by Charlotte Gurney
Today, candidates tend to act more like consumers and that has necessarily shifted the approach that many employers need to take when it comes to recruitment. Employer branding and recruitment marketing have a vital role to play in how well any organization is able to communicate with those who could potentially be an asset to the business and the quality of talent that it attracts. Mastering employer branding provides the fuel for recruitment marketing that can help to drive growth.
What is employer branding?
It’s the combination of the brand that a business sets out to create, alongside the public perception of the brand and how employees see, and feel about, their employer. Given that 69% of candidates would not accept a job at a firm with a bad reputation and 83% of employers say that their brand plays a big role in how effectively they are able to attract the right talent this is something for every organization to consider. There are a number of different factors that can contribute employer branding, for example employee perception will reflect the experiences that staff have on a day-to-day basis working within the business.
What is recruitment marketing?
These are basically the tactics and strategies that any business can use to promote an employer brand to candidates in order to improve hiring ROI and drive growth. Engaging with recruitment marketing can have many positive benefits for the business, from reducing the cost per application to increasing the volume of applications received, improving the quality of candidates and boosting staff retention. Recruitment marketing can deliver on all these metrics and provide more engagement with, and awareness of, the people a business is looking to hire.
Key ways that employer branding and recruitment marketing can impact your business and drive growth:
Making an acquisition strategy more effective. The combination of a really powerful branding message and the tools and channels to ensure that it reaches the people it is designed to reach can be incredibly effective. The more streamlined this is the less time recruitment requires and the more resources can be dedicated to other business-critical functions.
Encouraging natural recruitment. Where the employer brand is strong, employees naturally become brand advocates, attracting others to come and work within an organization. Referral activity also increases, which is one of the most cost-effective ways of increasing a workforce and also ensuring retention levels remain high.
Reducing the cost of attracting the brightest people. Research has found that where employer reputation is high, the premium required to secure a successful candidate is almost half that necessary for a business with a weaker employer brand.
Attracting the right people and reducing unwanted attention. A clear employer brand is a statement of intent, vision and values that acts like a beacon to those who will be a great fit for the business culture and practices. 88% of millennials believe that it’s important to be part of the right company culture and this generation now makes up a big part of the candidate market. The more effective and clear brand reputation is, the simpler it will be to connect with candidates who are looking for this kind of business and to deflect those who would be better off elsewhere.
Employer branding and recruitment marketing are a powerful combination when it comes to business growth.