Building your employer brand is about the relationship that you build with your past, current and potential employees. Whether you work on it or not, people will form their own opinions based on what they can see or experience of your company, so building a positive brand and relationship is key.

It can help you to attract new talent to the business, while also boosting current employee engagement, so positive for everyone involved.

Here are a few important do’s and don’ts when it comes to employer branding.

Do’s

Do tell your story
Tell everyone about YOU and YOUR company. Being relatable and personable will make the business seem like a nicer place to work and will spark interest. By allowing people to really get to know you, your company and your current employees will build a true picture around what it is really like to work there and hopefully attract the right kind of people to your company.

Do understand your current employer brand
You will already have an employer brand, whether you have specifically worked on it or not so, a good place to start is by understanding what is already there. As we said earlier, employer brand is the relationship you have with your current, past and potential employees, it’s as simple as that.

Don’t over complicate it more than this and try to understand your starting point. Speak to current and past employees and listen to their views to gauge where you’re already at, hopefully you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what has already been built.

Do align your employer brand with your business goals and vision
Your current employees may be satisfied but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re driving the business forward.

  • Make sure you review your employer brand as your business develops and there are always things to improve on.
  • Try to think of some new ways you can develop your employer brand as your business grows and changes, while keeping your business vision at the centre.

Do use social media to your advantage
Social media is a great place to spread the word and promote your business and to really create an employer brand for your company. It’s a great way to get your message across in a friendly, more personable way rather than through more formal methods. Just don’t forget the visuals!

  • Make sure you get those all-important snaps of the company social events.
  • Consider the ‘day in the life’ type attitude to showcase what working at your company is really like.

Click here for some more tips on how to use social media effectively.

Do be honest
Honesty is the best policy and that’s not just when it comes to employer branding. Make sure you’re the picture you portray of your company is the real deal. If not, you’re not only wasting your time but also your potential new employees when they start working for you and leave within a few months.

Be truthful and transparent when it comes to painting a picture of what it is really like to work for your company.

Do be consistent
One or two posts occasionally on your company’s Instagram account is not going to cut it when it comes to smashing your employer brand. You need to be consistent and persistent. Building your employer brand takes time and patience so stick with it and be consistent.

 

Don’ts

Don’t blend in with the crowd
Shouting about the same things as the next company will not do you any favours. Think about being different to other companies and what you can offer that others cannot.

  • What have you got that they don’t?
  • Why would someone want to work for you, rather than a different company?

Really put some thought into this and your current employees may well benefit as well as boosting your chances of attracting new talent.

Don’t mention your commission structure
You shouldn’t have to bribe people with money to get them to want to work for you. Good pay and remuneration is a must, as people need rewarding for their hard work, but the right kind of structure can also help build your business in the way you want by rewarding the right behaviours, which we talk in more depth here.

There will always be someone with a bigger and better structure so don’t join this fight, focus on your employer brand to set your company apart from the rest.

Don’t confuse your employer brand with company brand
What your employees or potential employees are after is usually completely different to what your customers or clients are after. The reasons customers or clients buy from you is not necessarily the same reasons your employees want to come and work for you.

Don’t assume you know what your employees are thinking
Make sure you’re asking your employees for feedback on what you can do to improve, this will improve morale and make them feel valued. One thing is for sure, you shouldn’t assume you know what your employees are thinking.

Just because staff turnover is low, this doesn’t always mean that the employer/employee relationship is healthy. Do turn this into a positive though and listen to your current employees. They will be the best ambassadors for your company if you get this right.

Don’t underestimate the impact of your employer brand
As we’ve mentioned before, employees and potential employees will form an opinion of your business whether you work on your employer brand or not, so it definitely should be paid some attention.

Improving your employer brand has been shown to improve employee engagement which in turn can have a positive impact on your company’s financial performance and the external customer satisfaction.

One last thing…
The key thing to remember over all of that is that you continue to ask yourself one important question – ‘Why would someone want to work for me or our company?’ If you keep this in mind, while sticking to the do’s and don’ts you’ll be well on your way to employer branding success, keeping your current employees happy and engaged while attracting new talent who will fit right in and you don’t even have to buy that pricey pool table!

 

About The Recruitment Network

This blog article was provided by The Recruitment Network.

The Recruitment Network is the ultimate support club for recruitment business leaders. We give our members an unparalleled level of support, guidance and tools to help them transform their recruitment businesses with the ultimate objective of improving business performance, increasing business efficiency and significantly growing profitability and shareholder value.