How’s your firm’s reputation? If recruiters researched your agency before applying for a job with you, what would they find? Three-quarters of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job, LinkedIn reports, and 69 percent said they’d rather go without a job than work for a company with a bad reputation. Conversely, 73 percent of job seekers would accept lower pay if the firm they were interested in had an excellent online reputation, a CareerBuilder survey found.
Welcome to the importance of employer branding.Employer branding & why it’s important
Your employer brand is, simply put, your agency’s reputation as an employer. It’s the value proposition you offer employees. It’s how popular you are as a place to work.
If you wish to attract top talent to your firm, it’s vital you have a strong and attractive employer brand. Without one, not only will you struggle to attract candidates, but you’ll have a hard time retaining good employees, too.
Your employer brand touches every aspect of your business:
Better brand = better clients = better candidate talent = better recruiters
Without fantastic recruiters, your agency can’t grow and succeed.
A bad employer brand costs you
Big time.LinkedIn did some research and discovered the following:
- Employers who aren’t investing in their brand could be paying up to an additional $4,723 per employee hired
- Almost 50 percent of full-time professionals in the U.S. would refuse a job with a company that demonstrated the top three negative employer characteristics, regardless of what the salary increase was
- These stats don’t even consider other costs, such as employee attrition and morale
How to find out what your employer brand is 
Survey your employees
Anonymously, of course. Ask them how they feel about working for you. Do they feel valued and supported? Do they feel adequately recognized and rewarded? What could you be doing better as an employer?
Read online reviews
If you’re not monitoring the online chatter about your firm, now is the time to start. Visit Glassdoor, Indeed, Great Place to Work, FairyGodBoss, The Muse, Paysa.
Conduct exit interviews
Encourage constructive criticism, and take what you hear to heart.
6 tips to improve your employer brand
1. Articulate what yours is
You can’t improve it if you don’t define it. What kind of employer do you want to be known as? What’s your employee value proposition? Get it down on paper.
2. Look for disparities and fix them
Examine what you wrote in #1 and then look at reality. What doesn’t match up? You say you want to be known as a flexible/fun/innovative/transparent/well-paying/etc. employer, but does that line up with how things are? Get aligned with your values and goals.
3. Examine your on-page assets
Everything a candidate finds on your web properties should reflect your desired branding. This includes your site, your blog, your job descriptions — make sure they’re indicative of your policies, benefits and programs.
4. Be smart & get active on social media
Social media is the probably the most effective way to showcase your culture and promote your employer brand messaging — and because of this, and it’s worth sinking some money into a social media strategy.
5. Ramp up your blog
Last week we discussed the importance of blogging for recruiting agencies. It works here, too — job seekers and current employers will look to your blog as a source of information about the company and its culture, and your content should reflect that at every turn.
6. Give job seekers a good experience
Optimize for mobile job searches. Simplify the application process. Communicate through the hiring process. Give thoughtful feedback. How you treat candidates speaks volumes about how you treat employees.
Employer branding: What they say when you’re not in the room
It’s how people (candidates, employees, clients, Joe the plumber... everyone) think, feel and share about your recruiting agency as a place to work. Start paying attention to your employer brand, if you haven’t been. Showcase what make your firm special. If you’re not actively cultivating an attractive brand, they just might draw their own conclusions.
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