What is Employer Branding and Why Does It Matter?

In the last couple of days, Nigeria’s social media space, Twitter in particular, trended the hashtags #Toxic Workplace, #Horrible Bosses, among others. The conversations shone the light on Employee abuse, Workplace harassment, Poor incentives, Work-Life imbalances, Job insecurity, Unrealistic targets and demands and many other unhealthy and unethical practices in the workplace. Sadly, some organisations made the “Dishonours List” and accusing fingers pointed in the direction of employers whose unethical practices not only scarify employees psychologically, but also gravely damage the corporate and personal brands.

So, let us start this way. When we talk about branding we talk of look, feel, voice, in short, the identity of a product or service that ultimately attracts target consumers. What is often less discussed is how the same principles can be used to attract employees. While the former is the ultimate goal, the latter and getting the right people is how you’ll make that happen. Infact, the differences between great brands and mediocre brands often lie with what is behind them employees, values, and work ethic. Just as products and services are positioned to target the right consumer, companies and workplaces should be positioned to attract the right talent. Attracting people that will support an organisation’s purpose, values and beliefs is what employer branding is all about. Need I say that employer branding is a strategic aspect of brand building.

This is the 21st century and a company’s reputation matters more than ever. In fact, a recent study shows that 86% of workers would not apply for, or continue to work for, a company that has a bad reputation with former employees or the general public. Ultimately, you spend plenty of time creating a compelling, incentivizing brand story, surrounding your products or services. But how long do you spend cultivating a powerful employer brand to ensure you attract and retain top talent?

What Is Employer Branding?

At its most basic, an employer brand is your reputation among the workforce as well as your employees’ perception of you as an employer. In other words, employer branding is how you market your company to job seekers and internal employees. The better you are at employer branding, the more likely you are to attract and retain talents.

Let’s say you’ve done a phenomenal job building up a strong brand in relation to your products or services. Unfortunately, that alone won’t convince someone to work at, or stay at, your company.

Here are five key benefits of creating a strong employer brand.

1. Attracts Top Talents

People want to work for a company with a good reputation, that treats employees well. A LinkedIn Research shows that companies can attract up to 4good workers without any pay increase, if they have at least three of five of the following qualities encompassing a positive employer brand: job security, more professional development opportunities, opportunity to work on a better team, an organisation with the same values as you and an organization that is talked about positively by present or past employees.

2. Cuts Time and Cost per Hire

With a strong employer brand, your talent pipeline will likely be pretty backed up, which is great news for the HR and your bottom line. With an influx of talent, you’ll be able to vet candidates early, even if you don’t have an open role to fill. That means as soon as a role opens up, you’ll have a surplus of qualified candidates to begin interviewing, rather than starting the process from attracting new applicants.

Additionally, companies with good reputations likely have a great work environment, and current employees will refer new candidates to open positions. Employee referrals have the highest Return on Investment (ROI), according to research.

3. Boosts Employee Morale

Because your employer brand is based on how well you treat your employees and how your employees interact with your customers, a wonderful employee experience will boost employee morale.
There’s pride that comes from working for a great company, but there’s also a lot of weight in employees knowing that they are seriously taken care of by their employer. Developing employee career paths, investing in continued training and support, and offering competitive compensation and benefits are all great ways to make sure your employee brand is encouraging morale, and will in turn result in your employees serving your customers better.

4. Accentuates Retention

Just as your employer brand has a huge impact on employee morale, your retention rates are greatly dependent on your reputation as well. Make your company a place where employees love to come, and you’ll see a dramatic improvement in turnover.

It all comes full-circle, as low turnover is a great sign of a strong employer brand. Perhaps, the most tangible benefit to low turnover is an increase in bottom line. Research shows that companies that fail to invest in their reputation lose an average of $5,000 per employee. You will agree that making the investment in your employer brand is well worth it, in the long run.

5. Builds Credibility with Customers

Your employer brand can greatly affect your business because top talent will serve your customers better. Having the best team in place makes a difference in customer satisfaction. So, if you’re not able to attract quality employees, you can expect a subpar customer experience. Building your company’s credibility with customers depends, most heavily, on your employees, so make sure your company is supporting your most important asset.

Last Line

Your employer brand is all about developing, highlighting, and reinforcing the spirit of your organisation, including what it stands for and what sets it apart from other businesses. Remember: When you invest in your employees, they will invest in you.