You might wonder how the term “branding” fits in with recruitment. Isn’t that a marketing thing? Well, yes, it is. Employer branding in recruitment, however, has to do with creating a strong employer brand to reach and retain as many potential candidates as possible. Has your company set itself ambitious diversity and inclusion goals? Then employer branding is even more important.
Employer branding in recruitment refers to the way your company is perceived by employees and candidates who’ve made it through your hiring process. The trick is to promote this employer brand externally, so potential future candidates know why working at your organization is so interesting.
Why employer branding in recruitment is important
Positive employer branding helps you attract and retain a diverse group of employees. The ones who increase diversity in your company and help you be successful. In addition, research into employer branding in recruitment shows that:
- 84% of job seekers say that the reputation, the employer brand, of a company plays an important role in their decision to apply for a job;
- 9 out of 10 candidates say they would apply for a job if the employer brand is actively maintained;
- 50% of candidates say that they wouldn’t apply for a job when the company has a bad reputation;
- 55% of job seekers don’t apply after reading negative reviews online;
- 76% of candidates actively search for why a company is an attractive place to work.
Establishing a good employer brand
From the above, it’s obvious why employer branding in recruitment is so important. But how do you get started? It’s not just about communicating how great your company is. You have to be a great company to work for, too. To find out if you already are, or if there’s still some work to do, you can ask your current employees. They can help you formulate a distinctive message to attract potential candidates. What is it that makes your company unique and worth working for? Why are you the best employee? Those are among the questions potential candidates want to see answered positively when they consider applying for one of your jobs.
Consistency in your employer brand
Employer branding should be the central part of your hiring strategy. The Textmetrics platform can help you make sure that your employer brand is reflected in all your written communication. Our platform analyzes what recruiters are writing and our augmented assistant provides them with real-time suggestions whenever they deviate too far from your brand identity. This allows you to ensure that all written content is consistent with your employer brand and delivers maximum impact on the potential candidates you want to reach.