I had two conversations on the same day last month that showed me two very different stories. The first was with the owner of a manufacturing business. He was frustrated. His company was struggling to hire good people. Their job ads received very few replies. The replies they did get were from people who were not a good fit. He was spending a lot of money on recruitment fees just to fill basic roles. Later that afternoon, I spoke with the leader of a software company. Her story was the complete opposite. She told me they had a waiting list of talented people who wanted to work for them. They rarely needed to post a job ad. When a role opened up, her team would make a few calls, and they would have a great new person within weeks. What was the difference between these two companies? It was not their size or their industry. It was their employer brand.
What is an Employer Brand?
A Simple Definition
Your employer brand is your company’s reputation as a place to work. It is the story that people tell about you when you are not in the room. It is the feeling that past, present, and future employees have when they think about your organisation.
Your Company’s Story
Think of it like this. Every company is telling a story. Some stories are exciting and make people want to be a part of them. Other stories are boring or even negative, and they make talented people want to stay far away. A strong employer brand tells a great story.
Who It Is For
Your employer brand is not just for people you want to hire. It affects your current team members too. It even affects the people who have left your company. It is the total experience you provide to everyone you employ.
Why a Strong Employer Brand Matters
Building a great reputation as an employer is not just a nice thing to do. It is a smart business strategy. A strong employer brand can help your company succeed in many ways.
Attracting the Best People
When your company has a great reputation, the best people want to work for you. You will get more applications for your open jobs. The people who apply will be a better fit for your company. Hiring becomes easier because people already want to join your team.
Keeping Your Current Team
A strong employer brand is also a powerful tool for retention. When your current employees are proud of where they work, they are more likely to stay. They feel good about being part of a company that is known for treating its people well. This makes your team more stable and engaged.
Saving Time and Money
A great reputation can save your business a lot of time and money. You will spend less on recruitment fees because talented people will come directly to you. Your time to hire will be shorter because you will have a pipeline of interested candidates. This allows your team to focus on other work.
The Core of Your Brand: The Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
The foundation of any great employer brand is a clear and compelling Employee Value Proposition or EVP. The EVP is the heart of your brand.
What is an EVP?
An EVP is the promise you make to your employees. It is the answer to the simple but powerful question, “Why should a talented person work here?”. It is the unique set of benefits and rewards an employee receives in return for their work.
The Five Parts of a Great EVP
A strong EVP is made up of five key parts. It is helpful to think about each of them.
- The Pay. This includes the salary and all the other financial benefits you offer. It is about fair compensation for the work people do.
- The Work. This is about the job itself. Is the work interesting? Does it give people a sense of accomplishment? Does it challenge them to grow?
- The People. This is your company culture. Do you have a supportive and respectful environment? Do people enjoy working with their colleagues and managers?
- The Growth. This is about career opportunities. Do you provide ways for people to learn new skills? Can they see a future for themselves at your company?
- The Company. This is about the organisation as a whole. Are people proud of the company’s mission and its values? Do they believe in what the company stands for?
How to Create Your EVP
Creating your EVP does not have to be a complex process. It starts with listening to your own people. Ask them what they value most about working for you. Then, think about what makes your company special and different from your competitors. Finally, write it down as a clear and honest promise.
How to Improve Employer Branding
Your employer brand is your reputation as a place to work. It’s what people say about you when you are not in the room. A strong brand is a magnet for top talent, and building one is a strategic process. Here’s a five-step guide to get you started.
1. Start from the Inside Out
Before you can tell your story, you need to know what it is. An authentic brand starts with an honest internal audit to find the truth about what it’s really like to work at your company. Key actions include running employee surveys, conducting ‘stay interviews’ with top performers, and analysing exit data.
2. Define Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
Your EVP is the promise you make to your team. It is the answer to the question, “Why should I work here?”. Distill your findings from the audit into a clear, compelling statement that covers the key areas: compensation, the work itself, your culture, growth opportunities, and your company’s mission.
3. Align the Entire Employee Experience
A great brand is built on trust, which comes from consistency. You must ensure the daily reality of working at your company matches the promise of your EVP. Focus on every touchpoint: a respectful candidate experience, a welcoming onboarding process, supportive daily management, and a compassionate offboarding.
4. Tell Your Authentic Story
With a strong internal foundation, it is time to share your culture with the outside world. The key is to be authentic. Share your real story through your careers page with employee testimonials, use social media to showcase your team in action, and empower your people to become your most credible brand ambassadors.
5. Measure, Listen, and Refine
Improving your brand is an ongoing process, not a one-time project. Continuously listen and refine your approach by tracking key metrics. Keep an eye on your online ratings (like Glassdoor and Seek), your hiring data (like time-to-hire), and your employee retention rates. These numbers will tell you if your brand promise is hitting the mark.
