5 Tactics to Improve Your Employer Branding In 2019

By Connie Benton

Claire Fraser/Getty Images

Read on to unlock five tips that you need to improve your employer branding as you search for the right candidates for your company.

What Is Employer Branding?

Employer branding has been under immense scrutiny recently as potential job candidates exercise more discretion in where they will apply. Currently, people can go online to find what a company or workplace can offer them, and they're looking for opportunities to be valued and to grow in their careers. This is only possible when the right systems are put in place to encourage workers to give their best.

These systems give potential workers several reasons to choose a certain company as their employer. With job review sites like Glassdoor, as well as Reddit and other sites, people searching for jobs can simply choose to be with a company or not based on the things that other employees say. All these factors add up to the branding of the employer or the workplace.

Employer branding is a key strategy that has been adopted since the 1960s. Since then, the influence of the internet has brought to light its importance when it comes to marketing business enterprises. In simple terms, employer branding is the art of marketing an employer or a company to a group of eligible potential employees. These employees are usually a target group which the company has seen, studied, and sought out because of their skill set and its relevance to the growth of the company.

The idea of talent hunting has become a tad more competitive because of our increased ability to network. These days, employers really need to invest in their brand: How are they perceived to the candidates with the skill sets they hope to attract and retain? This is the reason why organizations would be wise to take talent hunting seriously.

Tips to Improve Your Branding as an Employer

In the past, employers may not have considered their branding to potential employees, but what used to be regarded as unimportant is now a necessity. Here are five ways to improve your brand as an employer:

1. Invest in social media. Social media can either make or break your establishment. With employees speaking their minds on Twitter, Facebook and job recruitment sites, whether you intend to or not, you do have a social media presence. Take the opportunity to control the narrative. Make sure that the social media gateway you use to advertise your company gives insight to a desirable work environment for potential employees. Showing on social media that you value your employees can be a good start. Take the time to post testimonials of employees, gather footage of the working environment, and focus on giving the idea of a stable, compassionate, but driven work environment. This is a great start to owning your social media presence.
2. Work on your website. Potential employees are likely to look for at your website to get an idea of the skill set necessary to land a job. Often, people are put off by a slow or poorly-designed page, a career recruitment page that demands an arm and a leg, and a poor response to pending questions. For these reasons, designing a dynamic website that is quick and easy to navigate can get you far more applications at the drop of a hat. Also, keeping your requirements for the job simple and focusing on the potential employee's skill set alone stops people from running off as soon as they view the page. Have HR software or a system on standby to answer all questions that potential candidates might have regarding the job offer.
3. Watch how you reject applicants. The experience you give applicants when they don't make the cut goes a long way to determining if they will reapply the next time you post an open position. The best way to let them down would be to compose a polite email explaining why they did not advance to the next stage of the process, encouraging them to reapply later. Giving an assurance that their information would remain filed gives the rejected applicants a sense of respect. You could also mention in the letter that you would contact them should another opportunity arise. No rejection is sweet, but at least people let down easily feel better about reapplying.
4. Cultivate a culture. These days, no one is willing to work for a company that does not give any sense of fulfillment to its workers. A company with a bad reputation has far lower chances of attracting new recruits, even if the recruits are indeed desperate for a job. Cultivate a passionate, disciplined, yet healthy work culture for all your employees. Put in place competitive benefits and a few employee appreciation perks every once in a while. Once the environment is well-cultivated, people will be rushing to get employed at your establishment .
5. Set up lucrative referral system. Establish a program in which employees can market open positions to their friends and connections and receive a reward for their referral. Having a system that encourages new applicants every time is sure to push your employees to bring in star talent who can move the company forward, allowing you to achieve your goals. That way, recruitment becomes simpler and the employee is a few bucks richer and happier as well. Everybody wins.

Having a great brand as an employer goes a long way toward determining the future of your establishment. It also dictates the kind if talent that will walk through your doors. Take some time to evaluate and work on the message you are giving your employees and the outside world, and your company will be better for it.

Connie Benton is a professional blogger and writer.