There is a new approach to attracting the very best talent for your workplace; employer branding. If you have not heard the term before, it relates to the way in which an employer, rather than waxing lyrical about products and services, markets their company as a great place to work. The environment is the focus here, with the key goal being to attract talent by presenting the opportunity to work in a fantastic place. So how can you harness this powerful method?
Get your employees involved
It sounds obvious and it is to an extent; nobody can extol the virtues of your workplace quite as well as current employees. Asking your staff for recommendations is providing potential hires with feedback direct from where they would be working, lending significant credibility to your campaign around employer branding.
Potential approaches include encouraging social media engagement; using feedback platforms online; and implementing referral schemes whereby employees are incentivised to recommend people for current positions. You can push the incentive further by offering bonuses for each successful referral whilst reinforcing the image of a positive place in which to work.
Be good at what you do
This doesn’t simply mean offering the best product or service in your sector; rather it focuses upon being the best employer you can be. It’s the groundwork that matters here; if your staff already have trust in your leadership then recommendations will come naturally to them.
One of the best ways to determine whether you are engaging your employees effectively is to ask a series of questions and outline ways in which to quantify answers. Are your staff properly supported? Are there opportunities for employees to develop and to further their careers?
Make sure that you have a dedicated element of your budget that is explicitly targeted at making the work environment a better place in general.
Don’t be shy about being a good employer
If you already have a strong reputation, go ahead and shout about it. Websites and social media are obvious channels through which to get the message out. In addition, make sure that the benefits of working for your company are outlined in job adverts so that applicants have a pretty good idea as to what to expect before they are shortlisted for interview.
By putting the above into practice, you are setting in motion the steps to building a good employer branding strategy. This is particularly effective in attracting applicants for highly specialised roles; they often need to know that they are bringing their expertise and skills into an environment where they will be appreciated and used to maximum effect.
It sounds simple doesn’t it? And it is; provided that you have the trust and dedication of your team to start with, it isn’t a quantum leap to start promoting your business as a positive place to work as you scour the talent pool.
