We always hear about the importance of building a brand to attract customers. But what we don't hear a lot about is the value of brand-building when it comes to recruiting. At a time when competition for top talent is fierce even in a sputtering economy, employers need to do a lot more than just dangle higher salaries, more flexible hours and referral bonuses to differentiate themselves from the competition.
Kim Cassady, director of global talent at Cornerstone OnDemand, says companies should put as much emphasis on their "employer brand" as they do on the public face they present to customers and the world. But building that brand means more than just throwing money and perks at potential recruits, she says. Cassady suggests four core strategies for developing a reputation as a great company to work for.
Create a Culture by Design
Recruiting today needs to be proactive, and that includes creating a mission statement and culture that's vibrant and attractive to job seekers. After all, in today's uber-connected society, corporate cultures get defined by default unless companies take an active role upfront, says Cornerstone OnDemand CEO Adam Miller. Key to this take-charge process is employee input: put workers -- not managers -- at the center and allow them to identify and describe a company's personality, purpose and rewards.
Tap the Company's Best Asset
A company's most effective brand advocates are its current employees. Just as they help define a company's culture, they should be intricately involved in the recruiting process, says Cassady. Employees can blog on the company's site or for other industry sites. They can talk up the company at networking events. They can even apply on the company's behalf for recognition as a "great place to work." And when there are openings to fill, remember that current staff members are the best resource: companies are 10 times more likely to hire a referred candidate than other applicants.
Keep up Appearances
A company's "employer brand" matters a lot, but not to the exclusion of its overall brand, Cassady notes. To that end, leadership throughout the company is critical. From marketing to human resources to finance to sales, department heads throughout a company should live up to the company's culture and values -- and communicate them effectively to key stakeholders, prospective recruits, customers, and current employees. A good way, explains Cassady, to maintain a strong brand is to set up a LinkedIn company profile, keep the company website up-to-date and make the most of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as a way to engage and inform the outside world. Statistics show that 98 percent of recruiters and hiring managers use social media so when it comes to building a public-facing brand, social media is a big avenue for success.
Differentiate Yourself, and Keep Doing It
Companies that look too much like their competitors have a harder time recruiting top talent based on factors other than compensation, says Cassady. It's critical, she says, that companies strive to set themselves apart from their rivals -- and to think constantly about new ways to do that. Zappos -- which has nap rooms for employees -- Google -- which offers employees free rental cars to run errands, free gyms and, in some cases, free on-site daycare -- and Airbnb -- where workers get $2,000 a year to spend as they wish on travel -- are all good examples of companies who have set themselves apart from the competition.
The perks don't have to be as costly as Google's or as wacky as Zappos', but companies would do well to remember that even small gestures can add up in the eyes of current -- and future -- employees.
Related Resources
Want to keep learning? Explore our products, customer stories, and the latest industry insights.
Blog Post
Talent Management Helps Supermarket Chain Live Brand Promise
More retailers are enjoying the advantages that effective talent management processes, supported by technology, can offer. This includes strategies for attracting, developing and retaining employees, ensuring a pipeline of qualified people, and building a culture of engagement and productivity. Gallup research shows companies with higher-than-average employee engagement also have 27 percent higher profits, 50 percent higher sales and 50 percent customer loyalty.1
Blog Post
The Importance of Making Employees Brand Advocates
Like it or not, the popularization of social media has amplified the sharing of information (both good and bad) about brands online. For example, Comcast was recently lampooned on social media after a bad customer service call went viral, and many customers and ex-customers were quick to share their complaints about the company. While the cable company was apologetic, an outcry to fire the customer service rep who handled the call ensued. But according to customer service guru and bestselling book author, Shep Hyken, the root of the problem was not about one customer service rep but rather was about deeper company culture issues. Hyken says, "It could have happened to any company. It doesn’t have to be in a call center. It can be on the front line of any type of business."
Blog Post
Why Employment Brand Is About the Candidates — Not the Company
Recruiting is becoming increasingly integrated with marketing, and some even predict that recruiting will eventually become a marketing role. As much as companies focus on the consumer-facing brand, they're dedicating more attention and energy to their employment brand. This means recruiters need to have a new mindset along with a new set of tools in their repertoire, writes Matt Charney on Human Capitalist.