The job market is constantly shifting, sometimes in favor of candidates, and other times in favor of employers. And in the past, the hiring process has generally been viewed as a one-way selection of companies selecting the best talent for their team. However, especially in recent shifts, candidates have begun to take some of the power from the companies, realizing that they also need to pick the company that best suits their needs in a new career. A study showed that 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before applying for a job. Consequently, employer branding has become an essential part of how a company attracts new talent.

What is Employer Branding?

Employer branding consists of a combination of factors that make up how a company is perceived by potential talent. It is essentially the strategy in which an employer decides how to market their company to desired job seekers.

What Factors Play into Employer Branding?

Mission, Vision, and Story

First thing first: to establish an employer brand, a company must have a clear story on how it got where it is now, where it wants to go, and how it will get there. Companies can portray this by creating clear mission and vision statements. From this, begin to incorporate them along with some company history into online posts, job boards, individual job descriptions, etc. This is an important key to attracting the right talent, as you want potential candidates on the same page as where the company is heading.

Company Culture

This makeup of mission, vision, and story plays into a company’s overall culture. “Company culture is the shared values, attitudes, behaviors, and standards that make up a work environment. It is about the experience people have at work” (Debara, 2022). It is less of something that you can see and more something that is felt amongst company employees in day-to-day life. Fostering a strong and consistent company culture is especially important when it comes to collaboration and job fulfillment. This is why the term “culture fit” has become a hot topic in the recruitment process.

Social Media Presence

Going to school, we were always told that companies would look at candidates’ social media accounts as a form of a ‘background check’ in the interview process. These days, candidates are conducting their own background checks on companies before deciding to apply. A report by LinkedIn states 52% of candidates seek out a company’s website and social media to learn more about the employer.

Social media presence is something that all companies should have and maintain to appear attractive in a potential candidate’s eyes. It is a great place to showcase your best company features to passive job seekers too. You should consistently share things like benefits, company events, employee spotlights, celebratory milestones, etc.

Check out our socials: LinkedIn, Instagram, & TikTok

Employee Engagement

Two primary ways that employee engagement plays into an employer brand consists of their involvement in company initiatives as well as advocacy online and offline. While promoting on company socials does help generate an idea of what it’s like to work there, getting employees involved in promoting company culture is also huge. According to a LinkedIn report, candidates trust current employees 3x more than companies to provide credible information on what it’s like to work there. So, encourage employees to be engaged online and offline and share what they’re doing at work. What they share matters too!

Reputation

Reputation is one of the most influential pieces that influence job seekers’ views of an organization. In fact, a report by Glassdoor detailed that a whopping 86% of candidates research company reviews and ratings when deciding on where to apply for a job. Additionally, that same report indicated that about 3 in 4 people would not join a company with a bad reputation.

All in all, reputation matters in our personal lives as well as professional lives. So when it comes down to it, creating and maintaining a respectable reputation is a vital component of a successful employer brand strategy.

Did you miss our most recent blog where we celebrated women in the workforce? Read it here!

We hope this brought a greater understanding of what makes up an employer’s brand strategy. In a later blog, we’ll discuss why implementing a successful employer brand is important. Subscribe so you don’t miss it!