A 2023 Guide to Know What is Employer Branding

A 2023 Guide to Know What is Employer Branding | Leadership | Emeritus

Employer branding is significant for businesses because it can have an impact on the company’s reputation and on its ability to recruit and retain top talent. A strong employer brand can make companies more attractive to job seekers, resulting in a less time-consuming recruiting process and a larger pool of qualified candidates. According to a Zippia report, companies with a good employer brand can increase their success at hiring qualified candidates by 49%. Employer branding is a significant tool for organizational growth and success. This article discusses what is employer branding, its different types, statistics, and other associated details.

What is Employer Branding?

Employer branding refers to the process of managing and influencing a company’s reputation among employees, job seekers, and key stakeholders. It is a convenient term to describe a company’s reputation and popularity from a potential employee’s perspective. Employer branding also describes company values to the employees and helps an organization promote its unique identity among the workforce.

Why is Employer Branding Important?

Good employer branding can play a key role in helping companies attract and retain top talent. According to a 2023 Zippia report, 50% of workers refused to accept a job offer and join a company because of poor experience during the hiring process. The same report states that around 75% of industry professionals believe employer branding has a significant impact on talent selection processes. That is why a company needs to create a powerful employer brand to attract and retain top talent.

Furthermore, employer branding provides a clear idea about the company’s culture, values, and expectations, which allows potential employees to determine if the company is a good fit for them. 

A strong employer branding strategy can also increase employee satisfaction and loyalty, leading to higher levels of productivity and a more positive work environment. Moreover, a well-established employer brand can improve a company’s reputation and even make it easier to attract new customers and investors.

Types of Employer Branding

Employer branding is of two types—internal and external.

1. Internal Employer Branding

It focuses on creating a positive and attractive workplace culture for current employees. The process includes initiatives such as employee engagement programs, professional development opportunities, and work-life balance initiatives. The goal is to make employees feel valued, supported, and motivated to perform their best. 

Companies can increase employee retention and improve overall productivity by improving employee satisfaction and engagement. 

2. External Employer Branding

It aims to promote the company’s image and values to potential employees, job seekers, and other stakeholders. The idea is to ensure that potential employees get a sense of what it would be like to work for the company by showcasing the company’s unique culture, values, and mission. This kind of branding leverages platforms such as job sites, the company website, and social media platforms. 

The goal is to attract top talent to the company and establish a positive reputation in the marketplace. 

Who Works on Employer Branding

Employer branding is a company-wide effort, and everyone from the CEO to the front-line employees plays a role in building and maintaining a positive employer brand.

Here is a breakdown of the professionals associated with building a strong employer brand.

  • The CEO, founder, or business owner who has a strategic vision for the organization
  • The line manager who evaluates, leads, and trains team members
  • The HR department that establishes organizational policies and manages employee relations
  • The marketing team that communicates significant facts and news externally

In a few cases, companies may also engage outside consultants or agencies to help with their employer branding efforts.

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How to Build an Employer Brand

An employer branding strategy plays a critical role in recruitment and retention and helps companies build a positive image. For the branding strategy to succeed, businesses should implement a well-thought-out, step-by-step process.

Step 1: Audit the Brand

The most convenient way to actively manage a brand is by conducting regular audits. The brand audit can help the upper management of a company understand where they stand in terms of brand identity, values, and reputation in the market.

Step 2: Align Policies with Values

It is important to reflect upon a company’s core corporate values and establish work policies that align with them. It helps the organization inform potential candidates and job seekers about its mission and strategies.

Step 3: Encourage Employee Feedback and Act on it

Employees can act as powerful brand advocates for a company. Companies can encourage the workforce to use employee feedback platforms publicly or anonymously to let outsiders know about the organization’s values and goals. However, the company must act on any negative feedback immediately to ensure all grievances get addressed.

Step 4: Know the Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

A company can create an Employer Value Proposition (EVP) by combining its mission, culture, values, and employee feedback. It can help encapsulate everything a company does for its employees and act as a powerful employer branding tool.

Step 5: Establish a Positive Hiring Process

A company’s recruitment process must be professional—even for candidates who do not get hired. The best way to ensure an efficient and worthwhile application process is by establishing fair, transparent, and consistent hiring procedures.

