What is employer branding?
Employer branding is the creation of an authentic and distinctive preferred position to attract and retain the right employees. In other words: distinguishing the company from the rest and ensuring that your company is perceived as more attractive than other companies. That attractive workplace, your attractive employer brand, is not only intended for the company's image or for recruiting new employees, but equally for the current employees.
Applying employer branding to recruitment
Employer branding is therefore about retaining and finding the right talents. In this article we focus on the latter: finding the right talents with the help of employer branding. And that is always important, even when the supply of personnel is large. After all, you only want the very best candidates, and those are simply scarce. To arrive at the right employer branding strategy, it's useful to take the following six tips into account:
Tip 1: Be cool
Claiming that your company is fantastic, young or innovative, while that doesn't match reality is pointless. You get such an image mainly by being it and not necessarily by constantly shouting it. In other words: don’t act cool, be cool. By the way, it's not a requirement for a company to be cool or hip. Stay true to your company values: be aware of the actual image and adjust it if necessary.
Tip 2: Know what sets you apart
What sets your company apart from other companies or organizations in the same sector? Ask your employees. When you know what your ideal employee values most, it's easier to highlight the right selling points in your employer branding. Good employment terms and a high salary are of course always important, but don't forget the secondary perks. From free lunch to good coffee and from epic ski holidays to partner discounts. All things that make your company just that little bit more attractive.
Tip 3: Know what you're looking for
Think carefully in advance about what your mission is in recruitment: who do you need and for what purpose? Describe the ideal candidate for the position in question, for the company or for a specific team, and be sure to state what this ideal candidate looks like in terms of skills and attributes. That way only the right people will feel addressed and you'll already be one step further in the selection process.
Tip 4: Be active on social media
Social media is an important hub in the web of employer branding . This is not only the company's social calling card, but it also gives people from outside the opportunity to take a peek behind the scenes of your company. Do the pleasant working atmosphere, the good coffee, or the awesome interior come across clearly? Then your company also becomes more attractive to potential candidates. Which social medium you use, by the way, depends entirely on the client's target audience and your potential new talents, and not necessarily on your own preference.
Tip 5: Unambiguous message
Make sure the message you convey is consistent with the message known among current employees. Do you promise new talents pretty words, while current employees can't identify with them? Then you'll get funny looks.
Tip 6: Ensure appropriate recruitment
Finally, it is important that you pay attention to the way you recruit. How you do this depends on the goal, the wishes and the budget. For example, you can choose to collaborate with a recruitment agency, referral recruitment , creating or expanding your own recruitment department or producing a nice recruitment campaign on tv, YouTube, radio or print media. It is important to recruit on the medium where your ideal candidate is located.
