Your recruitment process, for any position, begins well before your job ad hits the market.
Your employer brand is critical to attract, engage and retain top talent. A strong employer brand helps reduce the time it takes to fill your vacancy and turnover in your organisation. So, if you’re not investing in an employer brand strategy, you could be losing out to your competitors who are.
Clicks’ 2024 Recruitment and Retention report will be released in February, with all the latest data-driven insights. We can reveal from this yet-to-be-released report that competition for IT professionals continues, as almost half of the respondents indicated they intend to increase their IT staff numbers.
Creating a strong employer brand does require time and effort, but it’s a long-term investment.
Following, we outline some key measures that can create or reinforce a strong employer brand that will help attract and retain top talent.
Give It a Name
First, you need to clearly define what you want your brand to represent.
- Set out exactly what values you want to be known for.
- Identify what kind of work culture you want to promote.
- Outline the vision and mission of your company.
- Characterise what sets your organisation apart from the rest.
Once you have set the foundations for what you want your employer brand to represent, you can work on building it.
Know The Market
You must understand how your company is already perceived in the market. Conduct research by surveying current employees and candidates who have applied to work for you. This will help you to understand your strengths and the appeal of your company to the market. Exit interviews are often the best way to obtain candid insights into where your company’s employee experience needs improvement.
There is also a wealth of existing data that can be obtained online, through Google reviews, or company profile sites such as SEEK, Glassdoor, and Payscale. Looking at your employee activity on LinkedIn can also provide further insights into employee engagement and perceptions.
Your EVP is your MVP
Your employee value proposition (EVP) is the unique set of benefits and values you offer to your employees and is quickly becoming the most valued proposition for prospective employees. Your EVP covers work-life balance, career development opportunities, and compensation and benefits. It should be designed to attract and retain top talent by addressing their needs and aspirations.
Your EVP should not be a silent partner in your recruitment process. You should shout about it in all job postings, interviews, and other recruitment materials, including position descriptions. Your LinkedIn posts should echo the value proposition in practical ways; show, don’t tell.
Looks Fade; Personality Endures
Build a strong company culture. It is the personality of your company; the way things are done, the values and beliefs that guide decision-making, and the behaviours that are expected of employees. A strong company culture can help attract and retain top talent by creating an environment that employees are proud to be a part of, and will talk about at dinner parties. To build a strong company culture, focus on employee engagement, communication, recognition, and work-life balance, and hire people who will add to the culture.
Let’s Get Digital
If a tree falls in the woods and nobody posted about it on social media, did it really even happen?
Social media and other digital channels are the best way to promote your employer brand. Use popular platforms like Instagram and Facebook to show what it’s like to work at your company. Showcase your values, culture, and job openings. Engage with your followers, using your company’s tone of voice and be sure to respond to any comments or questions. You can also use videos to help current employees and share stories about their great work.
Get Them From The Get Go
Before someone becomes an employee, they are a prospective employee. The candidate experience is where the personal journey begins and how they perceive your company throughout the recruitment process. A positive candidate experience can help you attract top talent and leave a lasting impression on candidates who aren’t selected, so they may come back for a second shot a for a position more suitable, or with more experience under their belt. To provide a positive candidate experience, make the application process quick and easy, communicate with candidates throughout the process, be transparent about the job requirements and hiring process, and provide timely feedback.
Winners Are Grinners
Put yourself forward for and, ideally, win awards. It’s one thing to tell prospective candidates how great your organisation is, but it is much more powerful when independent bodies confirm that you are an employer of choice. To determine which awards to enter, research awards that align with your employer brand, conduct competitor analysis, and identify awards held by your industry associations.
At Clicks, we believe creating a strong employer brand is essential for engaging premium talent and keeping them happily engaged. Defining and building a compelling employer brand helps you stand out in the market and is ultimately worth the extra effort.
Clicks is an award-winning IT recruitment specialist. With offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, and Brisbane, we connect companies with great IT professionals across Australia each day! Get in touch if you require support crafting a job ad or with your hiring needs.
