The New Year calls for a fresh start, not just for individuals but also for companies. And if until today, you rely on your consumer branding to attract the best and brightest talents, then it’s time to reassess your hiring strategies.
Employer and customer brands are fundamentally different. Your customer branding illustrates how you can improve customers’ lives; it highlights your ability to solve problems. On the other hand, your employer branding illustrates how you provide fulfillment to workers; it highlights your ability to provide financial and professional security.
As such, companies shouldn’t bank on consumer branding for their image as an employer. Candidates are aware that a company can provide exemplary products and services but create unsatisfactory conditions for their workers. So, here are some ways you can retool and reorganize your employer branding for a stronger 2023.
Articulate Your Company Goals
An employee enters a company for the compensation and benefits, but they stay for the fulfillment that they feel when meeting their job responsibilities. A huge part of this fulfillment comes from the vision of the company.
If your organization has a clear mission — a lofty goal that drives your production and operation — such as improving the lives of homeowners, protecting the environment, or helping small businesses thrive, employees are more likely to apply for a position.
It must be noted that every company has such a mission; every organization was built to solve a problem that no one else supposedly can, and everyone wants to improve lives. The question is, is this company goal communicated clearly to the recruits? Are the candidates aware of the vision of the company and its ethos? If they browse your site or check your social media pages, will they find these important pieces of information?
As such, your company goals must be visible to job hunters. If these can be found on the website or social media pages, or if the recruiting team is quick to explain it to candidates, then there’s a higher chance that the candidate will pursue the application. An awareness of the company goals helps the candidate align themselves with the organization, and they will start their roles with a sense of mission.
Show Your Post-Pandemic Plans
Global Workplace Analytics estimates that remote work will still be a popular work set-up for many employees even after the pandemic recedes. An estimated 25% to 30% of the workforce will still be working in their home offices by the end of 2021. Remote work, in fact, is one of the biggest employee expectations. Research by the Boston Consulting Group found that 60% of workers want flexibility in where and when they would work.
Companies with a strong remote work program are more likely to attract a larger pool of candidates, giving them more chances to select more promising talent.
Highlight your remote work options in your job ads. And to avoid misunderstanding, be explicit about the following:
- Work Policy — Are the employees mandated to clock in and out at a certain time, or do they turn in their deliverables at the deadline? Remote work policies should be clear and precise.
- Remote Work Culture — Are employees expected to show up at the physical office from time to time? Are there out-of-work activities that enable remote workers to get to know their teammates in a more casual environment? This will help the candidate gauge whether they would fit into the work culture of the organization.
Encourage Employee Ambassadors
An extremely effective way of reinforcing your employer branding is to allow employees to be ambassadors of the company. This would require additional effort from the HR team, but the rewards are worth it.
For example, employee-generated content would give candidates a glimpse into the day-to-day life of the company. Candidates can check a company hashtag to see just how fun a team-building activity is or how exciting the games and after-work activities are. Some companies even go as far as creating day-in-the-life videos of their workers.
After all, it is interesting to see how a restaurant’s chef spends their day, or a music teacher conducts classes online. And then make sure these materials are visible on social media, not just your website. Social media is the haunt of your future candidates. Plus, it has a shareable characteristic that will easily expand your reach.
Employer branding is a crucial element of your 2021 hiring strategies. With a lot of promising, highly qualified candidates looking for a post-pandemic job, the company with the best employer image will get their pick of talents.