This guide focuses on 10 key steps you can take to bring your talent offer to life and turn it into better recruitment results
The following is a summary of the guide.
You can access the full free Employer Branding Australia Guide below.
The Power of your Employer Brand
For Australian employers, an engaging, authentic employer brand can be a game-changer when it comes to recruiting and retaining the best people. Here are some great employer branding stats:
- Companies with a strong employer brand see 50% more qualified applicants and hire 1-2x faster (LinkedIn)
- 92% of people would consider changing jobs if offered a role with a company with an excellent corporate reputation. (CR Magazine)
- A strong employer brand reduces turnover by 28% and Cost per Hire by 50%. (LinkedIn)
- 76% of candidates look for information on what their day to day will be like. (CareerBuilder)
The 10 Steps to Great Employer Branding
1. Start with audience research… and do plenty of listening
Every great Employee Value Proposition (EVP) stems from the real, honest views and experiences of your current, past and prospective employees. So resist the temptation to ‘just get the marketing team to write something’ or to chuck $20K at an enhanced page on a social platform. Engage, ask, listen, understand.
2. Invest in an external employer branding partner
Get help if you can… but make sure it’s from the right people. Recruitment marketing and employer branding are specific disciplines in their own right. Actual employer branding experts will bring you fresh perspectives and experience that counts.
3. Get stakeholder buy-in
It’s important that everyone’s on board with the project from the start. This will help you get a full picture of views across the organisation and it also really helps in getting people to embrace and advocate for your EVP and employer brand work when you launch. And remember - ‘telling them’ isn’t the same as engaging them.
4. Prepare to embrace the good and the bad
Make sure you and the wider team are ready to hear and take on the full picture. You’re an imperfect organisation and there may be a disparity between the organisation that you work for and the one that your employees do. Once you square your shoulders and get brave, you’ll probably also find some pleasant surprises in what people say.
5. Be creative and unique when you produce your EVP…
If your Employee Value Proposition ends up reading like every other job ad on SEEK, you’ve missed the mark. It’s about capturing the essence of who you are and showcasing your unique employee proposition and experience. Again, this starts with research and listening, followed by some creative magic by people who understand recruitment and marketing.
6. …but keep it real
Authenticity is everything! Show honestly and openly who you really are and the journey you’re on, and you’ll attract better people, with the right expectations. Remember to separate reality from aspiration (it’s fine to show both - just make sure you label them).
7. Plan now or fail later
A good employer branding plan is your best chance of achieving your goals. So sit down and work out what you’re trying to achieve, what you’re going to do to achieve it, when it’s going to happen and who’s going to do it. Oh and a one pager that you’ll action is always better than a 60 page employer branding strategy that never leaves the drawer.
8. Embrace storytelling and use your people
Once you have your core messaging, the real employer branding work begins - to get out there and engage prospective candidates. The most effective way to cut through the noise and capture hearts and minds is storytelling, so authentic content really is your most powerful tool. And given that your people are your employer brand, your storytelling should start with them.
9. Measure, refine, measure, refine
Everyone agrees on the importance of measuring results but few actually do it. Work out your KPIs (linked to your objectives) and what metrics will speak to these. Then formalise them in a plan and make sure people take ownership. We promise you this - if you can’t measure your impact, that impact will be short-lived.
10. Never stop… and stay in touch with the people who matter most
Great employer branding is not a finite project; it requires ongoing focus. Above all else, keep up the conversation with prospective talent through content… and check in regularly with your existing employees. If you ask them nicely, they’ll usually tell you the truth about whether you’re still the organisation that you’re selling to candidates.
