More often than not, business leaders prioritize consumer-facing branding to improve how customers perceive the company and eventually influence their purchase decision. But if there’s anything that the pandemic revealed, it is that brand management for recruiters is equally crucial in creating the right recipe for corporate success.
An all-star team can make a difference in helping your business survive uncertain market conditions, and a strong employer brand can impact the decision of qualified candidates on whether to join your team or go for your competitor. Your business’s image and reputation do not only help set you apart from your competitors in the consumer space, but powerful brand management also gives you the edge to entice top talent who will strengthen your team.
Keeping these in mind, let’s take a deep dive into the four fundamentals of brand management that can help you take good care of your reputation and build a highly credible employer brand to gear your business toward future success.
1. Good corporate storytelling builds brand awareness.
Strong brand management for recruiters will make people aware of who you are. With the shift in workplace dynamic, candidates are actively seeking companies with humanized employer brands that demonstrate an inspiring vision, keep their employees’ best interest in mind, care about giving back, and are willing to listen.
Keeping in mind that brand identity goes beyond the narrative of salaries and benefits, strategic HR leaders know that establishing a human connection with candidates is the first step to being recognized. The key is in how you tell your story; a purpose-driven and people-focused brand will make you stand out from the crowd and boost your brand awareness. When you communicate the “why” and the “how” with authenticity to the people within your company, your purpose will resonate not only within your organization but also outside it.
Communicating a socially conscious employer brand reaffirms trust and loyalty in your talent pool. An excellent place to start is through an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and using it as a guide for your branding efforts.
Through an EVP, you can define your company’s purpose, the qualities that make it unique, and the core principles and values it stands for. It embodies the reasons why your employees are motivated to work there, like an inclusive culture and a clear vision.
Consistent communication and articulation of your purpose are essential to ensuring that your brand story is integrated into your current and incoming employees. As you bring the “why” and “how” to your brand purpose, you can inspire employees, foster creativity, and make meaningful connections with potential candidates even before they get hired.
2. Strong brand reputation builds credibility.
When it comes to talent consideration, a strong brand reputation can bear more weight than money. Reports show that 67% of candidates are willing to accept offers with lower pay if they have significant positive online reviews because an excellent reputation helps foster trust and adds credibility to the terms offered in a job contract. As a result, when companies compete for qualified candidates for the same job offer, the company with a good reputation will most likely get the potential talent.
Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn are common access sites that candidates utilize to find out more about your company, with 79% of job seekers using social media to look for potential employment. Not only that, but employer review sites are on the rise, with both past and current employees leaving anonymous reviews and ratings about your company for all the world to see.
With 78% of candidates researching a potential employer before applying, reputation management for recruiters is more important than ever. Utilizing brand management tools like Great Recruiters to build your review base allows you to project the quality of work your company provides. This is highly beneficial in building testimonials on your social media platforms, websites, and profile pages, which gives you an effective means to gain more control over the kind of reputation you want to build.
Alongside management tools, it is worth noting that effective employee engagement is one of the best ways to build credibility. At the end of the day, satisfied employees are more likely to recommend their employer as a great place to work and share positively about their employer online.
3. Brand loyalty turns employees to brand ambassadors.
Brand loyalty is a matter of creating a great experience, and it starts with your employees. Your current talent pool is your most valuable asset, and they can play a vital role in boosting your employer brand when motivated to give their review.
Reports show that candidates tend to trust employee feedback three times more than the actual company when looking up company culture information. The more your employees give a positive review, the more you become attractive to candidates. And as your employees talk positively about the business, your employer branding gains more traction through word of mouth. This means recruitment costs can be reduced as potential candidates will seek you out and apply to your available positions. You can allocate your finances to other priorities like consumer branding and product development to stay one step ahead of your competition while your talent pools naturally fill up.
A Jobvite study shows that 47% of referral hires have increased job satisfaction and most likely to stay longer at companies. Socially engaged employees have a higher chance of having a positive outlook on the company’s vision and eventually becoming brand ambassadors. Simple acts like recognizing their efforts and achievements, offering flexible work hours, and encouraging developmental work culture can significantly stimulate positive employee engagement.
4. Effective brand equity elevates your market value.
When it comes to employer branding, communicating the value that you will bring into their lives can elevate your potential as an employer of choice. Your employees’ favorable impression is the added value that makes up your employer brand equity (EBE) and gives you an even bigger edge.
The cornerstone in keeping a strong reputation and maintaining loyalty among your employees is effective brand equity. For this very reason, it is a critical linchpin that must be prioritized to understand how your internal talent sees the organization and what could be amplified to potential applicants. Building a strong EBE will require you to assess the way your current employees and potential applicants perceive your business and work on fostering the positive attitudes that come from being affiliated with your company.
When you invest in developing strong brand equity, the result is a set of consistently engaged employees that become more committed and naturally advocate for your business. This reaffirms the brand loyalty you worked so hard to build and ensures they stay that way. You can do this by demonstrating better diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts or highlighting unique benefits such as COVID-19 support.
Reports show that a staggering 70% of the talent pool includes a company’s D&I initiatives when evaluating a potential employer. On top of that, redefining your leadership and development (L&D) strategies can work wonders in communicating to your employees that you are keeping their personal and career growth in mind. This results in an overall optimistic and engaged talent pool that feels proud to be part of your organization.
Take the first step in building an employer brand that makes a lasting impression.
With Great Recruiters, brand management for recruiters is made easy. Keep track of your candidate experience and reviews through a single platform that allows you to highlight the best parts of your brand.
Schedule a demo today and unlock the untapped potential of your employer brand through our staffing and reputation management software.
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