You’re looking to recruit a collection of new positions, attracting bright young or mature things to your organisation and benefiting from fresh talent. But it’s proving a struggle. Could it be down to a lack of employer brand awareness? According to the latest LinkedIn State of Employer Branding report, poor or non-existent employee branding is one of the top three recruitment obstacles affecting the HR landscape.

What’s the difference between employer branding and company branding?

You might have a spotless company brand, respected in your sector and loved by consumers. But it doesn’t necessarily mean your organisation is a great place to work. What’s behind the glittering company brand as far as potential employees are concerned? If people don’t know, they can’t make informed decisions.

If your employer brand is a sad affair hinting at unfair pay and conditions, excess stress, unpaid overtime and laughable employee benefits, you can understand why the best people for the job might think twice. By the same token, recruitment agencies have every right to be wary when faced with an employer brand that’s less than impressive. But when your employer brand dovetails neatly with your company brand and both are shining examples of desirability, you’ve hit the right balance.

The facts speak for themselves:  LinkedIn’s research shows when a candidate has a positive impression of a company as an enjoyable, fair place to work, they’re twice as likely to want to work there.  

How can you boost your employer brand?

There’s a new kid on the employer brand block. Social media has fast become the HR department’s top tool for creating and maintaining an enviable reputation as an employer. Here’s how to harness the information hoarded by your HR software and utilise it on social networks to build an attractive employer brand. 

1. Take a dispassionate look at your business. Are you a good employer?  Do you have low rates of absenteeism and high staff morale? If not, how can you improve? It’s no use pretending. Your social media efforts need to reflect the truth about how you treat employees
2. Take an equally dispassionate look at your current employer brand… if you have one. If not, figure out a strategy, analyse the information and feedback your employees have given you, work out your tactics and build a firm plan
3. Encourage advocacy, allowing employees to talk about your business on the most relevant social media platforms
4. Carry out instant, positive, honest damage limitation and reputation management when things go wrong, both internally and externally
5. Target messages so that they’re relevant to your employee target audience
6. Integrate messages so you create a recognisable, trusted tone of voice
7. Freely share information about your company’s culture, promoting transparency
8. Create a section on your website where you focus on your people, their feelings and experiences
9. Bring your brand to life with infographics, images, charts… and humanise it for the strongest emotional impact
10. Start slowly with one social media network and move from there, taking manageable steps so you don’t fall on your face

Perception is reality

As far as social media are concerned, perception is reality. When your business is widely perceived as an excellent place to work, it makes attracting the brightest people much easier. HR departments play a key role in the employer brand building process, having in-depth experience at the recruitment and people-management coalface.

Image credit – brands by Leo Reynolds on Flickr