What is Employer Brand Risk?
An employer brand risk is the danger of your company getting a bad reputation. This happens when the stories people tell about your company are negative ones.
The High Cost of a Bad Reputation
Harvard Business Review, revealed that a company with a poor reputation may have to pay a wage premium of at least 10% more per hire to convince a candidate to accept a role. For an organisation hiring dozens or hundreds of people, this ‘reputation tax’ can amount to millions of dollars in additional salary costs each year, demonstrating that a strong employer brand is a core financial asset.
How Risk Spreads Quickly
In the past, a person’s bad experience might have been shared with a few friends. Now, it can be shared with thousands of people online in an instant. A single negative story on social media or a review site can spread quickly and cause lasting damage to your brand.
The Biggest Employer Brand Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
A strong employer brand is built on trust and respect. A weak one is often the result of a few common and avoidable mistakes. These are the errors that turn a good company story into a bad one.
Mistake 1: A Poor Candidate Experience
This is one of the most common mistakes. When a company is slow to reply to job seekers, fails to communicate clearly, or treats candidates disrespectfully, it creates a very bad experience.
The Fix: Treat Every Applicant with Respect
Every person who applies for a job at your company is a guest. You must treat them with respect. Acknowledge every application. Be clear about your hiring steps. And be kind, even to the people you do not hire.
Mistake 2: A Bad Offboarding Process
The story of how an employee leaves your company is just as important as the story of how they join. A bad goodbye, where a person is treated coldly, can turn a good employee into a loud critic.
The Fix: Finish Strong with Support
Always thank departing employees for their contribution. A powerful way to show you care is to offer outplacement support. This means providing them with professional coaching to help them find their next job. This creates a positive final story.
Mistake 3: A Gap Between Words and Actions
This is the most damaging mistake. A company’s website may talk about teamwork and support, but if the daily reality is different, you will lose all trust.
The Fix: Live Your Values Every Day
Your employer brand is what you do, not what you say. If you say you value teamwork, then you must reward and recognise teamwork. Your leaders must act in a way that shows what the company truly believes in.
How to Measure and Improve Your Employer Brand
Building a great brand is an ongoing process. You need to know where you stand so you can make improvements.
How Do You Know if Your Brand is Strong?
You can measure the strength of your brand in several ways. Look at your hiring numbers. Listen to what your people are saying. And check your online reputation.
Look at Your Hiring Numbers
Simple numbers can tell a big story. How long does it take you to fill an open role? How much does it cost you to hire a new person? If your time to hire is long and your costs are high, it may be a sign that your brand is weak.
Listen to Your People with Surveys
The best way to know your story is to listen to your people. Use simple, regular employee engagement surveys to ask for their feedback. A powerful tool is the ‘stay interview’, where you ask your best people what is working well and what could be better.
Check Your Online Reputation
Regularly look at what people are saying about your company on sites like Glassdoor and Seek. These reviews are a direct reflection of your employer brand. Pay attention to the feedback and look for patterns.
The Role of Leadership in Building Your Brand
Your employer brand starts at the top. Your leaders are the most powerful storytellers in your organisation.
Leaders are the Storytellers
Your CEO and senior leaders must constantly talk about the company’s mission and values. They bring the “why” of your company to life. Their passion and belief are contagious.
Managers are the Brand in Action
For most employees, their daily experience with their direct manager is the company brand. A great manager who is supportive, clear, and respectful makes your brand strong. A poor manager can damage it, one person at a time. Your employer brand is the story your people tell about you. It is your most powerful tool for attracting and keeping the best talent. It is not built by your marketing department; it is built by your actions, every single day.
Your Partner in Building a Great Story
At Career365, we help you make sure your story is a great one. We partner with HR leaders to build the strategies and processes, from onboarding to offboarding, that create a five star employee experience. This gives you the peace of mind that your reputation is protected and that you are known as a great place to work. If you are ready to build an employer brand that attracts the best talent, book a consultation with Career365 today.
About the Author
Greg Weiss is the Director and Founder of Career365. He has more than 30 years of success in HR consulting, Recruiting, Career Transitioning/Outplacement and Transitioning To Retirement advice.
Through our network within the NPAworldwide, Career365 acts as your single point of contact to a global ecosystem of recruitment specialists, allowing us to successfully deliver on any brief.
Career365 has partnered with many of Australia’s employers of choice, supporting departing employees with leading-edge practical careers, and transitioning to retirement advice, mitigating employer risk and making a real difference to participants in the Career365 programme.
