Understanding Employer Branding

Employer branding is the process of managing and influencing your reputation as an employer among job seekers, employees and key stakeholders.  It encompasses everything you do to position your organization as an employer of choice.

Your employer brand is your organization’s reputation as an employer. In simpler terms, it’s what job seekers and employees really think of you. It’s what they tell their friends and family when you aren’t around. Though it may not be tangible, your employer brand is an asset that requires constant cultivation.

That’s where employer brand-ing comes into play.

Why ‘manage’ and ‘influence’ instead of ‘own’ or ‘dictate?’ Because your employer brand is not something you actually own. Your reputation as an employer exists in the minds of candidates and employees, and it is shaped by their thoughts and impressions. You have an employer brand, whether or not you actively manage it. Candidates and employees have an opinion about you, and if you aren’t working to influence it, you’re at their mercy.     

Think about the totality of your firm’s recruiting and retention efforts as a series of individual interactions. Every touchpoint leaves an impression with candidates and employees that shapes your employer brand and your ability to hire and retain great people. Without proper management, each one of those touchpoints can become a deal breaker, costing you candidates and employees.  

BENEFITS

The Importance of Employer Branding

It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of employer branding.

While the concept has been around for decades, it didn’t gain widespread attention until the mid 90’s when the first online job boards were launched. Almost overnight, employees had access to millions of opportunities across the country. The workforce became more fluid than ever before, and the days of sticking with one company for the long haul were over.

Smart employers adapted to this shift (some faster than others) and began to take proactive steps toward attracting and retaining top talent, but thousands of organizations still fail to capitalize on the benefits of employer branding.   

And those benefits are significant.

Let’s look at some stats — good, bad and ugly — that shine some light on why employer branding is so important.

95% of candidates identify a company’s reputation as a key consideration when exploring new career opportunities (source). Virtually every candidate out there — whether they’re active, passive or somewhere in the middle — will consider your company’s reputation before applying.  

66% of job seekers want to learn about your culture and values (source). Candidates are literally telling us what they want to see during the job search. Your employer branding efforts can be a great way to communicate these features.

69% of candidates would reject an offer from a company with a bad employer brand, even if they were unemployed (source). Even the fear of unemployment isn’t enough to overcome a negative employer brand.

Companies with a poor employer brand must offer a minimum of a 10% pay increase to lure top talent (source). Imagine paying a 10% premium on every single hire you make. Now take a minute to consider the state of your employer brand and ask yourself if you’re already paying that premium without realizing it?  

40% of passive candidates would accept a new position without an increase in pay if the company had a good employer brand (source). A positive employer brand is all it takes to overcome the stigma associated with a lateral move for nearly half of the workforce.

As much as 23% of the 18-34 year old workforce would accept a pay cut for an opportunity to join a company with a good employer brand (source). While we would never recommend intentionally underbidding your competitors, this goes to show the power of reputation.  

Only 49% of employees would recommend their employer to a friend (source). This one is especially scary, as employee referrals are often the best source of quality applicants. You can kiss those hires goodbye if less than half of your employees would recommend you to their network.

More than anything else, these statistics prove that employer branding impacts every facet of the employer-employee relationship. While it is most often associated with recruitment, employer branding also affects employee engagement, retention and even profitability.