Your Guide to Employer Branding: Part One

We all know of a brand or two with great prices, products or services, but on the grapevine, you’ve heard they’re a pretty terrible employer. That perception, whether it’s fair or not, is your reality. And until you’ve been given a solid reason to change your mind, it isn’t budging.

As businesses, our consumers, colleagues and society as a whole have built a picture in their minds of who we are and what we stand for. And if we aren’t part of the conversations they’re having, it doesn’t mean they’re not happening – it just means they’re happening without us.

So how do we make perceptions match reality? How can we ensure we’re not just observing those conversations, we’re playing an active part in them? The answer’s right in front of you: take control of your employer brand.

Connecting the dots from employer brand to employee experience

The reality is, you have an employer brand, whether you put effort into it or not. And there’s never been a greater need for it.

Your employer brand makes a promise. It’s what makes you stand out, lets candidates and colleagues know what they can expect from you and why they should work with you.

Perception of your employer brand is everything.

• 86% of people would not apply, or continue to work, for a company that has a bad reputation with its former employees or the general public
• 6 in 10 people believe the best thing a brand can do right now is look after its employees

Get it right and the benefits are huge. Brilliant employer brands:

• Reduce turnover by 28%
• Cut your costs per hire by half
• Attract 50% more qualified applicants.

Compelling statistics, right?

3 ingredients for building a great employer brand:

Here at McCann Synergy, we believe the best employer brands are based on three guiding principles:

1. Bring your employer brand to life in an inspiring way.
   It should be compelling, desirable and a living expression of your culture. 
2. Take a truly people-centric approach.
   Tap into the moments that matter and be guided by what your people and candidates want. 
3. Consistency is key.
   Wherever you sit in a business – your location, department, role or seniority – you should always have a consistent employee experience.

Build your employer brand on these guiding principles, and you’ll create a unifying experience that brings colleagues together.

You create your employer brand – but you don’t own it.

Despite 60% of CEOs and 58% of talent executives thinking they own their employer brands, it doesn’t actually belong to them. So who owns it? Your people.

Websites such as GlassDoor are popular because candidates want a window into your business, and to hear about the day-to-day employee experience from the people who work there. In fact, they’re three times more likely to trust an employee (current or former) to provide credible information than the company itself.

Your employees own your employer brand. It’s a powerful position for your colleagues to be in – and you’ll want to be on the same page.

That’s where employee experience comes in -– the key touchpoints and interactions your employees will have during their time with the business. From hire to retire, it connects the dots between the promise you make and what life’s really like for your people.

Connect your employer brand to your employee experience for true advocacy.

To build a strong, meaningful and authentic connection between your employer brand and employee experience, start by doing your research. Uncover what your candidates and employees want, the reasons they stay and why they leave.

Next, think about what you can realistically deliver in your employee experience. Where are you overpromising? What should you be shouting louder about?

The story continues…

Keep reading our employer brand guide in Part Two here as we look more closely o help you connect the dots. Or, get in touch if you’d like to discuss ways to kickstart your brand today.