Over the last few years, the hiring market has been quite a wild ride. But as talent teams’ priorities have constantly shifted, one thing remains constant: the importance of a solid employer brand.
Whether you’re focused on attracting qualified candidates or retaining the talent you already have, employer branding can be the make-or-break factor in navigating a topsy-turvy talent market. Surveys have shown that 86% of people would not apply to, or continue working for, a company with a bad reputation — and your employer brand is your reputation among both current and future employees.
An attractive employer brand can help reduce time to fill and cost per hire and improve employee retention rates. So, what steps can you take to cultivate a compelling employer brand? Here are 10 tips to consider.
1. Improve your candidate experience by making your application process quick and easy
Applying for a job should take minimal effort. To make your application process easier, remove any unnecessary extra steps, such as asking candidates to upload their resume and then manually fill out their job history. This will improve your candidate experience and leave job seekers with a better impression of your company.
2. Trim the word count on your career page
Candidates often turn to a company’s career site or their Company Page when they’re interested in a job. Career sites that are brief and to-the-point best convey your company’s culture and benefits — while also acknowledging your candidates’ busy lives. For a great example of a company that nails this, check out the career page of the mobile software company Phunware. It’s short, sweet, and to the point.
3. Use the banner image of your LinkedIn Company Page to stand out
The top image on your LinkedIn Company Page is prime real estate and a great place to boost your employer brand. Use it to spread general brand awareness or to announce a new product, celebrate an award, or promote an upcoming event. Stryker, the medical technology company, does this well, highlighting its award for being one of “World’s Best Workplaces” as selected by Great Place to Work and setting it against a background of the company’s tagline, “Making healthcare better, together.” That’s a lot of key messaging, for very little effort.
4. Make it easy for candidates to search for flexible work opportunities
While editing your career site, highlight your remote and hybrid work options, and do it as briefly as possible. You can do this by adding a workplace policy to your LinkedIn page. This setting allows companies to specify whether their workplace is onsite, remote, or hybrid. It also gives companies a chance to highlight benefits such as company wellness days, dedicated focus hours, and collaborative working space.
5. Showcase what your company is committed to
Candidates want to work for companies that are trying to make the world a better place. It’s such a top priority that 68% of candidates align their job search to issues they care about, according to LinkedIn research.
You can showcase your company’s values by using the Commitments feature on your Company Page. This free feature, which is located in the “About” section, allows you to broadcast your commitment to issues such as DEI, sustainability, work-life balance, social impact, and learning and career growth. You can also post content — including reports, certifications, articles, blogs, and videos — to demonstrate authenticity. It’s a fast, easy way to show candidates why they can feel good about working for your company.
6. Shine a spotlight on the benefits that matter most
Candidates can tell a lot about your company by the benefits you offer, so mention those up front in job postings and on your career site. But be sure to focus on the right benefits. Yes, health insurance and retirement plans matter (a lot), but also mention benefits that make your company stand out, such as help with student debt, parental leave, and childcare subsidies. And don’t forget to highlight opportunities that focus on career development, such as networking, educational benefits, and mentorship programs.
7. Crowdsource content from your employees
To keep your employer brand fresh, it helps to regularly put out new and compelling content — and you can do this quickly by crowdsourcing content from employees. Consider the example of the software developer Epic: The company offers employees four weeks of sabbatical leave every five years and even helps fund employees’ trips if they’re visiting a country they’ve never been to. To highlight this great perk, Epic has a Sabbatablog on its career site, where employees write brief descriptions of their trips.
8. Create a better candidate experience by asking for feedback
When candidates have a bad experience during their recruiting and hiring process, they often tell their family and friends and according to a 2018 report, 35% will share about it publicly online. You can improve your employer brand by asking for candidates’ feedback at multiple touchpoints throughout the process, through brief, automated surveys. If there are any problems, you can nip them in the bud and improve the candidate’s view of your company.
9. Send a thank-you note to all your candidates, even if it’s autogenerated
Everyone loves to be thanked. That’s why it’s a good idea to send thank-you notes to candidates after interviews, whether they’re going to advance in the hiring process or not. You can use templates and autogenerate the notes to save time. Candidates will think better of your company after receiving such a note, and it will help to build your brand reputation.
10. Take two minutes to post about what makes your company great
It only takes a few minutes to post or repost a press release, article, or announcement, and it’s a quick way to communicate your employer brand. That was true for Airbnb after CEO Brian Chesky announced in 2022 that the company’s employees could live and work anywhere they wanted and that the company would no longer base compensation on location. The company got the word out and, in the days after Brian’s announcement, Airbnb’s career site received more than 1 million visitors.
Final thoughts: Small steps can add up to a big impact
If you have more time right now, you can use it to invest in your employer branding — even if you’re only able to take small steps. You could schedule a short period of time into your day and tackle just one of these things. You could also ask your team to help. If each team member commits to one small task, it can add up to a big impact.
