If your company is currently looking to attract and retain talent to help your business stay competitive, you need to pay more attention to how your company is perceived in your sector. According to John at Express Group, you need to inculcate the brand message into your employees, and have them project it into the business arena in all all they do if you are to drive success and attract the right individuals. We take a look at how you can achieve this.
Communication is vital
Strong communication with existing employees is critical to developing the employer brand. Current employees need to know, in clear terms, the kind of workplace the business offers, and this must be backed by action. This will make it easier for them to agree with the employer brand and also ensures the employer brand will be reflected in their comments, placing the company favourably in the sight of future candidates.
Have a good understanding of your audience
The employer brand will vary according to a number of factors. These factors include the industry of the organisation, its operating procedures, the type of skills needed, industry trends etc. However, you need to know what an employee is looking for in a role before you can have a clear definition of how the brand translates for the employee. Travel and quality of technology may be what a typical employee will be looking for in one company, whilst, in another company, it could be the family-friendliness of the environment, and regular work hours. A poorly conveyed employer brand, attracting candidates with the wrong attitudes and expectations, will, most of the time, lead to recruitment of the wrong candidates.
Culture should be supported by leaders
Company culture starts at the top. It is therefore important for company leaders to fully support the employer brand. There must be readiness to accept policies that will support things like working from home, special projects, bonuses, flexibility of hours, bringing your own device and other aspects of the employer brand that will likely appeal to candidates. Many of these aspects of work have measurable bottom line benefits, so they are not just superfluous additions to a work contract. Here is a look at the benefits of allowing flexible work hours, for instance.
Meet expectations
You need to ensure you are the employer of choice. Organisations that live up to their promises, and always deliver a consistent experience, will develop a stronger employer brand than those that fail to live up to expectations. Any work employer- employee relationship involves a psychological contract. these are unwritten agreements that are implied by each party.
An employer that perceives that employees are duty bound to work long hours, against an employee who believes they should get extra benefits for extra hours, is uneven, and likely to lead to problems. By making contract terms more explicit an employer can remove uncertainties, and disparities between expectations.
Appeal to the imagination of candidates
Your company will have an advantage over the competition if you make it easy for candidates to imagine working with you. You can achieve this through LinkedIn accounts of employees, photos, videos, blog posts, etc. When you have already found a candidate to consider working for, it enhances the possibilities of them actually signing a contract.
It is important, however, to ensure you are maintaining a realistic view of working at the organisation. Recruiters are using social media to make hiring decisions but it should also be a much used channel for promoting your employer brand.
With these tips, your organisation will find it easier to attract and retain top candidates for all your positions. Think strategically about the relationships you are trying to foster, and the image you need to project.