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What Awareness Says About Your Employer Brand

What ‘Awareness’ Says About Your Employer Brand

Your employer brand is more than just a reputation. It’s the tangible embodiment of your mission and values. Part of creating an employer brand that resonates with talent and engages employees is standing up for something you as a company and a culture believe in. 

Find out how experts utilize their employer brands to embody what they believe in and drive talent acquisition:

Embrace the power of putting people first

Hutton HenryCustomers and employees want to be involved with brands that have the same values as themselves. At Beyond M&A, we put people first. We work in merger and acquisition technology where the primary focus tends to be on the tech, rather than the people who build and operate it. 

As a part of our people-first approach, we never refer to a candidate’s CV during talent acquisition. Instead, we have a structured interview process using predefined questions that screen people initially to see if they align with our primary values. On their first day at work, a new employee attends induction where they are presented with the one-, three-, and 10-year plan, as well as an explanation of our company values. For those who prefer to read in detail, new employees receive an employee playbook with our values laid out. We also run structured check-in processes to ensure a new hire is happy and working toward our values.

Hutton Henry, CEO at Beyond M&A


Create content that resonates with customers and candidates

Nate MastersonPeople don’t want to work for just any company; they want to work for a place they connect to. So it’s important for a company to be clear in its mission and in its vision in order to attract employees that feel passionate about the company’s ideals. This makes for a more dedicated employee, as well as for a company that truly represents what it stands for.

At Maple Holistics, we believe in making the world a better place. We want to provide products that can improve people’s bodies and lives, all while keeping things natural and healthy. We feel that taking care of our bodies and our Earth is the only responsible way to run our business.

We are vocal about our mission and our passions and invest a lot of time and energy into the blog post section of our website. There, we talk about natural ways to help people and review products so the public can figure out what will best help them. Plus, we’re very outspoken about our desire to help the planet and not harm animals. Our goal is not just to have the public read this information, but also to publicize it for those who wish to work for our company. That way, they know in advance what we’re all about.

Nate Masterson, HR Manager at Maple Holistics

Recognize ethical companies have a competitive advantage

Calloway CookYounger generations are more inclined to work for ethical companies, all other things being equal. Employers who want to hire and retain top talent can get a competitive advantage if they have a clear set of brand values that suggest the brand makes a positive impact on its community and the world at large.

At Illuminate Labs, we believe the lack of transparency and regulation in the U.S. dietary supplements market is a risk to consumer health. We solve this problem by testing every single batch of the finished product at a third-party, non-profit lab and publishing the test results on each of our product pages.

We dedicate an entire page of our site to increase awareness of our brand values. The page outlines everything from our legal incorporation status as a Benefit Corporation to our charitable goals. We’ve had prospective hires reach out to us through LinkedIn who were attracted to our company values.

Calloway Cook, Founder at Illuminate Labs Inc.

Use clear communication to fuel your values

Mathew SimsAwareness allows companies to find people who value the same things as they do. Common mission encourages unity and purpose. You want people who will work not just for a paycheck, but for each other.

360 Quote LLC believes people are important — whether that’s our customers who we strive to provide high-quality content and answers to their questions, or our team members who work around the world and face challenges in their work, life, and family.

When I speak with candidates for my team, I tell them the important part of the job is communication. It’s about following the golden rule of treating others how you would like to be treated so that every member of the team can enjoy the benefits of working remotely while still ensuring we are delivering for our customers. We focus on making our values apparent during our interview and onboarding process and also once people join the team. We’ve utilized Slack to encourage team members to connect with each other and also to share what’s happening in their lives. 

Mathew Sims, Editor-in-Chief at 360 Quote LLC

Connect with current employees and community

Rachael BoschAs the fight for strong and engaged talent gets more intense, companies need to ensure their brand embodies awareness of many kinds. The type of talent that you want to hire is invariably the type that is hyper-tuned-in to the culture and environment produced at your company. Millennials and Gen Z demand authenticity, leading them to actively seek employers who are genuinely engaged in a strong sense of awareness.

At Fringe, we strongly believe in knowing and doing good. We believe in generosity and curiosity and that those two things can exist profitably. For Fringe, awareness starts with curiosity and empathy. We think about the problems our clients face through their lens, not our own.  In addition to living these values in our work, it has been imperative to create forums for this kind of conversation. By facilitating time and space for people to come together to share their stories and experiences, more people get to know us in our community, and we also get a better understanding of their needs in the process.

The people who join Fringe were drawn in by the way we engage with each other, our clients, and the community. It is a transparent part of our recruiting process. We talk about our core values whenever we post for positions and when we interview candidates. It is a big part of onboarding, too. Each member of our team not only knows the company values but also how those values manifest in daily behavior.

Rachael Bosch, Managing Director & Founder at Fringe Professional Development


Josh Tolan

Josh Tolan is the Founder and CEO of Spark Hire, a video interviewing platform used by 6,000+ customers in over 100 countries.

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