Employer Branding: How to Build a Solid Reputation

It’s hard to change your reputation. 

If you’re unhappy with your own reputation, you often have to make major life changes to fix it. While this can be pretty extreme on a personal level, the same applies to organizations across all industries. 

Every company has a reputation, and it’s in their best interest to consistently work to maintain a positive one. This can be done with a comprehensive employer branding strategy.

Essentially, your employer brand includes everything you do to make your organization stand out as the employer of choice within your industry. When you want to attract job candidates or top talent in the market, the employer brand will influence how they think of your company. It’s common for companies to turn to core HR software to gather information regarding benefits, employee information, and compensation as they work to improve their employer brand.

Why is employer branding important?

Employer branding has many benefits to organizations of all shapes and sizes. A good employer brand can help you:

• Attract top talent: As job seekers begin the hunt for their next career move, an enticing employer brand can draw them to apply for open roles. When job descriptions highlight what makes your organization unique, your company will stand out and more candidates will apply. Plus, people want to work for a company with an excellent reputation.
• Reduce time to hire: More applicants mean open roles stay open for a shorter amount of time. This means your recruiting or HR team can hire for positions faster. Plus, it’s likely your company has built a robust talent pool of people interested in joining the team that recruiters can pull from when necessary. 
• Improve retention: Organizations with a great reputation, an impressive list of benefits, and that value their team are likely to have retention rates to be proud of. When employees are happy at work, they won’t feel the need to look elsewhere. 
• Build credibility: Because having a solid employer brand translates to a reputation you can be proud of, it allows organizations to build credibility within their industry, with their employees, and with those looking to join their team. 
• Stand out from the crowd: Every organization has competition, but putting in the work to build a brand is what will allow you to stand out from similar businesses within your industry. 

How to build an employer brand

You already have an employer brand, whether you take the time to actively manage it or not. Candidates, employees, and key stakeholders have an opinion about your organization, and if you aren’t working to build it, you’re crossing your fingers and leaving your company's reputation up to chance.

Instead, make an effort to build a strong employer brand that everyone can be proud of. When you’re ready to take your employer brand seriously, consider following the following advice when building it from the ground up.

Conduct an audit

It’s hard to manage an employer brand if you don’t know what other people are saying about your organization. To keep your finger on the pulse of these opinions, conduct an employer brand audit. This type of audit will uncover how the company presents itself to candidates and current employees.

The first step in doing an employer branding audit is to take an in-depth look at everything your company is saying to candidates and employees and how it can skew the organization's perception. 

You should also run employee engagement surveys where you ask the team how they would describe the company to a friend, if they’d recommend the organization to a friend who was looking for a new job, what they like about working there, what they would change, and more. This can be done easily, thanks to employee engagement software.

Once you feel like you have enough data regarding your company’s brand, see if you can identify any gaps that exist between how the company presents itself and how it’s perceived by employees and job candidates. 

Create an employer value proposition (EVP)

The data you’ve collected in the audit will allow your team to create an employer value proposition (EVP).  This will encompass your company’s culture, mission, and values. It’s essentially everything your organization can offer as an employer in exchange for the employees' experience and skills in their role.

The ins and outs of an EVP should be communicated appropriately both to current employees and potential candidates, as it can help retain your top performers and attract top talent in the market. It can also help align each department's agendas, reduce hiring costs, and make sure employees feel valued and heard.

As you write an EVP, remember to steer clear of messaging that simply lists perks and benefits you offer, like unlimited paid time off. While this is important to include, make sure your EVP goes deeper.

Think of your EVP as the company’s North Star for all branding efforts and communications moving forward.

Implement an employer branding strategy

Now’s the time to roll up your sleeves and start creating a strategy to be proud of. Consider the channels you’ll want to use to start promoting your organization's brand and what makes you stand out from the competition. 

The company website is often the first place future employees go during the hiring process. When developing a positive employer brand, make sure your site both entices candidates and sends the right message.

Create a strong onboarding process

Onboarding is the first experience a new hire has at your organization, and a negative one can have severe consequences.

Ensuring a positive company brand image starts with all new hires having a good onboarding process from start to finish. This makes it possible for employees to get engaged, feel excited about their new role, meet their team, and get acclimated with new processes right from the start. 

