5 reasons why employer branding is important for your company

Imagine you’re out grocery shopping, and you’re comparing two different pasta sauces to decide which one to buy. You would closely examine the packaging to figure out what the differences between them are, and which one you would prefer to spend your money on. One sauce might be labelled as low in salt, which might appeal to you if you’re trying to make healthier food choices. The other one might be made from locally-sourced ingredients, which could be important to you if you’re trying to be more environmentally conscious with your food shop. Ultimately, these small pieces of information will influence your final choice.

But what does this have to do with recruitment?

We all know what ‘branding’ means in a marketing sense. It’s a way for a company to display its values and identity, while distinguishing itself from other businesses and competitors, in order to attract customers and increase sales. However, branding isn’t just a way to make money – it’s also a vital part of a successful recruitment strategy for a company. 

Let’s go back to our grocery shopping scenario.  Your company is just one of the many ‘sauces’ that a job applicant ‘shopper’ will be looking at to decide which is the right place for them. Your employer brand is all about your business’ reputation as a workplace from the perspective of job seekers, which is based on factors such as your values, your mission, and your company culture. 

Although you might think your company is a great place to work, you need to convince your target applicants to believe the same. In fact, a study from CareerArc has found that 55% of job seekers have decided against applying for a position with a company after reading negative reviews about them. Therefore, having a great reputation is vital for your company’s recruitment success.

If you need any more convincing about why your business needs employer branding, here are our top 5 reasons why employer branding is so important – and stay tuned, because next week, we’ll explain what you can do to improve yours.

1. Decreasing your cost per hire

Did you know that companies with a strong employer brand see a 43% reduction in their cost per hire? If your company is well-known and respected within your industry, jobseekers will be fighting to be first in line when you have a vacancy.

Having a strong employer brand means you’ll be able to cut back your recruitment marketing spend, as your reputation will be enough to draw candidates into your company. This means you’ll have more money to invest in other areas of your business, so the long-term benefits of good employer branding can’t be ignored! 

2. Building your company’s reputation

Speaking of reputation, having a strong employer brand is a great way to build your company’s prestige and visibility in your field, especially if you’re a smaller business. Skilled professionals will want to work with companies that share their values, so by clearly showing what makes your company stand out, you will be sure to attract the best talent. 

However, company values and reputation are just one thing that potential candidates will be looking out for. If you want to find out what else appeals to applicants, check out our blog with 5 must-have things to include in your job adverts here!

3. Attracting (and keeping) the right talent

It’s one thing to find the right candidate for your vacancy, but making sure they want to stay with your company is just as important – nobody wants to go through the onboarding and training of a new hire, only to need to look for a replacement a few months later!

Having a clearly defined employer brand will help prospective employees work out whether they’re the right cultural fit for your company, and will make your current employees proud to show up for work and be associated with your name. Having a strong, qualified team goes a long way when you have results to achieve, so by building a strong employer brand, you can make sure you’re hiring the right people for your business. There are also a number of CV screening software tools to help you attract talent that aligns with your brand identity.

4. Increases employee engagement

At the end of the day, your employees want to be proud about where they work. They essentially act as your brand ambassadors, so the more positively they talk about your company, the more likely you’ll find job candidates applying for your roles. This word-of-mouth awareness is especially powerful on platforms such as LinkedIn, as any company updates that your employees share with their network can be a great way to advertise your values and the importance of the work that you do. 

Your social media pages, careers site and company blog can be very useful resources for sharing employee testimonials. Job applicants will often refer to these when doing research about your company, and some might even contact your current employees for their thoughts about working for your business. By having a strong employer brand, you can be certain that they’ll only have positive things to say!

5. Highlights your core mission and values

Your employer branding is just one way to emphasize your core mission and company values. While many businesses are keen to show these off to their customers, they don’t always repeat these to their current and prospective employees. Additionally, by drawing attention to these, you help make sure that your company is accountable for upholding these values throughout your work.

For example, if one of your company values is that you prioritise employee wellbeing, consider what policies you have in place to prove this. For example, offering paid sick leave, health insurance, or unlimited holiday are just some ways you can demonstrate your commitment to this value. Job seekers will want to see that you’re not just talk when it comes to your mission and company values, so your employer branding is an effective way to show off your business.

Find your next hire with TalentSpa

Having a strong employer brand is just one way to attract top talent to your company. At TalentSpa, we can help with all your other recruitment needs, from optimising your job descriptions to screening candidates on your behalf with our unique applicant tracking software. Learn more about our recruitment software, or call us today on 020 3982 7600 to find out more!