What's the secret to crafting an irresistible employer brand?

An attractive employer brand starts with the hiring process. Candidates often view this as a reflection of company culture. If it exceeds 2 weeks, 4 stages, and/or lacks frequent communication, they will explore other opportunities.

Weather you know it or not, your organization has an employer brand. The choice the organization has is to conciously shape the employer brand. Employer branding is not about the window dressing but the experience of the buyer AFTER buying the product. The ideal employer brand needs to be a realistic mix of the current strengths of the organization and also a stretch element that comes from the aspiration of the founders and leadership team. It shouldn't be 'pie in the sky' but a realistic stretch from current reality. Employer branding is not just about the messaging but aligning employee experience and all hire to retire processes in line with the EVP. Ongoing employer brand management is as important as creating the right brand.

You have to know what motivates the candidate pool you are targeting. I always ask candidates the top 3 most important things they are looking for in their next opportunity - and it helps me to discover what is most important to them. Are their motivators purely financial based? Are they seeking more remote/hybrid flexibility, and a better work life balance? Or do they want a company with upward mobility and a transparent pathway to get there? You are doing your candidate an injustice by not understanding their motivators, because you can never pitch a company that matches their values without doing so first.

Employer Branding involves everything that company does. It is not only about showcasing your stuff and events on social media, nor posting pictures of trips, or presenting prize distribution ceremonies. All the above are just a trend that is in these days. What really makes a Company stand out is the way it treats its employees and operates in the market. Every little thing matters and attributes to Employer Branding. I have 18 years of experience and i still talk about my first Employer with youngsters i meet. I have interviewed and interacted with thousands on candidates and do not even remember with how many i have shared my experience of my 1st Employer. So, this is the root of building a strong employer brand.

Crafting an irresistible employer brand is crucial for attracting top talent and retaining employees who are a great fit for your organization. But it does not stop there. It is also about retaining and engaging your existing employees. We, at our organization try to continuously nurture and evolve our employer brand to ensure it remains relevant and appealing in a dynamic job market. We believe in investing in Employee Development, and we demonstrate our commitment to employee growth and development by offering training and advancement opportunities. Furthermore, we engage with candidates, on a consistent basis. Creating a positive candidate experience from the moment they interact with our brand is a crucial step.

Crafting an employer brand that genuinely reflects your company's culture, values, and employee experiences is essential in attracting and retaining top talent. Authenticity not only sets realistic expectations for potential candidates but also fosters a deeper connection with those who resonate with your organization's genuine identity.

Employer Branding is a mix of People, Culture, Process and Values of an organization. It summarizes what you offer to the external as well as internal people with clear objective of vision aligned with mission. Branding always turn positive when it is driven by Culture owned by people as that will differentiate you from others. Here are a few tips: Be authentic and transparent. Tell stories. Use visuals. infographics. Be consistent. Get feedback.

The most attractive employer brand to a candidate is one that is authentic. The most effective way to do that is to share your story across the workforce. Align your EVP to what your people actually think about your business and encourage them to shout about it on their personal pages. The LinkedIn algorithm will push this content more than a business page- but for consistency you can share it onto your business page within a 'Trending Employee Content'. Another authentic way to demonstrate your Employer Brand is using visual to showcase your strengths and culture such as photos of social events, videos that show "A Day in the Life of". Don't tell them what its like to work at your organisation. SHOW THEM! 💡

Start by pinpointing the aspects that set your organization apart. These unique selling points can encompass exceptional benefits, rewards, career growth opportunities, the ability to make a meaningful impact, or an exceptional work environment.

Align your employee brand to your customer brand as closely as possible...the customer promise can only come to life if employees actually experience it, believe in it and then deliver it.

Now a days, social media is one of the most powerful tools used to broadcast any information. Success stories of employees must be shared by an employee instead of employer that to be based on true experiences.

People connect with people, not companies. Your employer brand messaging can only get you so far. If you want your employer brand to be truly effective, your employees should be sharing their first hand experiences about the meaningful work they are doing, how their team helps them to achieve their goals, how the systems and benefits you provide allow them to have a healthy and balanced life. If you’re worried the stories won’t be positive, remember that an employer brand is reflective of the culture you cultivate.

Think of your employees as the reporters and their experiences as the stories that fill your 'newspaper.' Encourage them to be authentic correspondents, reporting not just the successes but also the challenges and lessons learned. Just as a newspaper values a range of perspectives, your brand should celebrate the diversity of your workforce. Much like a newspaper reaches its audience through various sections, channels, and headlines, ensure that these stories are distributed across multiple platforms – your website, social media, blogs, podcasts, videos, and events. Emphasize values, inclusivity, and the collective impact of your employees, steering clear of any perception that you're fostering a corporate cult.

