Guest PostHaving a strong employer brand is critical to not only recruiting top talent – but attracting and retaining talent which is even more important. You need to attract the best and keep them once you have them. You don’t want the best talent going to your competitor – as talent competition is just as important, if not more, than competition in the market.
So how can you build and maintain a strong employer brand? Here are 5 tips:
1. Create a presence on Glassdoor and become an engaged employer.
Post pictures of your team, your team having fun, and your office. Give your employees incentive to write positive reviews on Glassdoor by creating a positive culture and providing them with a great place to work.
Companies that have great reviews are attracting the best talent – companies like Google (4,280 reviews, 4.4 star), Airbnb (320 reviews, 4.4 star), Facebook (1,200 reviews, 4.5 star), and HubSpot (279 reviews, 4.5 star).
Candidates are relying on Glassdoor more and more – and many check your company’s page before even applying or replying to your recruiters.
2. Create a careers page.
It isn’t expensive – and it really pays off. Show on one page (don’t make candidates click on 10 links to find out why they should work for you) why candidates should want to work for you.
Show pictures of your engaged, diverse, and passionate teams. Tell them how they will make an impact. Tell them what’s in it for them – promote your benefits and other perks. Add videos of your current employees talking about what they love about working at your company.
3. Eliminate the long applications.
Candidates don’t want to spend 45 minutes filling out an application. Many candidates hit the ‘x’ in the right corner when they see specific applicant tracking systems being used. Especially, when the resume parsing feature doesn’t work. It puts all the information in the wrong spots and only creates more frustration – and it results in application abandonment.
There are a lot of great applicant tracking systems out there that are efficient and affordable. There’s no reason to make candidates go through an unnecessarily long application process when you can create a positive experience from the start by respecting their time.
4. Hire people who fit with your culture.
It takes everyone to maintain your positive image. The people you choose to hire represent your brand and are going to be the ones speaking to your customers – and many will also speak to your prospective employees (whether it’s their friends and family, on Glassdoor, on social media, etc.).
It is extremely important to ensure you are recruiting the best. Relying solely on job boards alone can be a big mistake as you’re relying on active candidates only – you’re missing out on a market of passive candidates – and many of them can be engaged, especially if you have a great employer brand. This allows you to find candidates who not only meet your requirements, but also fit well with your company’s culture.
Be one of those companies that when recruiters reach out to your employees, they say “no thanks! I love my current job!”
Your return from investing in your employer brand will almost always be positive. Invest in your employer brand like you invest in your marketing. After all, your employees are the ones representing your brand – and if they aren’t happy (or you can’t attract productive employees), your brand suffers in more than one way.
About the author
Marissa Letendre is an accomplished recruiter and Certified People Sourcing Professional. She has worked as a recruiter and resume writer, giving her an understanding of the industry from both the candidate and employer perspective. She is also the owner of Right Recruit.
Josh Tolan
