengthen the interconnectivity between their teams by investing in cloud-based talent platforms that allow recruiters and talent managers to share, capture and leverage talent data. This will help to deliver a progressive employee experience and enable the internal mobility of the business to grow. As a result, new hires will feel valued and respected with the knowledge that their employer is invested in their success.

TALENT ACQUISITION TREND #3

3 Executives and professionals for (short-term) hire

Instead of relying only on full-time employee (FTE) hires, the latest hiring trends show companies are increasingly adopting contract employment – looking to interim executives and professionals to meet scaling workforce needs.

There are several benefits to an interim employee approach: people who choose interim or contract workers are often highly skilled, mission-oriented, and project-based individuals who assimilate quickly into new environments. They can bring unique skill sets and experiences needed for finite projects, during mergers and acquisitions, or to temporarily fill roles either during a leave of absence or while the company searches for a permanent employee.

In 2023, we will see an increase in people seeking flexible opportunities who are willing to compromise a sense of security from a full-time job. In turn, talent acquisition professionals will put more focus on nurturing relationships with candidates seeking contract employment and work with clients to determine the most effective scenarios for filling positions. In such a dynamic landscape, experts recommend companies maintain a 70/30 FTE-to-interim worker mix.

TALENT ACQUISITION TREND #4

4 Productivity? Check. Now, what about culture?

The past three years have proven that workers can be just as, if not more, productive working from home. The problem is, how can organizations maintain—or even improve—their culture if everyone is still working at their kitchen table?

In 2023, companies will get the best of both worlds by making hybrid workspace. Experts say hybrid work models will allow employees to enjoy the freedom of remote work while reaping the benefits of being in the office (think: better access to training and development or impromptu brainstorming sessions).

This, of course, is not one size fits all: remote work productivity in the hybrid environment will depend on an organization’s needs, roles and people, and should be based on data, employee sentiment and individual cases. Some may need teams to meet in person on the same day each week, while others may ask employees to be in the office only a few times a month. But next year, recruiting trends predict that talent acquisition professionals can expect many more companies to offer hybrid work arrangements to attract top talent, with some requiring remote-first candidates to live within a certain radius to visit the office, when needed. And as working models change, experts say companies will continue to maintain highly productive outcomes.

TALENT ACQUISITION TREND #5

5 Moving from work-life balance to work-life integration

The concept of work-life balance has long been a goal for millions of professionals. But the last few years of remote work have made it even more difficult to tune out the daily demands of the job when off the clock. Many employees have started taking a new approach, foregoing the traditional 9-to-5 in favor of a more fluid schedule.

In 2023, more candidates will look for companies that promote work-life integration: being able to put in hours when it’s most convenient to take care of personal responsibilities, when needed (think: working a few hours in the morning, taking an afternoon break for an appointment or to pick up kids, then back to work in the evening). Watching the clock will become less important as managers assess success by the output of employees and not the timeframe of their workday.

TALENT ACQUISITION TREND #6

6 Bouncing back: boomerang employees’ inbound

It sounded like a good idea at the time – when business was booming and nest eggs were growing, many professionals decided to retire early. Others took the big leap to switch jobs—or even professions. Now, with an uncertain economy and shrinking retirement accounts, many retirees are knocking at their former employer’s door, as are professionals who realize the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. This can actually be a bonus for companies as they welcome back former workers – known as “boomerang employees” – who have institutional knowledge and proven skill sets.

In 2023, organizations will start to put more effort into the off boarding process, maintaining professional relationships with employees who leave and making sure those employees know the door is open if they choose to return. And, by investing in digital workforce performance technology, talent acquisition professionals can keep track of former workers to discover who may have the right skills and experiences to fill high-demand roles.

TALENT ACQUISITION TREND #7

7 Workforce planning is getting smarter

If your workforce strategy worked last year, there’s no guarantee the same plans will succeed next year, especially in such a dynamic economy. Going forward, talent managers will need to be more deliberate in their demand planning, removing silos and collaborating with business leaders across functions to truly understand their needs for the coming year. The use of AI and predictive analytics will become more prolific in forecasting to help identify the right roles, skills, and geographies to focus on the changing business.

