How to create a compelling employer brand for organisational success

A compelling employer brand is just as important as an organisation’s general corporate brand, as it plays a key role in promoting business performance, competitiveness and growth.

With unpredictable complexities and changes in today’s fast-moving business landscape, competition for talent is becoming increasingly competitive. A strong employer brand is just as important as an organisation’s general corporate brand, as it plays a pivotal role in promoting business performance, competitiveness and growth.

For larger organisations, it is becoming difficult to rely on HR and marketing departments alone to build a strong employer brand, particularly due to the emergence of social media.

Global Banking and Finance Review reports: “This shift in strategy brings senior leaders and organisational values into the spotlight, making employer branding a critical strategic priority for top management and all other organisational layers.”

So how do you create an authentic employer brand?

Understand your current position in the market

Conduct a thorough assessment of your organisation’s current employer brand awareness and reputation to understand where you stand in the marketplace.

• Do you have an easily accessible careers page?
• What messaging is prominent?
• Is your message targeted at attracting talent vague, or do you have any at all?
• Who are your talent competitors, and what do they offer that’s different?

By building a strong foundation of knowledge through initial research, you will be better equipped to formulate your employer brand messaging.

Conduct internal research

Good employer branding starts from within. Speak to your current employees to determine what they value about their roles, their perceptions of your workplace culture, what challenges they face in their roles.

This is where it can be valuable to hire an external specialist to maintain confidentiality. Allowing employees to share their true feelings anonymously can give you a more truthful understanding about your employer brand, particularly the challenges in certain roles. (Use these to your advantage: your ideal candidates will enjoy these challenges!)

You can also take this opportunity as an employee engagement initiative.

“By encouraging your staff to identify the difficulties and dysfunctions encountered in their work and asking them to propose improvement initiatives you’ll create an inclusive company culture that makes employees feel their voice and opinions matter.”

Create your key employer brand messaging

Use the feedback you received from the internal research to create a core employee value proposition (EVP) message, supported by a few key sentences about what you can offer as an employer. Target your message to your ideal candidates.

Building brand advocacy

Integrate your employer brand in your company values. Your authentic message should be promoted internally so that your current employees, as well as potential candidates, know what to expect from you as an employer.

“Ensure that everyone understands the value and impact a strong employer brand has on the success of the business and the role each person needs to play in sustaining a consistent brand experience and reputation.

Make sure the brand voice is consistent both internally and externally. Clear discrepancies between the public image and how your employees view the company create confusion and can alienate valuable candidates, customers and potential investors.”

Promote through social media 

Your LinkedIn and Facebook pages are powerful tools in attracting potential candidates. Get creative and showcase what’s special about your organisation through staff profile stories, events, and news posts relevant to your industry.

“Share company values and highlight your strengths to build an authentic and appealing employer brand reputation.

“Keep employees and potential candidates engaged through regular communication but don’t forget it’s a two way street – listening to your employees and regularly gauging their perception should be just as high priority as periodic newsletters, social media posts and team building.”

Your current employees can also provide useful insights. Encouraging them to propose improvement initiatives can create engagement and an inclusive culture—a useful talent retention strategy. Current employees have the potential to be an organisation’s greatest brand advocates.

In creating a compelling employer brand and building brand advocacy, create an authentic message with an engaging voice. Communicate your message in a way your current employees and potential candidates view you as an employer of choice. 

Source

Building a strong employer brand is critical for organisational performance

Mike Roe

Global Banking & Finance Review