What is Employer Branding and Why is it Important?

Almost every person looking for a job goes through innumerable advertisements for job openings and sometimes ignores many advertisements solely due to the reputation of the company. A job seeker needs to be assured of the fact that the company he wishes to join is one where they can settle long term and where they will not face any problems. This is where Employer Branding comes in.

Employer brand refers to the reputation of a company among job seekers and employees. It is the general opinion held about the company and how they treat their employees. While some may think that the opinions of employees do not matter all that much as long as the company is profiting, the reality is that the employees are advertising your company in a way. Their opinion about the company spreads, through their acquaintances and then the general public. That is why it is necessary to constantly work on shaping the company’s brand to establish a good reputation.

Employer branding refers to the process of shaping the thoughts and opinions of employees and potential employees about the company. A lot of factors play a role in shaping the reputation of the company including, the incentives given to the employees, the pay package, the environment of the company, treatment of the employees, and much more. Every company wants to advertise and establish itself as the top place to work and use various marketing techniques to do so.

Importance of Employer Branding:

With the Internet, the world has become a global village. People have access to information that they hadn’t even dreamed about before. This has also brought about a shift in the employment process and how people seek jobs. In the 1990s, online job boards and websites started popping up, which widened the horizons for the people looking for jobs, allowing them access to a wider array of employment options.

This led to companies competing against each other to stay on top of these boards and to be the number one, to attract the largest number of best talents that the society has to offer. The companies employed various strategies that will be discussed later on, through which they started marketing their brand. There are many reasons for the importance of Employer Branding when it comes to the success of the company. Only a company with a good brand will be able to attract the most talented and experienced employees.

The hiring of new employees isn’t easy. The market can get very competitive. According to a survey, the recruiting market will be 94% more competitive this year, with the competitiveness only increasing each year. Furthermore, Employer branding is viewed as the major strategy taken up by the Human Resources department by 59% of the employees. Additionally, Companies with a bad brand reputation will have to offer 10% more pay and incentives to attract good talent. Even so, 69% of candidates state that they would reject an offer from a company with a bad employer brand, even if the company was offering good incentives and the candidate was unemployed.

A good employer brand can also attract the employees of other companies. According to a survey, 40% of employees would change their company without any pay increase or additional incentives, if the company had a better brand reputation. Also, for young employees aged between 18 and 34, 23% of them would rather get a pay cut but transfer to a company with a good employer brand.

So, not only does employer brand impact a company during the employment process, but it also has an overall effect on the employer-employee relationship and interaction. If a company hopes to have a higher rate of employee retention then it must focus on improving its brand image.

Strategies for building Employer Brand:

Every company, be it a small start-up or an established multinational empire, needs good employer branding if it is to make a name for itself as the top employer in the dense employer market. There are various strategies that a company can use to improve its brand reputation.

Employer Value Proposition (EVP):

The Employer Value Proposition or EVP in short refers to what a company has to offer an employee, in exchange for their skills, time, and experience. It encompasses the mission, aim, or culture of the company and focuses more on what an employee gets from the company. The better the EVP a company has to offer, the better its brand reputation will be. A solid Employer Value Proposition has several other benefits in addition to establishing the employer brand, such as re-engaging a discouraged or demotivated workforce, helping prioritize and promote the aims and agendas of the company, and minimizing the cost of hiring new employees.

Media:

Media has always played a vital role in making or breaking a company’s image. By promoting the company through media, a company can establish a good and solid reputation for itself. Through alluring visuals, showing off the workplace, promoting the diverse workforce at the company, and sharing the story and goal of the company, the company has a better chance of humanizing itself and thus moving towards a more positive reputation.

Diversity:

A diverse workplace is the best workplace. Hiring people irrespective of their gender, race or color is what every company should do, but alas, it is not what has been observed. Many companies are known for their discriminative nature and that impacts their reputation. Promoting and advertising the diverse workforce of your company will help improve the image of your company and attract talented and experienced employees.

Conclusion:

To put it simply, an employer brand is the reputation of a company among its employees and potential candidates. Every company has to make sure that it has a good employer branding and for this reason it uses certain strategies. This allows it to attract more talented and experienced employees and thus, progress further. There are other reasons why Employer Branding is considered so important and that is why having a good reputation is vital for the success of the company.