Recruiting trends predict a slow-down in hiring as employers start to make more calculated decisions that have lasting impacts, rather than knee-jerk hires to fill seats. And if the market does in fact downturn in 2023, companies will need to take a much more measured approach to new recruitment and right-sizing their workforce.

Talent acquisition professionals should conduct scenario-based workforce strategy plans to prepare for the worst, average, and best-case economic conditions. In each case, it will be critical to focus not only on the downturn but also on the recovery, so organizations can bounce back quickly and dynamically.

employer branding

The competition for talent intensifies the ability to understand how to attract new generations. Digitalization is becoming crucial. As traditional branding efforts are moving from conventional to digital strategies, a corporation’s Employer Value Proposition must also follow it. Talent marketing is becoming more competitive and to stay on the top of the game for the race of the next generation workforce, one must act no. Most companies do not know where to start, how to tell their story, and what to post on social media in order to attract and capture the interest of talent. 

Why Social Media is Important?

The company needs to alleviate its most significant concerns when using social media in its Employer Branding. 

There is a new world out there, and the competition for talent will intensify, and the ones who will lead the race will be those who understand Social Media.” Furthermore, every brand is unique and this needs to be communicated, thus that companies must take control over Employer Value Proposition. However, there are some common traits to Employer Branding on Social media that gain more attention than others. “There are some key learnings that you need to consider when you are using Employer Branding on Social Media; the most important being that you need to monitor your content.” 

However, there are some common traits among companies that are at the top of high engagement scores with their Employer Brands on Social media, and these are: 

Use video – using Video on Social Media shows higher engagement in comparison to other types of content, thus if you want to increase your engagement, you need to add video to your Employer Branding on Social Media. 

Select the right platform – Understand where your talent is interacting, for millennials and Generation Z, Instagram shows a lot higher engagement than Facebook and LinkedIn when it comes to dedicated followers. People that tend to follow on Instagram have a more genuine interest in the company.

 Be authentic – The best way to make the company understand your company is to show them how it is. Companies that have a thought-through Employer Branding Strategy on Social media show their employees a lot. However, we know how fast, that being authentic is difficult and has always been.

Use Data – Looking at social, companies prefer to communicate their CSR efforts and the Inspiring Purpose of their company; however, these attributes might not be connected to your Employer Brand and something that is not on top of the list of our talent insights research.

A strong Brand is not everything – Of course, a strong product/consumer brand contributes to the employer brand.

employer branding

Attracting talents these days in an extraordinarily competitive market can be daunting. Using the right recruitment marketing strategy can make finding and attracting top talents much easier. All that is necessary to do is to identify the right mix of tactics to make your recruitment marketing a success. This marketing includes promoting your organization and your culture in addition to specific job openings.

The candidate’s journey is complex. With many different channels for candidates to conduct research and a lot more options for them to choose from when it comes to the job pool, it is important to stand out and have a presence in the places top talent is searching. 

Recruitment marketing can be built up in many forms that will increase your online presence. At this point, your company will get found in search results when candidates begin their job hunt to application generation to reach candidates when they are ready to apply for jobs.  

A good marketing strategy for recruitment gathers many online marketing tactics so you can reach out to as many applicants as you can. We provide you with some basic recruitment strategies to help you find the right employees for your organization.

 

Optimizing Your Website for Users with a Career Page

Your website is (rightly) geared toward your clients or your audience, so a career website or page is really the only place you can gear content toward prospective employees. It’s where you communicate your benefits, and what current employees love about your culture, and promote open positions.

Your website is essentially your organization’s first impression for most job searchers. They should be able to clearly identify what you do, your mission, and whom you serve, and then easily navigate to more information about careers and your culture.

employer branding

In order for your website to show up in search results at all and to display correctly across all devices, you also need robust search engine optimization, or SEO, a strategy built around your brand keywords.



