Building an employer brand

Who are you? What do you stand for? What makes you great? No, not you personally: your company. And moreover, your company brand. Because in a world of fierce competition (honestly, it’s like Game of Thrones out there) you need to know how to play to your strengths if you’re going to nab the best talent on the market.

Not sure how? Stick with us, you’ll be just fine.

Reputation counts.

Rightly or wrongly, less ‘high profile’ companies find the whole recruitment process that bit more difficult. Why? Because people are drawn to what they know. If you’re at the helm of a well known brand, congrats! What you need to focus on is protecting your brand. If you’re firmly in the ‘incognito’ category, your job is to create an enviable brand reputation, which is actually easier than you think. Focus on making your current employees happy (they will act as your greatest brand ambassadors) and word will soon spread. If you’re not sure how, have a read through our guide on employee engagement. It’s a goodie.

Know your audience. Inside-out.

The savviest of employers know that one-size-fits-all will never fit anyone worth having. You have to adapt your brand to your target audience. Everyone’s values, aims, ambitions and backgrounds are different, which means that everyone’s ‘pulls’ are different, too. What makes a graduate tick is unlikely to excite an experienced worker in the midst of their career, so when you’re planning an interview (or an overall hiring strategy) think about what your ideal candidate will be looking for – and how your brand can deliver, better than any other. People want to hear that you have a plan.

Be consistently brilliant.

To build a really effective brand – one that screams YOU-ness at every turn – it has to be consistent. From the tone of voice to the visual identity, everything should be recognisably ‘you’ (your brand that is). It’s important to remember that every brush with your brand will affect a person’s perception of you – from calling your helpline as a customer, to receiving interview feedback as a jobseeker. So make sure every encounter is consistently brilliant. Make it easy for people to apply for jobs, make people feel welcome when they come for interview, keep communication clear throughout the hiring process, treat customers and suppliers with the utmost respect, take complaints seriously and respond to praise with humility. The little experiences matter.

Don’t lose touch.

No matter how big your brand, how great your reputation or how successful you become, never underestimate the value of feedback. It’s important to touch base with employees, ex-employees, customers and suppliers to make sure you’re on the right track. And don’t bury your head in the sand when it comes to negative feedback. Sure, you can’t please everyone, but criticism is a platform for improvement – so use it to your advantage. Why not ask ex-employees why they really left? Speak to your team about what they’d change, and why. Gathering opinions – and moreover, acting on that feedback – is essential for building a strong employer brand. And that, we promise you, is well worth the effort.

Ta da! That was our quick-fire guide to building a kick-ass employer brand. We hope it’s given you a little food for thought. But our support doesn’t end there – oh no! We’ve created a whole heap of guides for your perusal.