This lack of clarity even leads to statements such as ‘employer branding, we don't do that’ or ‘we don't need to build an employer brand. But nothing could be further from the truth. ’Not doing it‘ doesn't exist and ’not needing it‘ can seem true at the moment until suddenly the right people don't come to you naturally.
In this blog, we dive deeper into what employer branding really is, why employer branding belongs on the MT agenda and how to get started actively working on the employer brand.
Employer branding, what is it?
Employer branding is the structural building of an employer brand to attract and retain the right talent. In essence, a brand is nothing more than a collection of associations in the minds of your target group. Associations that you can influence.
Actively, positively influencing associations with your brand is branding. By directing what people associate your brand with and repeating it consistently, you embed your brand values and story with your target audience. Repetition is not boring. It is essential to build recognition and trust.
By the way, did you know that you're not just doing this for potential colleagues? Your employer brand is at least as important to colleagues who already work for you. These are the people you want to retain. So you want these colleagues to feel ‘this is where I want to belong, this is the brand I want to contribute to.
3 reasons to start employer branding today
Building your employer brand should be a given. A strong employer brand leads to the following benefits:
- New colleagues report spontaneously: potential colleagues know in advance exactly what you stand for. If they share your organization's values, they feel ‘I want to work for this company. You no longer have to convince them, they convince themselves. Do you turn out to be a match? Then the chances of long-term employment are significantly higher.
- Higher returns from your recruitment campaigns: Sometimes you want to scale up quickly and need new colleagues now. A recruitment campaign is a logical choice. Because you already have a visible employer brand, campaigns lead faster to results. You don't have to start at the top of the funnel, people already know you exist. So you need less budget to get those quality applications.
- Employee retention: turnover is a big problem for organizations in times of tightness. Do you have a strong employer brand? Then the chance of turnover is much lower. If people are proud of their employer and feel in their place, they are much less likely to be ‘snatched away.
Employer branding on the MT agenda
Now that you know that a brand is created in the mind of your target audience, and you know that you can influence how people view your brand, your organization, you understand that this requires a solid strategy. Because only with a very clear brand story, which you tell over and over again, can you really drive brand associations. A story that connects to the story you tell towards customers. And a story that matches the culture in your organization.
But how do you ensure that your employer brand is aligned with your corporate brand when both are housed in different departments? By putting it on the management team's agenda. Together you define what you stand for as an (employer) brand.
So what you communicate and show to customers is in line with what you communicate and show internally to potential employees. This ensures clarity and simplicity in your story internally and externally.
Who is responsible for what?
Does the story stand? Then you decide together who will pull the cart in which area. Do you assign branding and employer branding to two different departments? For example, marketing and HR? Then make sure there is good cooperation so that all your communications are in line with each other and that you reinforce each other and do not work against each other.
And don't forget that everyone in the organization contributes to building your brand. By doing things the way you ideally do them. By communicating in a certain way. On the phone, in real life and through your digital channels. So keep (employer) branding as a fixed topic on the agenda of the management team. That way, you ensure that it does not remain a brand strategy, but that you also live up to it.
There is no such thing as not doing employer branding.
Some organizations ‘don't do employer branding. By this they actually mean ’we are not actively building our employer brand. A missed opportunity. Because if you don't actively work on getting your story out there, people will fill it in themselves. They judge your organization, your brand, based on what they see and hear from you. This comes in many forms and can be detrimental if you are looking for new colleagues:
- “Hmm they don't have any social media at all where they share anything about colleagues, maybe they are afraid to show who they are?”
- “Hmm there is no appealing work-with website at all, must be a dull company to work for.”
- “I'm curious about how employees really experience it at that organization but I can't find anything anywhere about who actually works there.”
In these examples, people have made the effort to look up your organization. But in a lot of cases, this doesn't happen by itself at all!
So even what you don't say, what you don't do, leads to ideas about your brand. So why miss the opportunity to positively influence how people think about the organization?
How do you start building an employer brand?
Everything starts with awareness in the management team. Only when everyone understands the importance of a good employer brand can you actively build on it.