Showcase Your Brand Organically on Social Media

Social media is a great place for candidates to learn about your organization and your culture. Because social media is meant to be, well, social, it lends itself well to sharing culture-related content–whether it’s an in-office event, an employee feature, or an example of how your organization is giving back.

And, social media is effective at attracting employees. In fact, leads developed through employee social media activities convert seven times more frequently than other leads.

So, you can’t miss this opportunity to engage with prospective employees while also creating a positive experience online for your current employees.

 

Reach Out To New Audiences with Facebook Advertising 

 

Another benefit of using social media sites like Facebook and Instagram for your recruitment marketing is that with Facebook ads you can target a new audience who may not know your organization.

 

Facebook advertising allows you to run ads on both Facebook and Instagram and target users based on a number of factors, including their current job titles, education level, interests, and location. This can help you serve ads on Facebook and Instagram to the types of employees you’re hoping to attract in your area.

 

Manage Your Employer Brand on Review Sites

Your organization’s brand reputation is extremely important. Job searchers want to get an idea of how your current employees enjoy working for your company, and reviews give them a way to do just that. So, it’s essential that you’re managing your employer reviews and responding accordingly.

 

Prospective employees see review responses as almost as important as the review itself. In fact, 75% of job seekers are likely to apply for a job if the employer actively manages their employer brand. (Find out how to build an employer branding strategy here!)

 

When it comes to responding to employee reviews, the process will be similar to responding to customer reviews, but there are a few nuances. One positive aspect of employee reviews–even if they’re negative–is that you can influence your organization to make changes based on employee feedback.

 If you’re noticing a common thread among negative reviews around micromanagement or time-off policy, you can work with your leadership team to identify fixes that will make current employees happier to work at your organization and can help attract top talent.

 

Promote your Organization on Job Boards

While many job boards allow you to post jobs for free, you can increase your chances of getting seen by the right applicants by promoting your openings on those job boards.

 

When you promote your open positions and organization through job board advertising, you can show up ahead of other listings on these sites, increasing the chance that candidates will click on your posting instead of a competitor’s.

 

Employ Email Marketing to keep your Brand top of Mind

Once you’ve collected a candidate’s information, you can keep your organization top of mind through email marketing. Consider sending emails to your list regarding relevant awards you’ve won (like Best Places to Work in Houston), spotlights on how your teams are coming together during the pandemic while working remotely, or a client your organization recently helped see success–along with open positions.

 

Think about what prospective employees would be interested in and what can set your brand apart from the others vying for their applications. If you can continue engaging your talent network, you can increase your chances of reeling in the perfect fit for your open jobs.



employer branding

Human Resource definitely understands the importance of employer branding. Creating an effective Employer Brand sometimes can be challenging. From planning to execution and optimization there are so many subcategories that every HR team has to adjust to its organization and labor market. In order to get a better understanding of how you can create an actionable employer branding strategy we made this comprehensive collection of tips.

Planning Your Employer Branding Strategy 

Tip Number 1: Align your Strategy with Organizational Needs

Aligning your employer branding strategy with the organization is very straightforward. By setting a business’s short and long-term needs, taking into account everything the organization wants to accomplish and the skillset it will require to do so. Start by answering the following questions:

  • What objectives will the business pursue over the next 3 years? 
  • What new products and services are in the pipeline?
  • What talent gaps exist that could prevent us from meeting our obligations?

Tip Number 2: Set Actionable Objectives

Setting actionable objectives will help the organization to solve a problem or accomplish a goal. Every single business must define its own recruitment goals, and well-crafted objectives will always share common traits. Here are some actionable objectives you should consider of: 

  • Identify a specific and reasonable goal the company needs to meet 
  • Establish metrics and adjust them over a long time
  • Establish resources, create a content calendar, and set a timeline 
  • Divide, conquer and meet deadlines 

Tip Number 3: Define Relevant KPIs

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics used to evaluate the success of the objective. If your goal is to reduce total recruiting costs by 20% over a six-month period, cost-per-hire would be an essential KPI. The KPIs you define will vary based on your objectives. 

