{"id":15531,"date":"2022-09-15T13:46:01","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T20:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/?p=15531"},"modified":"2024-04-02T10:15:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T17:15:53","slug":"employer-branding-what-it-is-and-why-its-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/employer-branding-what-it-is-and-why-its-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Employer Branding: What It Is and Why It\u2019s Important"},"content":{"rendered":"

Employer Branding: What It Is and Why It\u2019s Important<\/b><\/h2>\n

When people think of your workplace, what do they think of? When your employees meet with friends after work, what sort of things do they say about their employer? If someone in the community was asked what they know about your business, how would they describe it?\u00a0<\/span> Questions like these are at the heart of \u201cemployer branding”. This is a concept that can help revolutionize how you recruit new employees and win over the right talent.<\/span> If your organization, especially recruiters, haven\u2019t thought much about employer branding, this can be a powerful tool to reimagine how your business advertises for positions and interacts with employees. Here\u2019s what you should know.<\/span> \"Diverse<\/a><\/p>\n

What is Employer Branding?<\/b><\/h3>\n

You typically come across \u201cbranding\u201d concepts on the marketing side of an organization, where people work to make a business easily recognizable, memorable, and associated with certain values.\u00a0<\/span> A brand is made of many parts, but it comes down to reputation: What is a company known for? Part of that brand is made up of logos, advertisements, and products \u2013 but part of it is also made of people, and how the company treats people.<\/span> Employer branding specifically refers to the reputation that an organization has among its employees and potential employees. For example, when a potential applicant is looking at job listings online and they come across a position with your organization\u2019s name and logo attached to it, what do they think?<\/span> If an employee brand is poor, job-searchers may immediately pass on a position even if they are a good fit. They may have heard bad things about how the company treats its employees or remembered decisions the company has made that they disagree with.<\/span> But if an employer brand is strong, job-searchers associate the position with a place they would like to work, and they will be even more eager to apply,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is Employer Branding Important?<\/b><\/h3>\n

The concept of an employer brand can sound a little nebulous, but it can have a significant impact on recruiting over time. If a company has a poor reputation among employees, then the most talented recruits will actively avoid it.\u00a0<\/span> That means the company is already filtering out the best talent before even beginning to look for new hires \u2013 and it often leads to their competitors getting that top talent instead.<\/span> This effect can be much stronger than some employers realize. A <\/span>CR Magazine and Cielo Talent survey<\/span><\/a> once found that 67% of American males wouldn\u2019t join a company with a bad reputation, and that number soars to 86% of American females, indicating that a poor reputation can also impact gender diversity.\u00a0<\/span> A 2017 study from MRI Network <\/span>found that 40% of millennials<\/span><\/a> believe that market reputation has the most influence on their impression of an employer. The same survey found that while 71% of recruiters thought their market was candidate driven, 53% of millennials said it was employer driven instead.\u00a0<\/span> Additionally, employer brands are more obvious than ever before. Job listing sites frequently have ratings and reviews for any employer that has an account on the site, so applicants can immediately see their collective score, or start reading reviews. (While these online reviews can be problematic in regard to bias, they\u2019re still an important factor to consider.)<\/span> Most companies have a social media presence today, too, so prospective employees can easily visit their social page and review past posts to get an idea of what a company is like.<\/span><\/p>\n

Employer Branding Examples<\/b><\/h3>\n

You may be thinking: \u201cBranding is a marketing exercise, and HR recruiters don\u2019t have much control over it, so what options do we have?\u201d\u00a0<\/span> The concept of employer branding shows that marketing certainly needs to be aware of how a brand affects recruiting and make decisions with that in mind. But there are also many practices that recruiters can use to help manage an employer brand, and even improve it. Here are some examples from businesses that put a lot of effort into their employer brand.\u00a0<\/span> Paypal<\/b><\/a>: Paypal is an outspoken supporter of gender equality and women workers. As you can see in our linked example, they frequently post about events like International Women\u2019s Day, donate to causes that support women in business, and post about these efforts on its social media accounts.\u00a0<\/span> This is something potential recruits will quickly see when they look up Paypal\u2019s social accounts or news.<\/span> Wayfair<\/b><\/a>: Wayfair won a 2022 award as one of the Top Workplaces in the USA, and as you can see in the link, they quickly posted the news to their social media accounts, and linked to their career page for those interested in finding open positions.\u00a0<\/span> While your business may not be eligible for a Top Workplaces award, it\u2019s important to publicize any sort of community award or recognition that you receive so that recruits can easily find it \u2013 and current employees can learn about it, too.<\/span> GE<\/b><\/a>: <\/b>In 2016, GE launched a recruitment campaign to help find talented engineers for some of its latest projects. This ad project was aimed directly at potential recruits with humorous ads that made it clear GE wasn\u2019t just a company for mechanical engineers, but rather all kinds of digital and industrial talent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employer Branding vs. Employee Branding<\/b><\/h3>\n

You may have also heard about a common term called employee branding, and it\u2019s important to understand the difference between these two concepts.<\/span> Employer branding is focused on how a company positions itself as a recruiter, and what it does to attract new employees. Employee branding, on the other hand, is the image of the company that the employees themselves create.\u00a0<\/span> This could be what they tell their friends about the company \u2013 like stories about how a manager stole their tips, or how a boss came in to cover them when they were too busy \u2013 or it could be the reviews they give online or on social media. Employee branding tends to spread on its own, and can also affect new employees or recruits who listen to employee opinions.<\/span> Employer and employee branding have significant overlap. Employee branding is an extension of employer branding, and is influenced by the choices that the employer makes. If employees are boasting about their company or recommending it to friends looking for jobs, that\u2019s a sign that employer branding is working well.\u00a0<\/span> Organizations can also encourage positive employee branding directly by asking employees to leave reviews or talk to talented friends about open positions. On the other hand, poor employee branding can be a sign that a company has reputation problems that it needs to work on, so it can function as a weathervane when problems arise.\u00a0<\/span> Now, let\u2019s take a look at some ways employer branding can give your organization an advantage.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Benefits of Employer Branding<\/b><\/h3>\n