Everyone has been talking about it for a long time: competent and committed employees make a significant contribution to a company's success. If this target audience is to be addressed, a beautifully designed Recruitment page is no longer enough. Potential employees want to be able to identify with the company, its values and visions - this is where employer branding comes into play.
Why employer branding?
Communication scientists have long known that you can't not communicate. And this is exactly what employer branding is all about. Every company engages in employer branding. The only question is to what quality. But what does employer branding actually mean? The employer brand is the employer brand and employer branding is the targeted education of the employer brand on the labour market. Many companies have not yet realised what untapped value lies hidden in it and how much influence the employer brand has on their own company.
Putting employees at the centre
Probably the most important basis for successful employer branding is the way in which employees themselves are treated. After all, nobody wants to become an ambassador in an employer brand that focuses on economic benefits, cost reduction or anything other than the employees. Employees can only identify with the company by living the company values, identification opportunities and credibility. Inconsistencies would be quickly exposed by potential employees or even applicants.
The effect of employer branding
When employees are placed at the centre, employer branding has an even more far-reaching impact on various areas of the company. C. Dietrich has categorised these into five impact factors*. Employer branding helps to ensure that these five impact factors build on each other and, in the best case, that employees become positive ambassadors for the employer brand. Below is an overview of the five factors.
How do you start employer branding?
The key questions in employer branding are:
- What makes us unique?
- What characterises us as a company?
- Why are we an attractive employer?
The employer value proposition can be defined by answering these questions. This sets out the offers and values that are practised in the company.
It is important not to copy phrases from other companies, but to work out your own strengths and cultural values and represent them authentically. New employees will quickly realise whether the promised values and the presented corporate image are actually lived. If not, this can not only cost new HR resources for recruitment, but can even result in reputational damage, for example through negative reviews on platforms such as Kununu.
The employer branding strategy must be integrated into the overall image of the company. If the uniqueness of the company is utilised for the brand promise, this cannot be done in isolation from the corporate image. The employer branding strategy is based on the defined goals and values, the lived culture and the identity of the company.
Employer branding in 4 areas
Various measures can be defined from the employer value proposition, which can be incorporated into the following four areas, for example:
- Recruitment: processes should be optimised so that they correspond to the company values. An attempt should also be made to recruit on platforms that reflect the values. It is also important that the wording of job advertisements corresponds to the corporate language.
- Candidate experience: Candidates should be treated like employees and the same values should be practised in the recruitment process as are practised in the company. It is also advisable to check whether the processing time and communication in the application process correspond to the internal values.
- Talent Management: It is important that employees are sufficiently motivated to develop themselves further. Care should also be taken to ensure that the range of internal and external training opportunities is appropriate and that communication is transparent.
- Employee wellbeing: Employee wellbeing is perhaps the most multifaceted area. Are employees as happy as they should be? Thoughts on this topic can be found in the article "Employee Wellbeing"
Successful employer branding
Successful employer branding can be seen in the employees. Committed and satisfied employees are the strongest brand ambassadors of any company. Is there a consistent brand message? If employees live the company values, they will communicate these values to the outside world as voluntary brand ambassadors. These are usually stronger and more sustainable than many recruitment campaigns.
Building an employer brand requires perseverance and diligence. However, if a company cultivates employer branding successfully and sustainably, it can benefit from it on many different levels.
Sources
- Casanova, M. (2019). Corporate branding and employer branding. Impact factors for HR marketing. Winterthur, ZHAW.
- Dietrich, C. (2014). Employees as active brand ambassadors of an "Employer Brand": Possible applications and potential for success. Hamburg, Germany. Imprint of the Diplomic.
- Trost, A. (2013). Employer Branding: Positioning and presenting employers (2nd ed.). Munich, Germany. Luchterhand Publishing House
- Watzlawick, P., Beavin, J. H. & Jackson, D. D. (1967). Pragmatics of Human Communication. New York W. W. Norton.