Do you need employer branding?

If you have a profile on LinkedIn, surely you have recently noticed more often posts like: „Meet Ivan! Ivan is an IT guy with many years of experience, a little dog, and a strong desire to run a marathon. It is our pleasure to welcome him to our team! “. The process of such posts is double-sided. That way, employees which are satisfied with the new employer, often post about it. If you want to be a company where everyone wants to work at, that receives hundreds of job applications and that attracts the most sought-after candidates, it is important to build good employer branding.

Employer branding – your link to success

In simpler terms, employer branding is the company’s reputation as a desirable place to work. It is based on the company’s values, corporative culture, and the way the employees are being treated. An interesting fact is that organizations have employer branding whether they are actively working on it or not. Employees talk about work at various places, and their perspectives and the way they are talking about the organization affect its perception as an employer.

In the job ads section “What do we offer?” there is never information on selling the products or services that a company has. New employees aren’t concerned about the reputation of your product or service, but your reputation as an employer. It is imperative to stay competitive, especially in the digital world where any candidate can research your company before sending in the application. Even 95% of people that look for a job say that the brand’s reputation affects their decision to apply. And 40% of people will change careers for the same salary if the other company has better employer branding.

How to build an employer brand?

Pictures of the workspace and team building, stories about the new employees, highlighting benefits like physical exams, and actively contacting candidates when applying for a job are just some of the tactics you can use in your employer branding strategy. However, not even the best post on LinkedIn or strategy on social media can help you in the long run if you are a bad employer and you don’t take care of your employees. A satisfied employee is the most important and the biggest ambassador of any brand.

Corporative culture as the cornerstone

Corporative culture is the heart of an organization and you can often recognize it very quickly. The way you were welcomed at a job interview, style of communication (more formal or friendly), the look of the office where the employees are, are their partitions between them, do they laugh and talk to each other, is there an authority figure among them, is there music or only silence… in the mere definition of the term, corporative culture is a collection of views, values and behaviors of all members of an organization, and you can feel it relatively quickly inside an organization.

It is important for both the company and the employees to find a ‘perfect fit, i.e., a person that will fit into the corporative culture of the organization, regardless of the type of the organization. If the culture suits the employee, he/she will be more satisfied and thus more productive. Employer branding helps with all that.

From a ‘yes man’ to ‘you’re a friend’

Today, many would call the former corporative culture strict, although it still exists in some organizations. Sometimes, the communication between the ‘top’ and the employees was poor, and employees had much less freedom in the workspace. With technological changes and the appearance of automation, the corporative culture changed. Today, millennials appreciate comfort in the workspace far more, transparency, clear and bidirectional communication between all members. Also teamwork and creating a connected community, social responsibility of the company, the possibility of additional education, migrations within the company and promotions.

The influence of the corona virus

The pandemic that happened recently has also contributed to changes in the motivation in many workers. Although business trips have made a big comeback, many have replaced office work with working from home. The pandemic has changed the market. Working from home has become a very popular option when finding a job.

Besides, the perspective of work has also changed in many people and some other values have surfaced. In October 2021, out of 3500 employees from around the world, even 65% of them had stated that they have questioned the meaning of work in their lives, and 56% of them have expressed the desire to contribute to society more. This information tells us that people today don’t value only the salary. They want to feel appreciated and contribute to something bigger than themselves.

Employee comes first

With the new generation coming to the labor market, the situation is going to change even more. Employer branding and human resources (HR) in companies are more important than ever. For the employees to grow and develop, and consequently be satisfied, they need to be provided with all the necessary conditions for working in the office and at home. You need to simplify the business processes, ensure easy document management and make it possible for them to handle all the data. They need to be able to analyze as quickly and as efficiently as they can.

The conclusion would be that organizations today, must, more than ever before, value their employees, invest in them, and maintain positive long-term relationships. You don’t want them to leave, but rather to spread a positive image of the brand with positive online reviews or by word of mouth!