Five Tips to Create a Winning Employer Brand

Thanks to a variety of economic and generational factors, competition for top talent in every industry is at an all-time high. It is especially difficult for industrial organizations and even companies that want to take advantage of a global work-from-home pool are wading into complex legal waters. 

The good news is most employers are starting to see how valuable a strong employer brand is when attracting and retaining the employees they need to grow. As more and more of these companies have to "sell themselves" to job candidates, human resources leaders are turning to their peers in the marketing department to help create compelling messaging that differentiates one employer from the next. As in sales, the winning companies are the ones people trust, now more than ever. 

Here are five tips to boost your recruiting experience and create a winning employer brand people want to work for:

Are you an employer branding novice or are you an employer of choice? Do candidates go to your job postings before your competitors’ and are your employees loyal to their roles? If you desire to be a place where people long to work, you need to master the perfect blend of employer branding and technology. You may have the fun company culture that top talent craves, but you also need to align your channels to show it off to the world.

This can be done by branding your workspace, creating more engaging job descriptions, implementing a new HR technology and even showcasing your culture through social channels to reel in the best talent.

Instead of hiring based on resume qualifications, select candidates for a culture fit first and skill set second. To do this successfully, establish a “right fit” employee persona before starting the search. Your personas will differ based on the role you’re hiring for, but each should outline characteristics you’re seeking in a new hire.

When building a persona, look to your current employees and define what makes them rock stars. Document your must-have culture-fit factors and not-a-fit factors.

To dig a little deeper, conduct an internal employee survey to lay out basic demographics and other details like your employees’ motivations, goals, barriers and frustrations, likes and dislikes and triggers when looking for a new job.

Take a minute to think about your current job postings. If they are chock-full of long paragraphs with company jargon, you can do better. To exemplify what your company has to offer, use videos and photos to upgrade your job posts.

In today’s market, where the internet is saturated with content, it has become increasingly important to take advantage of the digital generations. The time has come where you need to bring your job postings to life, literally. The best part? All you need is a phone, tripod, microphone kit and your employees.

When recording job postings, keep these things in mind:

• Pick one job and focus on it.

• Start with a position you’re able to film and navigate around the job site easily.

• Interview two people for one job posting.

• Be specific in your questions.

• Keep it authentic and under two minutes.

• Show, don’t tell.

When it comes to the next generations of talent, you have to do things differently. Studies have found that all generations value meaningful work, but millennials and Gen Z are more interested in transparency in their company culture and require a different form of communication style to be fully engaged. They care about being given autonomy on how they can work, recognition and reward for their contribution and the opportunity to have a social impact on their community.

Does your website intrigue job seekers and make them want to work for you? It should. Candidates want to know what goes on within the walls of your company, so use authentic stories from your employees and share them with your audience. Your careers page and website should showcase your core values, employee benefits and perks and the real people who work for you. Use photos of your team engaged in internal activities, company outings and community events to give applicants a better feel for life on the job.

Not only are job seekers interested in culture, but they are also contemplating if your company is tech-savvy. Applicants will consider their online experience as they weigh employment options, such as the ease of applying and whether the application was mobile-friendly. Today’s recruits expect a modern, digital experience when applying for a job, so that’s what you must deliver.

Hiring shouldn’t only involve the hiring manager. Involve your entire team to make the most of your recruiting efforts. A few ways you can include employees in day-to-day hiring initiatives is to encourage their participation on company review sites and social media.

Websites like Glassdoor offer employees the ability to leave honest and anonymous company reviews. Users have the option to provide information about salary reports, internal reviews, interviews, benefits, company culture, the CEO and more. Peer review sites are great outlets that allow you to embrace transparency and show the outside world what it’s like to work at your company.

Social media takes a similar role when it comes to your hiring strategy. A whopping 79% of job seekers use social media during their search for a new role. So, it’s necessary to maintain a winning presence, particularly on LinkedIn. Encourage your employees to share company updates and job openings on their personal accounts, primarily LinkedIn. Don’t expect your employees to share proactively. Provide them with the content they need to effectively and efficiently share. Craft branded messages they can copy and paste into their profiles to ensure they’re engaging with your online brand.

Remember, competition for talent is at an all-time high. Are you stepping up your game to become an employer of choice? You have to know your target audience to compete. Know where they hang out and serve them compelling content about your brand to show them why they should want to work for you.