Positive Employer Branding

The battle for top candidates grows stronger, and it’s no surprise that we are identifying ways, that can enrich the employee experience. Companies realise the importance of retaining, attracting and engaging existing and potential labour. It’s for this reason that positive employer branding is a major contributing factor, to those organisations that want to build robust businesses, powered by the exceptional people that work within them.

The ’employer brand’ is a term that identifies how a company is perceived by its employees and the general candidate market. The term is no longer thought of as a marketing buzzword. Organisations are now becoming savvy to the concept of building strong employer brands, due to the business world increasing its ambitions towards securing top talent. The rise of social media leaves for even more transparency of the employee experience. Shining a light on the internal values and culture that an organisation holds within its business.

As part of the ongoing initiative at RRS we wanted to share our insights with our service users. Perhaps it may spark a discussion as to how the candidate market perceives your business. We hope that throughout this 2 part series we can identify ways for you to evolve your employer brand and encourage those that are sleeping, to join the race for talent.

Company Reputation

Every company has an employer brand, it’s the labour markets collective perception and opinion of your company. There is no getting away from this. However, it’s up to you whether you want to cultivate a brand that positions your business as a leading company to work for. Here are a few reasons why you may want to consider nurturing your company’s reputation.

Have you ever considered the percentage of your existing staff that would be tempted to leave your organisation? What if a competitor had a better employer reputation? It’s a scary thought and one that employers are going to have to face. As businesses shift their spending budgets into improving their employer reputation. A staggering 84% would consider leaving their current jobs if offered another role with a company that had an excellent corporate reputation. This goes to show how fundamental reputation is when it comes to employee’s decision making.

In the same study, 69% would not take a job with a company that had a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed! Positive employer branding is now, more than ever a fundamental element in attracting, hiring and retaining labour. We believe measuring and improving your business reputation is a key component in talent acquisition strategies.

“Employer branding is about convincing candidates that what your organization has to offer is better than what they have now or than what the competition is offering. For top candidates, choosing which job opportunity to pursue is not just about the job itself. It’s about clearly articulating how they can contribute to the organization and what they get in return. There needs to be some reciprocity to the employee-employer relationship. So, treat recruiting like marketing and use your employer brand to inspire and excite potential candidates.”

– Doug Claffey, CEO of WorkplaceDynamics

Reduce Cost Per Hire & Unwanted Attrition

Positive employer branding initiatives are statistically proven to reduce the cost-per-hire and overall return on investment for managed strategies. A LinkedIn survey disclosed, that the average cost-per-hire in businesses with a high ranking employer brand was actually two times lower than those with an employer brand positioned as mediocre to poor.

It comes as no surprise, that in addition to this, LinkedIn also uncovered that employee turnover levels amongst organisations with a strong employer brand, were actually 28 percent lower than among companies with weak employer brands.

Companies with a positive employer brand can save on cost with:

• Cost-effective talent acquisition strategies – unleashing your brands’ reputation on the market can allow you to target employees with a powerful message on the right channels. Cutting time spent on recruitment down to a minimum, allowing you to focus on your core business functions.
• Utilising your sway with candidates – a positive employer brand encourages increased advocacy within your business. Not to mention more referral activity, which is widely known for being cost-effective and superior in terms of retention. An improved employer stature will also have positive effects on your existing reach with access to a larger candidate pool of potential employees. Invest in your employer brand and save on candidate attraction.
• Hiring top talent at a lower cost – convincing senior-level candidates to join your organisation and part ways with their current employer can be a challenge. It usually involves a salary increase or a better remuneration package. A study by Conference Executive Board (CEB), reveals that the premium average necessary to successfully convert a mid-career candidate to a company with a high employer brand reputation, was almost half that required from a business that was thought to have a weaker employer brand reputation. 
• Decreasing unwanted attrition and rehire – In another study by the Conference Executive Board (CEB), companies who ‘brand for influence’ have 23% fewer drop-outs amongst their new hires. 88% of millennials believe that being part of the right company culture is important. If your values don’t reflect theirs they are more likely to leave, and the costs can be detrimental to employers. Considering spending on recruitment, training and lost productivity. Not to mention the potential loss of earnings in what could have been a hire of a highly engaged candidate.

The ultimate end-goal for your employer brand should be to recruit a higher volume and/or a better calibre of candidate into your organisation. Maintaining a fully engaged workforce, with high-levels of staff retention for less annual cost. Organisations can shape their employer brand through messaging. However, they can never have full authority over its direction. This is why it is critical to influence the perception of you as an employer to the market.

Does this sound like an initiative that could benefit your business? In the next part of this employer-branding series, we want to share with you our insights, on the strategies and measures your business can take. With the aim of significantly improving employee’s and the talent markets perception of your company.