Tip Number 4: Develop a Measurement Plan

It’s likely your business already has access to a plethora of tools and resources that can help you obtain the needed information. A measurement plan will ensure you’re equipped to collect and analyze the data you need to make informed decisions.

Tip Number 5: Allocate Resources Upfront 

One of the biggest questions you’ll face when allocating resources to develop an employer branding strategy is whether to keep things in-house or enlist the assistance of an outside expert. Both options have advantages:

  • External agencies. While not as common as their counterparts in advertising, a host of employer branding agencies have sprung up in recent years. These service providers may be the best option for organizations lacking internal expertise or looking to supplement existing resources.
  • Internal teamsCreating an internal employer branding team will be the most economical path for many organizations. While this option may not involve dedicated consultants or agencies, it can be every bit as effective if properly implemented.

Tip Number 6: Create Target Candidate Personas 

Candidate personas require first-hand feedback from prospective employees, so you’ll have to conduct some interviews to get the information you need. We recommend a minimum of 10, but the more the merrier. Recent hires can also provide valuable insight, so make sure to include them in your interview schedule. You’ll want to collect as much information as possible

Demographics are important factors to consider and can be extremely helpful when targeting candidates. However, be careful not to target too narrow thus unintentionally excluding populations and reinforcing unconscious biases. Not only is it unethical but it’s illegal, so watch out.

Tip Number 7: Develop a Compelling Employee Value Proposition

Creating a meaningful EVP is arguably the most important thing you can do when developing your employer branding strategy. It will serve as the foundation for your communications materials, influencing everything you say and do when recruiting talent.

Tip Number 8: Determine Your Distribution Mix

It’s important to determine which channels you’ll use to communicate with candidates before developing employer branding materials. Not every channel is right for every business, so you’ll want to identify where your ideal candidates spend their time and take your message to them.

This is one area where you’ll definitely want to involve your marketing team, but recruiters should still understand the basics of owned, earned, and paid media before communicating with candidates.

Tip Number 9: Create a Content Calendar

Whether you’re publishing a recruiting blog, running targeted ads on social media or rolling out new features on your careers page, creating a content calendar can simplify the process and hold people accountable for deadlines.

  • Brainstorm ideas. Get a team together and brainstorm big-picture ideas for blog titles, recruitment marketing campaigns, video production, and careers page improvements. 
  • Consider the budget. Creating compelling content takes time and money, but the investment will pay off in the long run. Focus on driving success for one project at a time. If you take on too much too quickly, your strategy may lose credibility and funding.
  • Distribute tasks. Now that you’ve established a master plan, divvy up the work to appropriate managers who will further delegate as needed.
  • Set deadlines. Make sure everyone’s calendars are synced and people are held accountable for their content deadlines.
  • Adjust as needed. Are you catching on to this theme? Employer branding strategy is not stable. It is forever in flux, and by staying ahead of the trends you’ll find the best people before they even start looking for jobs.

Tip Number 10: Make Sure Your Employees Understand the Strategy

Start with the basics:

  • Keep them in the loop. Equip employees to be effective ambassadors by ensuring every member of the organization understands the employer branding strategy and how to communicate it to their personal networks.
  • Empower them to communicate. Some firms may feel a little uneasy allowing their employees to communicate on the company’s behalf, but you have to get past it. We live in a connected world, and your employees’ networks are likely an untapped talent pool.
  • Provide some guidance. Whether it’s a few talking points or a formal social media policy, providing your employees with a little guidance will help ensure they remain on message.

Tip Number 11: Repeat, Repeat, and Repeat

There’s no get-rich-quick scheme when it comes to employer branding, but there is one surefire formula for success: Test, measure, and repeat.

Once you’ve planned, implemented, and optimized your employer branding strategy, start over. Reassess the organization’s needs and determine if your strategy is still relevant. Set objectives to address new challenges or opportunities. Develop new candidate personas and refine your employee value proposition accordingly. Top-performing companies treat their employer branding strategy as a work in progress, never missing an opportunity to refine their approach and improve results.

