How to improve employer branding

Employer branding is a commonly used term to describe a company’s reputation as a workplace, and with top talent being more regularly approached with various career opportunities, it plays a vital part in the decision making process for candidates. My advice is:

Portray a clear company message‍

This may sound obvious but at times companies can struggle to communicate what their company does in a clear, concise manner which can be understood across a broad audience. Getting the message across with the right look and feel can sometimes be tricky, but a lot can be taken and understood from a company’s mission and its’ values, especially when pitching companies to prospective candidates.

Promote culture

‍Company culture plays a huge part in defining an employer brand, by displaying what success in the organisation looks like. Perhaps you have a particular success story which can be turned into a blog or video, e.g. a junior employee has worked their way up within the company over a number of years. Success stories are always a positive feature potential employees want to hear about.

Tell a compelling story

Visual communication methods in the form of videos and photos are always a good idea. These could be about a number of things, including work Christmas parties, office environment, a careers fair, company art work, events, etc. These are all things that can be documented and used to help your brand be understood.

Future planning ‍

More and more companies are approaching candidates earlier and earlier into their careers, rather than just targeting graduates. This is with the intention of creating familiarity and interest in the brand. With tech skills being in such a high demand, it is important to set solid foundations to attract, engage, and retain talent in the future.

Social media & Online presence

This is your virtual shop front and is important to get right, particularly because of how much of an impact social media can have on companies in this century; it literally has the power to make or break a business. Glassdoor reviews, Google reviews, and the like will most likely play a part in a job seekers’ research. Candidates will want to find out about your company’s expectations, work style and interview process, and they may also chose to leave reviews about their candidate experience. With this in mind, it’s important to provide a positive and engaging journey throughout the entire lifecycle of employees and interviewees. You might save yourself some time by not informing the unsuccessful candidates of their fate, but is it worth the risk of a negative public review?

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