What is an employer brand?
What people think about your company could affect your bottom line. Did you know top-performing employees pay attention to your company’s employer brand?
An employer brand encompasses an organization’s mission, values, culture and personality. Every organization has one, according to this definition given by the SHRM. A positive employer brand says that the organization is a good employer and a great place to work. It affects employee recruitment, retention and engagement. It also impacts the perception of the organization in the market.
Why should you care about your employer brand?
Organizations need a positive employer brand to attract, hire and keep top talent. The market for recruiting and retaining top talent is very competitive. You need to pay attention to what people are saying about you to be the employer of choice! What are your employees saying? What about your former employees and the general public? A bad reputation will turn most people away.
Organizations need a positive employer brand to attract, hire and keep top talent.
The way you tell your corporate story (your marketing) and how you treat your employees must be one and the same. If you are going to talk the talk, then you must walk the walk. It is easy for an employee to tell the world about their experience working with you. It doesn’t matter how much you invest in marketing if the employee experience doesn’t live up to what you are saying.
What are people saying about your company?
It is all about what people are saying about you. Money is not enough to attract top talent or to keep your existing employees happy. It is not only about compensation, it is also about the employee experience.
Here are some of the top things employees want from their employers:
- Trust and respect
- Transparency and honesty
- Clear goals and expectations
- Accountability and responsibility
- Recognition and praise
- Learning and professional development
The trust and respect must be mutual; your employees won’t respect you if you don’t respect them. They want to know you trust them to do the work you hired them to do.
Transparency and honesty are also required to get the trust of your workforce. Be clear and open with your staff. Things work best when employees trust in your character as a leader.
Does your team know what you expect of them? They want to know what they should be doing. They need you to set clear goals and expectations to be confident in their work.
More than ever, employees want their work to have meaning. They want accountability and responsibility. They want to contribute to your organization’s success and make an impact. Meaningless work is not motivating.
Everyone wants to feel appreciated. This is why recognition and praise go so far! When your employees are working hard for you, let them know you appreciate their efforts!
Investing in employee learning and professional development is a win-win scenario. Growth potential is a key priority for employees. They will appreciate that you are investing in them, which means they will feel invested in you.
What happens when you invest in your employees and your employer brand?
Your recruiting and hiring costs go down
- When your retention rate goes up, you don’t need to invest in recruitment — your employees are staying!
- When you do need to hire, your employees will recruit for you. They LOVE working for you.
- When you have a reputation as a great employer, more quality applicants want to work for you!
Your employees perform better
- They will be committed to you and motivated to do a great job!
- High retention equates to retained knowledge and experience.
- You attract top performers.
You boost your organization’s reputation
- Employees want to work for organizations that they can be proud of. Earning respect in your industry and from your employees is sure to attract top talent.
- Social media makes it easy for stakeholders (internal and external) to get information. You cannot control what people say, but you can give them reasons to give you praise. Their words can affect public perception of your company. You want to ensure it is positive.
Is your organization making an unforgettable impression?
We would be happy to have a conversation and share our insight about employer branding. Feel free to reach out.