0. Noses in the same direction
As a marketer, feel responsible for the employer brand. Because if you miss opportunities in this area, it can also hurt your corporate brand. So take the lead, and put the topic on the MT agenda. Need arguments to convince the various MT members? Consider the following benefits of a strong employer brand:
→ Bearing attrition: a clear story makes people want to work specifically for your organization. That's how you retain value and reduce recruitment costs.
→ More effective recruitment campaigns: A strong brand reaches the right applicants faster. You spend less time processing applications that are not appropriate.
→ Increased job satisfaction: a clear story ensures that people know what they contribute to every day and how they can do it in their daily work.
→ Strong culture: people know what you stand for, how you treat each other and how you treat customers. This also reflects positively on customers.
1. A clear organizational strategy
Start at the core: what do you do, why is it different from what others do, and where are you going? This determines why the organization exists and therefore what your mission in the world is. This is a fundamental starting point for the employer brand. Because only when it is clear why you do what you do and how employees contribute to this, can you tell a clear story to employees and potential employees.
2. Write your employer proposition
This is the story towards colleagues and potential colleagues. In your employer proposition, you make your promise as an employer:
- this is what we do
- we do so
- this is what you can expect from us as an employer
- so you can contribute
- and that means this for our customers.
You then translate the proposition into a concept. That concept determines how You present your employer proposition to the market. Although you lay out the proposition with the management team, you test your proposition in the organization. Is there a mismatch? Then there is work to do to realize the employer proposition.
Note: It is tempting to adapt the employer proposition to how people experience working in your organization. But this carries a risk. Because if how things are now is not the ideal situation to fulfill your mission, adjusting the employer brand therefore also means that you may not achieve the mission.
3. Bring out your employer proposition with real stories
When the proposition stands, it's time to share it with the world. Colleagues do this naturally by doing what they do in their jobs. But from a branding perspective, you naturally want to drive the story.
Start with your employer offerings on your work-at-home website. Tell what you stand for as an employer, how you work, how your colleagues contribute to your mission, and share real stories. Stories of colleagues telling why they do what we do to them. How they got here and how they see their future within the organization.
By giving employees this stage, they can proudly share their stories. This is contagious to outsiders. Suddenly, potential colleagues can recognize themselves in people who already work for you.
4. Help colleagues share your shared employer story
New colleagues who come in through coworkers have a high chance of success. They have heard firsthand what you as an employer stand for and what they can expect from working at your organization. Take advantage of this fact!
- Help colleagues get a clear story they can tell at parties
- Ask colleagues to use their own social media channels to share your story
- Support colleagues who want to actively post about working with you themselves: with a good profile picture and great content to draw inspiration from
This will ensure that you, as an employer, are continuously visible among your potential target audience.
5. Literally open the door to applicants
The best way to show who you are as an employer is to let people experience the organization. Organize an open house, organize walk-in days and allow potential colleagues to join you. This way you lower the threshold for applicants to come into contact with colleagues they may soon be working with every day.
Honesty lasts the longest: avoid a mismatch between what you say and what you do
Establishing a good employer story that underlies your employer brand is ‘the easy part. Living up to the story is where the challenge lies. Because if the story you put out is not in line with how colleagues experience the organization, a mismatch will arise. And a mismatch actually leads to higher turnover and increased dissatisfaction in the organization.
You can prevent a mismatch this way:
- Make sure the benefits package matches what you stand for.
- Build a culture that fits seamlessly with who you want to be.
- Don't share polished stories but show reality.
- Be transparent, for example about salaries, so applicants know where they stand.
Building a brand is part of your day-to-day business
Building a strong employer brand never ends. It is a continuous process of sharing, learning and honing. That is why it is important to have a clear person in charge of the employer brand. It is also important to have someone who is responsible for the daily tasks related to the employer brand. Someone who keeps an eye on whether you are still on the right track. Someone who has the resources to continuously build on your work and not just ‘do it on the side’. Because building a strong employer brand is more than just ‘occasionally posting something on social’.
