Employer Branding

Who is more important, your customers or your employees? It’s a trick question, really. Both are vital.

But if people admire your company, it’ll be easier for you to attract professionals who do a great job. Customers that are well looked-after remain loyal. Loyal customers make for a thriving business. It’s a virtuous circle. These days, smart companies work just as hard on their employer brand as they do on their commercial brand. Why employer branding is important

On this page, we’ll explain the benefits of a strong employer brand and how Fabrik can help you build one. The risks of letting your competitors’ employer branding efforts outstrip your own are illustrated by the employer branding statistics you’ll find throughout this page. First up: according to research by LinkedIn, 84% of employees would consider leaving their current jobs if offered another role with a company that has an excellent corporate reputation.

Companies compete not only for customers, but for talent as well. Younger workers value individualism and trust organisations less than those of previous generations. They share their experiences (good and bad) online, making companies accountable for their employment practices. In order to attract, retain and manage people effectively, HR teams need to behave more like marketing teams. This is where Fabrik can help.

Employer branding process

The employer branding process involves both internal and external elements. First, you need to understand what employees like and dislike about working for you (and make changes accordingly). Then you can use this insight to establish what your company offers and requires as an employer, and what it stands for. Next you need to communicate these messages to the outside world. Finally, you have to monitor the progress of your employer brand campaign, tweaking as necessary.

As a specialist branding and communications agency, our job is to make certain your employer brand is robust and takes into consideration all aspects of your company and its culture. We can help you develop or define your company values, as well as your visual and verbal identity, and ensure your communications are consistent.

Our approach is tailored to your business, its needs, and the current condition of your employer brand. It might be the first time you’ve heard those words in the same sentence. Or perhaps you simply need to make some tweaks.

Can you feel your ears burning?

Your employer brand exists whether you’re aware of it or not. It’s out there. You can’t put it back in the box. But you can take steps to improve it. These days, what happens behind closed doors doesn’t stay behind closed doors. People share their employment experiences on social media and websites like Glassdoor. If you actively manage your employer brand, this social sharing will work to your advantage. Do nothing, and recruitment becomes harder and more costly.

Companies with strong employer brands see a 43% decrease in cost per hire

Creating a strong employer brand strategy requires a willingness for self-analysis. An employer branding agency can help you undertake these investigations, which could involve anonymous surveys or testimonial requests. This insight is then used to define your ‘value proposition’: your offer to employees, both current and future. There may be a raft of exciting opportunities employees can access once they work for you. If you’re not communicating about them you’re missing an opportunity to attract brilliant brains.

Employer branding initiatives

Insight is useless without the tools to ensure your colleagues, and those who come after them, can use it effectively. We’ll work with you to create reference materials that keep your employer brand project on track. These might include a brand manifesto and brand guidelines. Not forgetting branding, design, and copywriting for platforms such as websites, newsletters and social media. Your employer brand needs to be distinctive, but it needs to complement, not conflict with, your commercial brand.

As soon as you pick up the phone or send us an email, our cogs start whirring. Okay, maybe not as soon as, that would be superhuman. There is a short delay while we read or listen. Then we get busy asking penetrating questions. We work to understand your business. To scrutinise and, where necessary, develop the brief. We want to know why you’re embarking on this employer branding journey. And, importantly, why your company exists. If you don’t know the answer, how can you expect to communicate it to the world?

Power to your people

With such high employment rates, it’s necessary to differentiate yourself in the labour market.

Companies with a strong employer brand receive double the number of applicants per role compared with other companies. As well as helping you attract great people, the process of working on your employer brand helps you engage existing employees.

Internal employer branding

Your best asset for attracting great people is, wait for it…your people. One of the most powerful tactics you can employ is to turn employees into brand ambassadors. Potential recruits trust what your employees say three times more than messages from the company itself. Employer branding companies can help you capture all the wonderful things employees have to say about working for you with testimonials, blogs, and video interviews.

As we mentioned further up this page, strategic employer branding is not only about winning talent. It’s about the success of your business as a whole. Defining and developing your employer brand will help you improve all aspects of people management: the induction process; performance review and reward; internal communications; and the experience for people leaving your organisation. A project with such far-reaching benefits is well worth undertaking.

This might mean creating a print or digital handbook for new employees that explains the history of the company and what makes the brand tick. Or maybe the best move would be to gather and share employee stories to celebrate success or encourage candidates to apply for jobs.

Fabrik’s employer branding services:

• Consultation & evaluation
• Employee value proposition
• Positioning & differentiation
• Employer branding strategy
• Creative development
• Content generation
• Social media branding
• Online & SEO strategy

Is employer branding on your agenda?

The importance of employer branding is clear. Thanks to the internet and social media, companies are now held accountable for the cultures they foster and the way they treat their employees.

If you want your business to thrive, your employer brand needs as much attention as your commercial brand. Happy employees are more productive and will help your company build a reputation that’s the envy of your peers. We can help you make sure every interaction an employee or candidate has with your employer brand is meaningful and worthwhile. The world is watching. Put your best foot forward.