Employer Branding sounds like a jargonish complexity in this already overloaded, marketing intensive world we live in but in technicality, employer branding is not just a fancy HR term but something that sets the employer apart in the sea of opportunities for the qualified candidate. Whatever the average worker might perceive, the market is always brimming with ample chances for the skilled and proficient employable talent. To attract these super-talented employees, the employer must have a specific employer branding strategy as well. Why should the deserving candidate choose you, and what can the employer do in order to retain them for longer?
Just like small quirks and behaviour builds an individual’s personality, hygienic hiring practices build the employer’s brand perception in the minds of the candidates. Employer branding strategy calls for a positive first (and subsequent) impression over the potential employees. Seemingly small factors like how the candidate is being approached, how the company goes about expressing themselves on the various portals and platforms they advertise on, the quality of interaction put across by hiring professionals’ etc. plays the biggest role in establishing the proper image of the company. It might feel insignificant but if there are good and real visuals or videos on the hiring page or even on the crowdsourcing recruitment solutions platforms (the latest hiring strategy company HR departments have) show the candidates a picture to compare their expectations with. This works better than constantly trying to get in touch with the candidate over email or phone and disturbing or interrupting.
Aggressive follow-ups and conversations might be attractive for the responsive candidates who are actively looking for a job switch but for the passive candidates, the company must have a subtle yet powerful brand language which can direct their mindfulness towards the company’s credentials, not have a rather reverse impact on their psyche. The last thing employer branding communication intends to do is to make the potential candidate averse to the brand itself. A smooth and transparent application and recruitment process is a must, but apart from that, a neatly laid out careers page which defines each job opening with meticulousness intended to make the application process less cumbersome, an audio-visual representation of company culture and work vibe on the website and something as simple as easy to locate contact details enable higher perception and better responsiveness in both active and passive candidates.
Perhaps the biggest blow to employer branding strategy arrives in the form of HR agencies taking over the recruitment process nearly completely. The agencies are least bothered about how the company ‘looks’ or ‘feels’ on their portals or other communications. Great brand appeal cannot be upheld when the image handling is in a third and indirectly related party’s hands, namely the recruitment firms. This issue is resolved to a great extent in the crowdsourcing skilled resource provider platforms as they make sure the interface provided is professional, devoid of glitches, seamless and caters to latest technology of recruitment processes while keeping the employer branding intact with essence.
The employer branding strategy must be such that it simply and comprehensively explains the brand values as well as attracts the right kind of employees so that business objectives can be successfully met.
Studies show that 9 out of 10 candidates are highly likely to apply to a job from an employer who is actively maintained on social media – this opens up a new horizon for hiring strategies* but good social media presence improves the brand communication, ultimately becoming a positive influence for employer branding as well.