Step 6: Use Social Media for Promotion

Every company must have a social media presence today. Such platforms play a big role in promoting the brand by highlighting all its good work, including any social or environmental initiatives. A company can use social media to discuss its non-profit endeavors, post inspiring customer or employee stories, etc.

Create an Employer Branding Strategy

What is employer branding without an effective branding strategy? Companies need a well-planned strategy that is constantly working at maintaining its reputation, culture, and employee engagement. It can include the following steps:

1. Define Values and Culture

Identify what sets the company apart from others. This includes the company’s mission, values, beliefs, benefits, and perks offered to employees.

2. Assess the Current Employer’s Brand

Conduct surveys, focus groups, or other research to understand how current and potential employees, as well as other stakeholders, perceive the company. Use the information to identify areas where the employer brand could be improved.

3. Develop a Comprehensive Brand Strategy

Develop a clear and consistent employer brand message that showcases the company’s unique culture and values. Ensure the brand strategy aligns with overall business goals and communicate it to all employees.

4. Promote the Brand

Utilize various channels to promote the employer brand, including job postings, company websites, social media, and events. Encourage current employees to become brand ambassadors and share positive stories about working for the company.

5. Measure and Evaluate Success

Measure the success of employer branding efforts regularly and adjust as needed. Use metrics such as employee satisfaction and engagement, recruitment and retention rates, and social media engagement to evaluate the impact of the employer branding strategy.

ALSO READ: The 10 Skills That Will Equip You for Jobs of the Future

6. Employer Branding Best Practices

Employer branding has a significant impact on the talent recruited, but it is also integral to promoting brand identity and reputation. Here are a few employer branding best practices every company must follow.

7. Identify the Reason Behind a Unique Corporate Culture

An employer brand is much more than mere job advertisements and a careers page on the official website. Companies must leverage the Employer Value Proposition (EVP) to give prospective candidates an idea of the corporate culture, experience, office, and regular working routines.

The EVP will further help offer insights into the daily tasks and activities a new employee can expect after joining the company.

8. Share Employee-Generated and Authentic Content

A company can encourage its employees to create content themselves to enhance its reputation externally. They can accomplish the task by remaining active on employer feedback platforms, such as Glassdoor. Employee-generated content can also be made available on the careers page of the company and job advertisements to let prospective candidates know more about the company’s culture and values.

Examples of Employer Branding

Employer Branding

Here is a few examples of employer branding in reputed companies.

Starbucks

The renowned global coffee chain creates a strong work culture and community among its employees by treating them as partners. The strategy has helped Starbucks foster a strong bond among its employees. The coffee chain also has social media accounts that promote employer branding by appreciating employees and increasing their productivity. 

Starbucks uses its social media handles to share different employee stories and missions and congratulate them on achieving something new in their respective lives.

Canva

Canva considers employer branding as important to its mission and the foremost factor when workers and job seekers search for a strong purpose for their work. The company has adopted the employer branding strategy of highlighting the importance of job seekers through excellent visuals on the careers page of its website. Canva also posts graphics that convey similar ideas on its social media handles, which are loaded with motivating content comprising incredible designs.

Learn Branding with Emeritus

Employer branding is crucial in today’s competitive job market and can significantly impact a company’s ability to attract and retain the best talent, establish a competitive advantage, and enhance its reputation.

However, you need to have relevant knowledge and expertise in what is employer branding and other aspects associated with it to implement successful strategies. Emeritus’ online leadership courses are your gateway to understanding people management, organizational change, negotiation, and other organizational skills that can help you build your company’s reputation and enhance business growth.

Write to us at content@emeritus.org

What Is Employer Branding

About the Author

Content Marketing Manager, Emeritus Blog
Manasa is the content ninja that every brand needs. Apart from being an expert in tech-related trends and digital marketing, she has found her calling in edtech. Her 10-year-long tryst with education started with a teaching fellowship for underprivileged children, followed by a stint as an edupreneur. It gave her the perspective she now uses to create impactful content for Emeritus. Manasa loves the life of a digital nomad that allows her to travel and hopes her reels go viral on the Gram.
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