Remember, employer branding is a circular process, so once you’ve optimized, head back up to step one and prove to stakeholders and team members that employer branding is well worth the investment.

employer branding

Nowadays employer branding is pretty much a popular topic in every company. But why are so many companies focusing on creating a brand, or even forming a better one?

In the era of social media, exposure in front of your customer has to be towards showing your public everything you do. This includes processes, products or services, social responsibility, etc. The same goes when it comes to attracting and retaining employees. 

Studies show that 75% of job seekers consider an employer`s brand before even applying for a job. Therefore if your employer brand is not good enough to compete with others, your company could end up losing high-quality talents. Before giving you an example of big companies and their employer brand, here are some benefits you get from implementing an employer brand.

First – Improved Candidates

Research has found that organizations with manageable employer brands are able to source from more the 60% of the labor market as compared to only 40% for those show do not manage their employer brand. This means you get more access to great talents, which is a great opportunity to reach a wider pool and find great candidates that may not have been possible otherwise. 

This includes also passive candidates who are not actively looking for a job. But most affects job seekers because now are able to see inside your culture and prove if it appeals to them. They can tell if there is a fit, that they agree and support your company`s mission and that they will be proud working with you. 

Second – Reduce Costs 

When you are hiring high-quality you end up spending much on salaries. On the other hand, you have great talents with high salaries that are compatible with your culture and a low risk of resigning. This, in turn, means less recruitment and less turnover. Lowering the cost per hire will reduce sector costs and make you more efficient in point of budget spending. Gives you room to invest more in improving employer1s brand. 

A brand that is easily shown and communicated is the best way to counteract these costs. And, if candidates can see what you are like as a company, you can save time sourcing and scout for the right hire – they will come right to you! Because candidates will already know if they like your company or not. 

Third – Engage Employees 

When candidates apply for a posting that they know is the perfect fit, it means they will be happier and more engages with their work. This is a big deal considering companies with engaged employees outperform others by up to 202%. 

Meaning quality and the bottom line of your business are sure to reap the benefits. Even more so, when employees love where they work they become an advocate and spokespersons for said business. Employees can be your greatest asset not only in driving your business but also in increasing the talent pool. They know how to talk to their peers about the company and can vouch for your culture, brand, and more. 

Employer branding is something that can easily make or break your company – whether you choose to believe it or not. But, making the investment and pushing forward with showing your audience what you`re all about can not only save your business but make it even more profitable. 

Still not sold on the idea that employer brand is important? Let us show you how the biggest companies take care of their employer’s brand. 

Ex1. STARBUCKS 

Starbucks is ensuring the cultivation of a strong community among its employees. They refer to current employees as partners, instilling a sense of price in each employee. Additionally, Starbucks created Instagram and Twitter accounts specifically for @SturbucsJobs, which they use to promote their employer brand and interact with job seekers. 

By creating a social media account with the sole purpose of demonstrating appreciation for current employees and evoking passion in potential candidates, Starbucks shows its commitment to being more than just a product. 

Rather than posting about their drinks, Starbucks uses its social media accounts to share its company mission, congratulate employees on college graduation, and share personal employee stories. The company also uses platforms to demonstrate its commitment to diversity ad inclusion.

employer branding

Ex2. CANVA

According to LinkedIn`s Global Talent Trends report, 23% of Millennials and Generation X and 32% of Baby Boomers consider company mission as a top factor when considering a new job. That means that across the workforce, more and more job candidates want to be inspired and have a purpose in their jobs. 

This is what makes Canva`s employer brand so great. On their Careers page, they highlight their values for job seekers and pair each value and visual design, under-sourcing the idea that design can be forced for good. 

Canva also doubles down on this idea on social media channels, which are full of inspirational content and ideas furthered by design.

employer branding

Ex.3 EVENTRIBE

To demonstrate its commitment to recruiting high-quality talent, Eventbrite created a web page to introduce job seekers to its recruitment team. The bios are funny and relatable with fun facts about each recruiter.

