Job seekers today complete significant research when considering career moves, meaning any company’s employer branding is critical to hiring success. In fact, 69 percent of job candidates would reject a job offer from an organization with a bad employer brand.
Effective employer branding offers you the opportunity to excite top talent about joining your team, helping you stand out from other employers in today’s competitive hiring market. For many of today’s top companies, much of their success can be attributed to building strong employer brands and, as a result, hiring the right employees. Below, we’ve highlighted a few well-known organizations that are doing employer branding right – and key lessons you can learn from their efforts.
Netflix
The Netflix careers page showcases the organization’s dedication to employer branding. Front and center on the careers page is a compelling mission statement, “A great workplace combines exceptional colleagues and hard problems.” This statement will quickly engage prospective job seekers who are eager to make an impact at Netflix.
Beyond its mission statement, the Netflix careers page is highly detailed throughout. The site includes several different pages for job seekers to navigate through, including an overview of each team, locations, inclusion and diversity efforts, and Netflix’s work life philosophy. By reading through this detailed content, prospective applicants can envision themselves on the Netflix team and will be motivated to apply.
Any time your team hires for an open role, you’re competing with not only local businesses, but larger companies with compelling employer brands like Netflix. Make sure your team has a strong careers page that answers the “What’s in it for me?” question for job seekers. This includes outlining employee benefits, training opportunities, career paths and employee success stories, among other content on your careers page.
Starbucks
One part of the Starbucks employer branding strategy that makes the coffee chain stand out is its social media presence. Starbucks has dedicated @StarbucksJobs Instagram and Twitter accounts, where the company regularly shares highlights of its employer brand and interacts with prospective candidates.
A key focus of Starbucks’ employer branding-related social media posts is sharing employee success stories. These stories are highlighted across Twitter and Instagram, and Starbucks has a Jobs Playlist on its YouTube channel dedicated to success stories. One example of recent content is an Instagram post congratulating recent Arizona State University graduates. As part of its College Achievement plan, every benefits-eligible U.S. partner working part- or full-time receives 100 percent tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program.
Social media is a key piece of any employer brand strategy. Today’s job seekers – particularly those in younger generations like Millennials and Generation Z – are likely to research employers’ social media presence before applying to open roles. Think about your current social media strategy and how you can highlight more employee success stories or other aspects of your employer brand. Ultimately, a compelling social media presence can drive more qualified talent to your open roles.
Zappos
Zappos, the online shoe and clothing retailer, receives upwards of 30,000 job applicants each year, but only hires about 300 roles. Because of strong job seeker interest in joining the team, Zappos reinvented its hiring process and employer brand by creating an “Insider Program.”
Rather than opening roles and accepting applications in a traditional sense, the Zappos Insider Program consists of job seekers who are interested in working for the company at some point down the road. In just a few clicks, prospective job seekers can sign up for the program, and in return, they receive regular updates about the company, its culture and team updates about potential roles Insiders might be interested in. The program is referred to as a special membership, which boosts job seeker excitement about the opportunity of joining the Insider Program and eventually working for Zappos.
The Insider Program benefits Zappos as an employer, as it enables the hiring team to nurture relationships with prospective candidates and have a network of talent to tap into when the need arises, rather than starting from scratch with the recruitment process.
Your team can take a similar approach to Zappos by building relationships with prospective applicants who are interested in joining your team. Include an option on your career site for job seekers to receive updates about future roles on your team. And encourage interest in signing up by sharing an overview of the opportunity joining your team presents – such as a strong company culture, advancement opportunities and more.
Hireology data found that a strong employer brand can help organizations boost applicant-to-hire conversion tenfold. By taking a strategic approach to your employer brand – similar to Netflix, Starbucks and other top organizations – you can ensure you’re staffing up with top talent in today’s tight labor market. For additional tips on attracting qualified job seekers, read our Recruitment Marketing Playbook.
