What Is Employer Branding?

Why would anyone want to work for your organization? It's a serious question, and one that you need to address head-on if you want to attract and retain the very best talent.

You may find that the question has several answers. If so, that's great – the more reasons you can find, the better!

When you put those answers together, you have the basis of your "employer brand" – in other words, you have crucial information that you can use to promote your organization to potential new recruits.

In this article, we explore what is meant by employer branding, and how to build an authentic, motivating and inspiring brand to help your organization to hire and keep the best people.

What Is Employer Branding?

The term "employer branding" was coined in 1996 by business academic Tim Ambler and marketing expert Simon Barrow, in their academic paper, The Employer Brand.

Ambler and Barrow defined the concept as, "the package of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided by employment and identified with the employing company.

"The main role of the employer brand is to provide a coherent framework for management to simplify and focus priorities, increase productivity and improve recruitment, retention and commitment."

Put simply, employer branding is your organization declaring to the world what it stands for, how it treats its people, and how its behavior genuinely represents its values and responsibilities.

It not only tells potential job candidates what it might be like to work for you, but also says why they should want to work for you – and that's important in a marketplace with skills shortages and competitors fighting for talent.

Also, a 2017 report from LinkedIn Talent Solutions revealed that 80 percent of "talent leaders" believe that employer branding has a "significant impact on their ability to hire great talent."

How Employer Branding Benefits Your Organization

Employer branding can deliver five key benefits to your organization:

1. You can recruit better people: if your company builds a reputation as an one that invests in and develops its people, you'll find it easier to attract talent. Chances are, the best people will come looking for you!
2. Your best people want to stay: people who love their workplace, feel good about its corporate culture and who share its values are less likely to want to move elsewhere.
3. Your organization develops a stronger sense of self: you may "live and breathe" your organization's brand, but how does the rest of the world see you? Does it see you at all? A strong employer brand communicates what you stand for, and raises your profile.
4. Your customer service and vendor relations improve: when your own people are happy, that can "rub off" on others – such as customers and vendors, for example. Your sales may even improve, because customers often like to buy from a company that treats its employees well.
5. Your people are more productive: an organization that motivates and inspires its people will likely find that they respond by doing their most creative and productive work, and go the extra mile for an organization that they believe in.

How to Build Your Employer Brand

If you want to attract and retain the cream of the available talent, then you have to create an environment and culture that appeals to their needs and wants.

Today, potential recruits place high value on work-life balance, authenticity, social responsibility, and opportunities for growth and development.

Building an employer brand that reflects these attributes may sound like a major project, but it can be broken down into four steps:

1. Research and Analyze

First, you need to understand how your current workforce perceive your existing employer brand. Exit interviews with staff who leave the business can provide valuable insight, as can a list of issues raised in appraisals.

You can also read reviews on your organization posted on websites such as GlassDoor and Indeed. (But treat reviews posted on third-party websites with caution – they're often used by disgruntled former employees, and even unscrupulous recruiters looking to enhance a company's reputation.)

Use your findings to identify areas where your organization scores well, and to highlight areas that you want to improve.

2. Create an Employee Value Proposition

Use the results of your research to develop a value proposition for potential new recruits. This is a statement of what your organization stands for, what it can offer, and what it seeks in return from its people.

Your value proposition should answer the question "Why should I work for your organization?" by touching on three main areas:

• Physical benefits: these are the advantages and bonuses that you give your team – things like great healthcare insurance, time off for caregiving, competitive salaries, a safe workplace, and a beautiful office environment. (Netflix, for example, offers unlimited time off for all new parents during the first year after birth or adoption.)
• Emotional connection: this comes from a positive corporate culture. People are often proud to work for a socially conscious company, or grateful that you offer paid days off which allow them to do volunteer work. An environment that emphasizes staff well-being as well as collaborative effort can bring this kind of connection.
• Belief: when people have a real sense of meaning and purpose in what they do, they tend to believe that they're part of something great. And when they believe, they will spread and grow your company's reputation.

Develop your value proposition by thinking carefully about your organization's mission, vision and values. Consider whether these are still relevant to your job market.

Other points to think about include: are your pay and conditions competitive? Do you have flexible hours, or encourage working from home? Having clear policies for all these issues can tip the scales in your favor when recruiting and keeping talent.

Remember, though, that although you want to appeal to the needs and wants of the best talent, you can't be "all things to all people." Different professions and industries may have greatly different ways of working.

For example, the formality and traditions of the financial services sector may not appeal to the more "individual" and casual style of worker. So don't promise bean bags and ping pong when the reality of your workplace is oak paneling and hushed tones!

3. Live up to and Communicate Your Brand

Once you've identified the employer brand that you want, you have to get the word out!

But it's vital that you're not just paying "lip service" to a reputation or culture that you want to promote. Your employer brand must be an honest and genuine reflection of your corporate culture and behavior at every level of your organization.

Use your internal communications, and your outward-facing channels such as your website and social media, to "sell" your employer brand. For example, U.S. pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson uses social media to publish employee videos giving potential new hires a taste of what the company offers.

Also, encourage your people to use their social media accounts to say what a great place they work at! This can be very useful, as many potential job candidates look up the profiles of employees at organizations that interest them.

Make understanding the elements of your employer brand an integral part of your induction and onboarding process, to keep "spreading the word" to your new recruits.

To get the message across to your existing staff, be sure that your performance management process recognizes people who match up to your employer brand values, and rewards them accordingly.

4. Maintain Your Employer Brand

To keep your employer brand fresh and "real," continue reaching out beyond your organization with engaging content, to keep a positive view in people's minds.

For example, regular blog posts and videos can help to get the message out that your organization is a great place to work, and that it makes a positive difference to people's lives.

Behaving ethically towards your suppliers, customers and the wider community as well will help to publicize your employer brand. See our article, How to Build a Corporate Brand Reputation, for more information about how to accomplish this.

And the best way to keep your employer brand's value, and retain your best people, of course, is to ensure that your organization always delivers on its promises and meets people's expectations.