Leverage current employees

When potential employees want to learn more about an employer’s brand before applying, they may turn to real employees to see what they have to say. Because of this, take advantage of your employees by asking them to share testimonials on your website or leave reviews on sites like Glassdoor or LinkedIn.

You can also make the most of employees who love working for your organization by encouraging them to post on their social media accounts when you have a giveaway or company outing. This is a fun way for your employees to promote the corporate brand and the company’s mission and values in their own voice.

For example, check out what I shared on Twitter when G2 reached Series D Funding and invited employees to gather and celebrate. 

It's good to be on the rocketship. :rocket: @G2dotcom pic.twitter.com/sPoNaUskhw

— mara :zap:️ (@mara) June 28, 2021

Invest in learning and development

Want to make sure your employees are never bored, feel valued, and are always learning something new? Make employee development part of your employer brand. Giving your team the chance to pursue new and exciting opportunities and develop additional skills will show them your organization emphasizes their continued learning and development.

Additionally, these programs will ensure your employees are never bored in their current role as they develop skills that make them valuable members of your organization. Everybody wins!

Implement diversity and inclusion (D&I)

Finally, if you want to prove your company has a strong brand, it’s imperative to show both employees and potential candidates you’re committed to building a diverse team. Focusing on diversity and inclusion (D&I) can lead to many benefits, like better and more innovative ideas, stronger company culture, and better customer service. 

Examples of exceptional employer branding

I’ve already mentioned how G2 nails employer branding, but we’re not the only company you can learn from. Check out these other examples of organizations that have put in the time and effort to build a strong employer brand.

Google

When you think of a seriously attractive employer brand, you likely think of Google.

Not only does their brand have its very own movie, The Internship, but from the very start, Google has always been committed to putting their employees first. They have an incredible working environment with a “work hard, play hard” mentality. Google also boasts some pretty exciting benefits, like generous parental leave and retirement plans, onsite wellness centers, and three gourmet meals a day. They are also focused on learning and growth, which is just the tip of the iceberg for why they always bring in top talent.

Starbucks

The Seattle-born coffee giant Starbucks is, of course, on our list of exceptional branding. One of the reasons is they’ve made huge strides in the area of diversity and inclusion, in addition to being an advocate for the LGBTQ community. 

They also have eye-catching social media accounts, especially Twitter and Instagram, to help promote their brand and interact with potential candidates. They have a playlist on YouTube with nothing but real-life employee stories and Twitter and Instagram accounts, @StarbucksJobs, dedicated to promoting their employee brand and interacting with job seekers.

Chipotle

When it comes to creating a strong employer brand, Chipotle focuses on three things: inclusion, promotion, and employee benefits. They accomplish this by providing their employees with tons of opportunities for education, a robust paid parental leave program, and various mental health programs. 

Chipotle also makes the most of social media, as their company Facebook page shares stories of real employees that are centered around inclusion, promotions, leadership, and employee benefits.

Netflix

Sure, Netflix is one of the world’s most well-known streaming services, but it also has some pretty great employer branding. Its careers page is thorough with an explanation of what the culture is like, while also being candid regarding compensation. There’s also a complete breakdown of Netflix’s values, culture, and what it means to be on the “Dream Team”. 

They offer a long list of benefits but made headlines in 2015 when they announced they’d be offering unlimited time off to new parents during the first year of the birth of a child or adoption.

Apple

You can’t have a list of companies crushing employer branding without mentioning Apple.

Not only are their products part of our daily lives, but they’re always pushing the envelope to improve and discover the best approach to make these products better than before. They listen to their customers' feedback and act on it. Not to mention, Apple has some serious employee benefits, like huge discounts on products and impressive parental leave.

A strong brand wasn’t built in a day

It takes time, effort, and the right HR professionals on your team to help an organization build a strong employer brand from the ground up. Whether you’re a startup that’s creating a brand from scratch or a seasoned organization that is looking to improve its reputation, concentrating on your brand will help get you there.

Once you’ve built a brand you’re proud of, learn how to incorporate it into your recruitment marketing efforts to attract top talent.