To stand out and attract top talent in today’s competitive hiring market, you need a strong employer brand. In fact, a LinkedIn survey found that 75% of job seekers take an employer’s brand into consideration before submitting an application. Hireology data also found that two of the top three sources applicants look at in their job search include LinkedIn or other social media site (45%) and websites of companies that they’re interested in (43%).
As you plan your overall 2024 business strategy, now is a better time than ever to audit your employer brand. If your employer brand and hiring efforts aren’t central to your 2024 business strategy, you’ll risk falling behind on your hiring goals soon into the new year – which will also cause your business results to take a hit.
Below, we’ve pulled together several key elements of a strong employer brand. Read through the list to audit your organization’s employer brand and determine which areas of your employer brand strategy can use improvement.
Maintain a strong career site
One of the most important pieces of any successful employer brand is a strong career site. The most engaged candidates apply to jobs directly through the company’s career sites.
Embrace your career site to keep candidates engaged by telling a story about your culture, people and core values. On your career site, answer the “What’s in it for me?” question for job seekers by outlining employee benefits, training opportunities, and career paths. Also, highlight employee success stories and testimonials on your career site, so top talent can envision what it might be like growing their careers with your team.
Once you have strong career site content in place, also make sure your career site is mobile-friendly. In our recent research, 59% of applicants indicated that they used either a tablet or smart phone for the majority of their job search — and you don’t want to drive top talent away because your career site content isn’t easily accessible on mobile.
Write job descriptions that stand out
Your job descriptions give you the opportunity to sell applicants on your open roles and your organization, so it’s important to focus on more than just the requirements of your roles.
Your job descriptions should begin with a detailed company overview that touches on such things as location, company history, culture, awards, community involvement and career growth. You should also highlight benefits, responsibilities and key requirements of the role, so job seekers can gauge whether or not they’re truly a fit for the role and your team before applying.
Support a comprehensive list of benefits
Beyond pay, today’s job seekers expect an extensive list of benefits from their employers. If your organization doesn’t have much to offer employees in terms of benefits, you’ll risk losing prospective applicants to competing job offers.
Determine what sets your business apart — such as your healthcare benefits, reimbursement for training and certification and paid time off, among other benefits — and communicate these benefits on your career site, in job descriptions, and anywhere else candidates might interact with your brand. Continuously assess and evolve your employee benefits to stay current with the latest job seekers demands and trends.
Build defined career paths
Today’s most engaged job seekers are motivated by building long-term careers with their employer, so if employment brand strategy doesn’t include clear insight into career progression, top talent will likely accept roles elsewhere.
On your careers page, show visuals of potential career paths and describe potential career paths in job descriptions. For example, if you work at an auto dealership, outline how an entry-level service technician can rise through the ranks to become a fixed operations manager. Or if you work at a home health care agency, share how a certified nursing assistant can grow in his or her career and become a director of nursing with the right certifications and training. These defined career paths will motivate qualified candidates to join your team rather than considering other job opportunities.
Highlight employee success stories
As part of your employer brand strategy, highlight employee success stories and testimonials on your careers page. Sharing examples of employees who have seen success on your team – through promotions, switching roles to better meet their skills and passion, and more – can help engaged job seekers envision what it would be like to join your team.
Testimonials and success stories can be showcased either in written format or through an employer brand video on your careers page. To further engage and excite job seekers, share this content on social media channels such as your company’s Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages.
Given today’s tight labor market, your employer brand is just as important as your organization’s overall brand. With an effective employer brand in place, you can hire qualified and engaged employees, who will drive productivity, profitability and customer service for your business in 2024 and beyond. To see how easy creating a compelling career site can be, schedule a 1:1 with us today!