Additionally, the Eventbrite recruitment team page states, “Interviewing shouldn’t be nerve-wracking —– it should be exciting. It should spark great conversation. We believe in respect, transparency, and timely responses (we don’t leave anyone in the dreaded recruiting black hole).”

Their language reflects their values, likely inspiring job seekers to apply.

Ex.4 Shopify

If there’s one thing that’s clear in tech recruiting, it’s that there’s a gap between tech jobs and qualified applicants, and it’s taking longer and longer to fill positions. For many companies, their leverage is having an incredible employer brand and great perks to attract top talent. Many tech companies can take a cue from Shopify, where they recognize this and tell the job seeker that it’s their turn to “apply to you.” 

This acknowledgment is one step toward earning rapport with a potential candidate, and they continue to empathize with the reader by stating, “Finding the right job is hard work.” The rest of their Careers page is dedicated to providing the information that someone would need to take a chance and apply to Shopify.

Each one of the examples on this list has in some way shown their empathy, a human element, and a slice of their culture to begin attracting great employees. Human capital is your biggest investment and asset, but remember that your candidates are also investing in you.

Now for sure presented the idea that employer brand is a trend. If you want to know how to create one and insure you bring and keep high-performing talents, apply for our Academy starting on 20th February 2023.

employer branding

Why is a Must in Every Company?

When a job seeker begins his search for a job make sure you are on the top. But how your company will be on the top of any job search? Is it the size or the product it sells? Before we go on here is a fact – 86% of workers would not apply for a job or even continue to work for, a company that has a bad reputation with a former employee or the general public. It makes sense – nowadays, a company’s reputation matters more than ever. 

Companies are spending their budgets and time creating a competitive product with a good brand story. Know to ask yourself a question – how much is a company spending on attracting and retaining top talents? 

There comes employer brand to crate cultivating and powerful strategy, so the company reputation does not base only on income or product/ service.

What is Employer Branding?

Let`s say your company offers the best product and its public reputation as a socially responsible company is at the highest level. 

Will that convince anyone to work over there?  Probably, yes. Will that hold on its employees? We do not know. Therefore you need to implement the same branding strategy when it comes to communicating your company leadership, values, and culture. To ensure a good employer brand, you need to tell a compelling story. 

Employer branding is how you market your company to job seekers and internal employees. The best you are at employer branding, the more likely you are to attract top talents. Additionally, a positive employer brand can also help you retain top talents. 

If you can reduce turnover rates by 28% and cut your costs-per-hire by half. Additionally, 75% of active job seekers are likely to apply for a job if the employer actively manages its employer brand. 

You have an employer brand whether you have put effort behind it or not – so why not put the effort in to ensure it is a brand you can be proud of?

Why Employer Brand is important in 2023?

Employer brand is becoming an important part of the employee’s value proposition and is essentially what the organization communicates as its identity to both potential and current employees. Implementing the right employer brand strategy and putting an effort into it to be realized can affect your recruitment process of new employees, will scale up your retention and engagement of current employees, and the overall perception of the organization in the market. 

Research shows how strong the employer brand has a direct impact on talent acquisition. Companies with better reputations have higher quality and more satisfied employees. Also, candidates’ experience is significantly improved and they then retain employees for a longer period.

Employer Branding vs. Recruitment Marketing

Is there any Difference?

One of the easiest ways to improve your employer’s brand strategy is through recruitment marketing. You can showcase your brand on your career site, create e-mail campaigns for job candidates, and increase your brand awareness. 

But is there any difference between Employer Branding and Recruitment Marketing?

There is a distinct difference between Employer Branding and Recruitment Marketing. As an HR professional, it is essential that you can understand the difference between these two terms so you can effectively utilize them together to attract top talents. 

The main problem is that HR and recruiting professionals often mix them up or use these two terms interchangeably. As an HR professional is important to understand the difference. 

On one side Employer Branding (also known as Employment Branding) is a term used for the process of creating and maintaining your company`s Employer Brand. Based on your values, vision, and mission. The goal is to present your company as a desirable employer in order to attract high-quality candidates. 

