To attract top candidates, improve retention and foster a positive company culture, you have to invest in your employer brand.
The Review-led Talent Acquisitions & Employer Branding Series is designed to guide human resources professionals in thinking about how to capitalize on the power of the employee voice by capturing and distributing their thoughts effectively in forward-thinking recruitment marketing tactics.
In part 6, we’ll discuss the importance of employer branding and outline some unique examples of good employer branding strategies. If you missed part 5, check out How to Launch a Talent Acquisition Brand in a New City/Location
When it comes to hiring, reputation matters. 50% of candidates say they wouldn't work for a company with a bad reputation, even for a pay increase. While there are countless ways to manage and build your company’s reputation, it all starts at the hiring level with your employer brand.
Employer branding is a marketing strategy that aims to shape how a company is perceived by current employees and the workforce at large. It outlines your workplace values and culture, giving potential candidates an idea of what it’s like to work at your company while boosting the morale of your current employees.
A successful employer brand will increase employee retention, draw the best and most invested candidates, and save your company money in the long run. But what does a successful employer brand look like?
In this article, we’ll outline some of the best employer branding strategies and examples of how real companies are capitalizing on trust to positively shape their company’s image.
In order to get the most out of your employer brand, you need to leverage your current employees. Candidates trust the voice of current employees 3x more than the CEO’s. Therefore, it’s essential to utilize their feedback effectively.
While written testimonials from your current employees are useful (those seen on employer review sites such as Glassdoor, Indeed, etc.), video testimonials are even more impactful. Video is engaging and personal - two factors that go a long way in attracting top candidates. If you have video testimonials from your employees, consider including them on your company careers page or sharing them with people in your candidate pipeline.
Example: Burton Snowboards
Burton’s career page does a fantastic job incorporating employee testimonials in its employer branding strategy. It features the “Meet Burton Snowboards Employees” section pictured above, which provides short introductions to a few of Burton’s employees. Putting their employees’ voices on display like this demonstrates what it’s like to work at the company while conveying a sense of pride and happiness in working for Burton. Ultimately, this sentiment will encourage candidates to apply.
For more information on how you can use video to build your employer brand, check out Part 2 of the Review-led Talent Acquisitions & Employer Branding Series: Internal Use Cases for Invite Video.
Internal and external company events are a perfect opportunity to build your employer brand and show your employees you care.
Internal events, such as company parties or retreats, offer your employees the chance to bond and make connections with each other. This strengthens your workplace culture and by extension, your employer brand.
Similarly, external events, such as job fairs or seminars, expose your company to the community. This gives you a chance to extend your brand image to the public while positioning your company as a community resource to potential candidates.
Example: Widewail
This past July, Widewail celebrated its 4th birthday with a company-wide party. The event was a great opportunity to get together, boost team morale, and recognize all of the hard work that got us to where we are today.
*Tip: Sharing photos from your company events on social media and encouraging your employees to do so is an excellent way to showcase your company culture and build your employer brand. Internal events like this can have an external impact when job seekers see how proud your employees are to have so much fun at work.
While not the most important aspect of a job, good benefits and perks can be a deciding factor for a candidate choosing between two similar positions. If you offer your employees gym membership, specific healthcare benefits, an employee discount, or any other special incentives - include it in your employer branding. It can go a long way in demonstrating just how much you value your employees.
Example: the LEGO Group
The most common benefits (health insurance, PTO, etc.) may be the most important to quality of life, but unique perks and simple gifts can be a huge plus for company culture. This post showcases a long-standing company tradition of designing and gifting one-of-a-kind LEGO sets to all employees each year. It illustrates how the company is always willing to leave space in its operations to make sure employees are shown appreciation. It also takes the chance to feature two employees specifically and the roles they each played in the gift’s creation and distribution.
The effect of this tradition and sharing it via social media is immeasurable. The post is riddled with comments and interactions from both the public and current employees. All in all - perks are an excellent way to make your employees feel appreciated while strengthening your employer brand.
88% of job seekers say that healthy work culture is vital for success. This means you should take every chance you get to share your company values and what it’s like to work there.
Highlighting company culture encourages potential candidates to apply - it helps them personally identify and resonate with your company. It also works to remind current employees what makes your company such a unique and special place to work.
It’s fine to put content out that has nothing to do with the actual work you are doing if it contributes to culture in any way.
Example: Google
In this post, Google shows how they celebrated National Dress Up Your Pet Day at work. It features photos of their employees’ beloved pets and also includes a hashtag leading to countless other posts that showcase what it’s like to be a Google employee living #LifeAtGoogle.
Any time your company wins an award, you should put it to work for your employer brand. Third-party recognition is effective in making your company more appealing to prospective candidates and serves as another example of why your company is a great place to work.
Example: Gainsight
Gainsight, a tech company focused on optimizing the customer experience, was named the #1 best workplace on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work 2023 list. They shared the news with their network directly and encouraged their employees to do the same. This post includes a short video featuring Gainsight’s employees and what Gainsight means to them. Alone, this would be powerful. With the backing of a third-party company like Glassdoor, it has an immense effect on their employer brand.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in remote work possibilities, the hiring process has shifted dramatically. Attracting top talent is becoming more and more competitive, and in order to help your business stand out, you need to invest in your employer brand.
While no employer brand is built overnight, any combination of the strategies listed above will work to maximize your reach as a recruiter and draw the best candidates. As you work to meet your hiring goals and market your company, don’t forget how powerful the voices of your current employees can be to future success and growth.
To learn more about how to manage your employer brand and get the most out of your recruitment marketing strategies, check out the rest of the Review-led Talent Acquisitions & Employer Branding series.