Employer branding is essentially how your business is perceived as somewhere to work. A strong employer brand supports recruitment objectives and can organically attract the best talent who share similar vision and values and are drawn in by the culture that your workplace offers. If your employer branding is currently weak then it could be undermining recruitment efforts so it’s important that you take steps to improve it.
Upgrading employer branding
- State your core values. If your organisation hasn’t clearly defined its core values then you may be struggling to attract people who fit with the business because they simply don’t really know what it’s about. Values could be anything, from entrepreneurial spirit and an innovative approach, to kindness and positive communication. Once you’ve defined a set of values you’ll give potential candidates a way to understand your organisation and whether they might fit well within it.
- How do your employees feel about working for the business? This is a crucial question to ask, as it will tell you a lot about the culture of your workplace. Vision and values, objectives and goals, as well as the experience of working in your business on a daily basis all contribute to culture and how employees feel being a part of it. If the culture you’ve established supports your mission statement then your employer branding will instantly get a boost – whether that happens depends on how employees feel about working for the business.
- Redefining the working environment. The physical environment that you provide for employees can be just as crucial as the culture that exists in the business. For example, cramped, dirty offices that have not been designed with employee wellbeing in mind can seriously damage employer branding. It’s worth investing time and resources in getting the environment right, from the way that you incorporate light to using the space available to reflect values such as collaboration (i.e. no internal barriers) and positivity (e.g. bright colours).
- Explore how you handle diversity, equity, and inclusion. A diversity statement is not just a box ticking exercise today. It not only shows that this is an issue the business takes seriously but also explains how it fits with core values and vision for the future. A diversity statement should be strong and well thought through otherwise it could do more harm than good – it should be created with the thoughts and feelings of all the stakeholders in the business in mind.
Employer branding is often overlooked but is an essential element. Upgrading the way that your workplace is perceived could deliver much more positive results when it comes to attracting, and keeping, the best people.
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