Employer branding is not as well-known of a term in marketing circles as many of the others out there, but it definitely is an important one. In this article, we will be covering exactly what an employer branding is, how it is accomplished and why it is done in the first place. If you are a marketing or advertising professional, then you definitely need to understand what employer branding is.
The Definition of Employer Branding
Employer branding is a strategy that is used to get people to come to work for a specific employer. You have heard the term “branding” applied to marketing and advertising, but this is a completely different form of branding. Instead of creating a company image of someone who sells amazing products, has great prices and in general, is one of the best companies out there to work with; employer branding builds a completely different image.
Employer branding is all about convincing potential employees that a company is great to work for – rather than with. This is approached from a completely different perspective, and you definitely want to be aware of these efforts as a marketing and advertising professional, because they are just as important as marketing the product or service. Without people that perform well and make a great team, a company is nothing. Good companies know that they are only as good as their weakest employee, and so they strive to attract the best employees possible.
Companies Doing Great Employer Branding
There are some companies out there that are doing great employer branding, and a company that wants to use this strategy could do a lot worse than to follow their example. Let’s take a look at five of those companies now.
GOOGLE: If you have watched any documentaries on Google, you know that it’s a great place to work. Not only do they provide things like recreation and daycare, but they actually encourage employees to get some recreation and rest time. Plus, they feed their employees, which saves those employees quite a bit of money. In addition, Google pays employees competitive rates to keep them around.
GENERAL ELECTRIC: G.E., or General Electric, is one of the best employers out there according to their branding. They have been able to use humor and a huge media campaign to make themselves look like a terrific place to work. In addition, since no one has complained, they must actually have a really great work environment and aren’t just faking it.
L’OREAL: L’OREAL, the personal care company that has brought in millions on mascara and related products, has some serious employer branding, utilizing social media to attract the best people to their team. They use social media for the majority of their recruiting, and as a result, have been able to achieve some of the highest follower rates of any other company in the same field.
NETFLIX: The video subscription site is one of the best places to work, especially for people with kids – which are most of their employees. They have a terrific leave policy which offers an unlimited amount of time off to parents in the first year of a child’s life, which is pretty amazing. They also have a great reputation as to their company culture and although employees are apparently sworn to secrecy – everyone seems to enjoy working there.
LITHIUM: Lithium is one of the top Glassdoor brands and or good reason. They have opted to deliver a real message to potential candidates, telling them exactly what it is like to work there, which guarantees that they only get employees that know what is coming and are still on board.
How a Company Can Build an Employer Brand
So, companies may be wondering how they can build this employer brand so that they can start attracting the best people to their own company. There are actually some pretty specific steps that someone can follow in order to make that happen. We will be covering each of the steps briefly below.
The Website: The first element that you need to have in place is your careers website. This can obviously (and probably should) be part of your own corporate website, but it should be a sub that is geared specifically for people who are interested in working for your company. Remember, they don’t need to be convinced that you are a successful player in the industry – they already know that or they wouldn’t be interested in working for you – they need to be convinced that you will treat them right and give them an amazing career.
Credibility: The next thing that you want to concentrate on is your credibility. Believe it or not, the number one thing that employees want when it comes to their next job is to work at somewhere that is doing something important. They know that Google is shaping the future, but if you aren’t Google, they need to know specifically what you are doing to shape that future.
Job Description: Next, they need to know specifically what they will be doing. Posting an ad that says something like “creative professional wanted for rewarding position with good pay and top responsibilities” tells them absolutely nothing. Don’t be vague. Tell them exactly what their duties will be, and you will find the best person to fill that particular position.
Job Application: Finally, make sure that your job application is concise and doesn’t ask them any more than is necessary for you to call them in for an interview. Most people say that it takes them four times the amount of time that an employer estimates to fill out a job application. Make sure that your employee application doesn’t chase off the best candidates.
Conclusion
The Employer Branding technique is one of the best ways that an employer can ensure that they are attracting the best candidates and putting the best face forward when it comes to how they are presented to employees. You definitely want to present the best package possible so you can get the best people.
