EXECUTIVE SEARCH


& RECRUITMENT


inside


FEATURES


How a strong employer brand can work for you


By Mark Beavan head of That Little Agency, Chamber member


Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, your company has an employer brand. It’s your reputation as a place of


work. We tend to think of it as what someone would say about working for you when you aren’t in the room. So, ask yourself… do you know what people think about you as an employer?


What is an employer brand? In essence, defining your employer brand is finding the answer to this simple question: “Why should somebody choose


to work for us as opposed to someone else?” The complication comes from


the fact that the answer is likely to be completely different depending on who within the business you are talking to. Senior management will have one opinion, but it may not be shared throughout the organisation.


Why should you want to know? A reputation as a great employer can increase your ability to attract great people, reduce your recruitment costs, and also help you keep hold of your most talented employees. It is important to remember that an employer


brand cannot be created or destroyed. It already exists. But what we can do is influence it.


Where do you begin? Talking to your current employees is the best place to start. Find out what makes you a great place to work and what your strengths are as an employer. But don’t be afraid to listen and take on board those areas in which you need to improve. Talk to people outside of your business. How do they see you? How do you measure up against their expectations? To be honest, you can’t get enough insight at this point. It is this insight that can then be


used to create specific marketing messages aimed at each of the groups of job seekers that you are


looking to target. It can help shape your recruitment advertising activity, the messages that you fhave on your careers website and everything that you share on social media. By championing the things that


you do really well and showing how you’re addressing the things you don’t do quite so well, you can start influencing people’s perceptions of you, both internally and externally, and offer an honest and much deeper understanding as to what life is like in your company.


What are the benefits? According to LinkedIn, a strong, positive employer brand can lead


to a 43% decrease in a company’s cost per hire. With the average cost per hire in the UK currently standing at £5,300 (Bersin by Deloitte, 2014) – that would amount to a saving of £2,283 per hire. Small potatoes, maybe. But not if you recruit 50 people per year. That could result in an annual saving of over £114,000. The financial benefits are clear,


but organisations with a strong employer brand are also noticing other attractive benefits: • Reduced need to engage recruitment consultancies


• Increased quantity and quality of applications


• Increased conversion from ‘offer’ to ‘hire’


• Improved quality of hire


• Reduced attrition of people within the first six months of employment.


All of which suggest that those employers that have a strong employer brand are better placed to attract, engage and retain talented people than those who haven’t.


Is your website your primary employer branding tool? Chances are that your careers website is going to be the first


place that a job seeker will be exposed to your employer brand. This means that not only do you have a fantastic opportunity to make a great first impression, but you can also position yourself apart from your competitors. That said, the methods deployed


‘A reputation as


a great employer can increase your ability to attract great people’


by job seekers are evolving all the time. Potential candidates are not just looking at your website to find a job - they are looking at your website to see what it might actually be like to work for you. You should offer more than a job search engine and online


application


form, but also information around your culture, values,


rewards and benefits, training and development – in


fact anything that can position you as an employer of choice. In fact, your careers website


should never be considered ‘finished’. It should be a continuously changing piece of communication. Changing to meet the recruitment needs of your business, changing to meet the expectations of job seekers and changing to build on the things that work well.


NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018 insight 25


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36