On the other hand Recruitment Marketing is a term used to explain to the applicants of marketing methods and tactics to showcase your Employer’s Brand. In other words, Recruitment Marketing is the process of promoting your Employer Brand on different channels such as Social Media, the company`s career site, job boards, the company`s career blog, current employees, job descriptions, talent networking events, and many others.  The goal is to deliver the right message in front of the right candidates and the right time and drive candidates your way.

4 Big Employer Branding Questions

As we said every employer’s branding has to be based on the company`s value, vision, and mission. To drive traffic for new candidates through recruitment marketing and retain current employees as much as longer. At that point, your employer brand will result in a higher company reputation. 

In order to fulfill all of these – we suggest starting by answering these 4 questions:

  • Which positions do you need to fill (now and in the future)
  • Who is your ideal candidate?
  • What makes you an exceptional employer?
  • Why would your ideal candidate want to work for your company?

In short, your Employer Brand is the reflection of your Employee Value Proposition, based on compensation, benefits, career opportunities, work environment, and culture.

How to Set an Employer Brand Strategy in 5 Steps

Planning, developing, and implementing Employer Brand Strategy is not an easy task. Especially when it becomes a key recruitment trend. 

Employer Brand Strategy is the main component of every successful Talent Acquisition strategy. Having a clearly defined Employer Brand can help you find the right job candidates, and attract, engage and hire them. Top companies use advanced employer branding and recruitment marketing tactics to differentiate their employer brand. Today is a world of “War for Talents”, and therefore well-planned Employer Branding strategy can be a huge competitive advantage that sets you apart from your competitors. 

Here are the 5 steps to creating an Employer Brand Strategy:

Step1: Define Your Employer Branding Goals

Think about what you want to achieve with your Employer’s Brand Strategy. Set your goals including:

  • get more job applicants
  • get more high-quality candidates
  • increase online engagement 
  • increase candidate engagement 
  • increase Employer Brand awareness
  • build trust with current candidates
  • get more career site visitors
  • get more applicants from social media
  • increase referral rates 
  • increase offer-acceptance rate

Step 2: Identify your Candidate Persona

Defining your candidate persona is a crucial step in creating an Employer Brand Strategy. Without knowing who your perfect candidate is, you won`t be able to send targeted messages to the candidates you want to attract. 

Step 3: Define your Employer’s Value Proposition

Before submitting an Employer Value Proposition make sure you have answered the following questions – Do you know why current candidates have chosen you? Do you know why employees stay? Do you know what they like the most about you as an employer? 

These questions you need to answer in order to set up a successful Employer Branding Strategy. Answer to these questions best explains your Employer’s Value Proposition. Your EVP is the message you will target your candidate persona with. Your EVP is composed of 5 blocks – compensation, benefits, career, work environment, and culture. 

Step 4: Define the channels to promote your Employer’s Brand

There are around there are 6 stages s before candidates get hired. This is called the candidate journey.  It starts with awareness, consideration, interest, application, selection, and hires. Through their candidate journey, candidates will have multiple interactions with your Employer Brand. These interactions happen both online and offline. For example, a candidate can:

  • see your job advertisement on a job board
  • visit your career site and read your career blog
  • check the ratings of your company on company review sites
  • visit your company`s social media profiles
  • join your talent network
  • talk to your company representative at the career fair
  • fill out your online job application
  • come in for an interview and etc.

Here are some channels for promoting your Employer Brand Strategy – social networks, family and friends, local events, educational programs, talent networks, email campaigns, job ads, career sites, team blogs, current employees, applications, and interviews.

Step 5: Measure Your Employer Brand Success

HR Analytics and measuring the most important hiring metrics is becoming one of the main goals in 2023 for HR professionals. Based on the goal that you set up in the first step, you should measure the success of your Employer’s Branding Strategy. 

Data-driven recruiting, however, is impossible without the right recruiting tools. Today, there are many HR tech solutions that help HR professionals excel in their Employer Branding strategies 

Looking to Learn More about Employer Branding join our International Academy on the 20th of Feb 2023 so you can build your own strategy suitable for your company.