Collect a variety of real, authentic stories that represent different aspects of your organization. Share experiences, testimonials, and success stories from your employees.

Employee stories of their lived experience are more believable and valuable than pre-defined marketing material. Potential candidates want to see what it is really like to work for you, to hear from actual employees and evaluate whether they would be a good fit. We are seeing more initiatives such as employee ambassador programs, social media strategies and community engagements to tell a more authentic story about the employee experience.

✅ Your current employees are the biggest brand ambassadors of your organisation. 👉 How you treat them will determine how the brand manifests through them to others. If they do not speak good about you , No matter how much efforts and resources you invest would not reap you benefits. 🚩 Regular pulse surveys , employee engagement programs and informal talks with your employees would guide you about gaps in engagement. Address those earnestly and sincerity , you will definitely build a good brand.

Your employer brand is dependent on every experience you craft, and is enhanced when those experiences build on social value - within and outside the organization. Recruitment, Pre-Boarding, Induction/Onboarding, Learning & Development, Retention strategies, Manager & Leadership Development, Career paths. All of these need to be designed as a part of your long term strategy and measured at each stage. Luckily, a lot of technological advances, new-age engagement options, and design thinking have helped to seamlessly integrate all these experiences into more measurable initiatives. Just make sure you're not left behind.

Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your employer brand initiatives. Collect feedback from candidates, employees, and stakeholders to gain insights into the impact of your employer brand efforts. Use this feedback to refine and improve your strategies over time.

Leading companies are using "employee voice and listening" strategies as a way to improve their experience. These initiatives need to lead to action, have an element of immediate response and above-all be incorporated into how future people practices are designed. Data collection needs to happen at key moments in the employee lifecycle and include both quantitative and qualitative data that can be analyzed for insights.

Continuously monitor the effectiveness of your employer brand initiatives and gather feedback from employees and candidates. Stay updated on industry trends and adjust your employer brand strategies as needed to remain relevant and competitive.

Like your corporate brand, an employer brand needs to resonate with the broader macro environment. During Covid, WFH was a necessity. However, most organizations are now considering bringing people back, given the importance of personal connection. There are no correct answers. See what works best for your organization and the ecosystem it operates in and make tweaks to your policies as well as the employer brand narrative.

Employer Brand keeps evolving. What might be attractive to a talent pool right now might become basic in a few years. So keeping a constant watch on what your brand signatures are. With organisations moving from traditional to contemporary, looking beyond the overall employer brand becomes equally important. For eg a sales organisation is no longer about employer brand for sales experts, now it's equally about digital product, pure play technology, customer care, analytics etc. For these skills, the competition is beyond sales organisations & is with organisations in these domains as well. So researching & crafting sub- employer brands or sub-EVPs can prove very rewarding.

Do you have a strong employer branding or are you merely "riding the next wave"? 1. Does your brand message genuinely mirror your true essence, or is it a facade constructed to lure individuals? 2. Are you riding fleeting market waves to captivate immediate talent, or does your brand possess an enduring quality, capable of drawing individuals irrespective of temporal trends? 3. What's your company's distinct character or personality? Reflect on how entities, even in contentious sectors like tobacco and firearms, magnetise and retain employees to the extent they take pride in their affiliations. Employer branding transcends mere trend-chasing. It's about embracing your authentic identity and resonating with those who share your values.

Apart from the policies and processes, the dialogue between a hiring manager and a potential employee is vital. I concur with Holly's observation: people resonate with people. When a hiring manager articulates roles and responsibilities, understands a candidate's aspirations, and outlines the realistic progression of the role, it fosters long-term trust and transparency. This comprehensive understanding not only increases the likelihood of the candidate accepting an offer but also ensures their prolonged commitment. The hiring manager's transparency during the pre-hiring phase lays the foundation for a strong, open, and trust-based relationship.

Think of your organization as a videogame's storyline. Your employees are the players, and your employer brand is the game world they explore. To succeed, you need to create an environment where they feel like the protagonist, where their skills and talents are valued, and where they can make a meaningful impact. You in-board them, instead of on-boarding them. However, be cautious not to turn your workplace into a rigid, scripted game with limited choices. Much like players in a video game, employees want the freedom to explore and make decisions. Over-engineering your culture can lead to a corporate cult, where conformity replaces creativity.