mployerBranding

101

So, Who Is This Guy?

Shawn Rogers

Strategic Sourcing Specialist, Recruiter,

Employer Branding enthusiast,

All around nice guy

• What is employer branding and why is it important?

• Research! • Who to partner with?• Success and Analytics• Content• Best Practices (good ones, anyway)

What we will cover…

What is Employer Branding?

Employer branding is the process of promoting a company, or an organization, as the employer of choice to a desired target group, one which a company needs and wants to recruit and retain.Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Employer_branding

In today’s talent market, a strong brand is a crucial component in attracting the right

talent to your open jobs.

“OK OK… I get it… branding is important…..

So where do I start?

Learn about your

current brand.

Look at your company ‘Careers’ page from a candidate’s point of view.

Google your company name.

Search your company name on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites.

Glassdoor.com - What are employees (current or former) saying about your company? Overall image?

Who do you want to hire?

• Look at hiring plans

• Speak to hiring managers• Speak to employees

?What is it really like?

Engage Your Employees

Conduct 1:1 interviews or focus groups with your employees:

• Why did they choose to work for your company?

• What keeps them?• What do they value most in

an employer?• Where do they hang out

online?• Where do they look for

information when researching companies?

Competitor Intelligence

Research Your Competitors

Research Your Competitors

• Research job boards and search engines for job postings of target roles in the locations you will be hiring.

• Look at past employees who quit your company in the past year. Where do they work now?

• Add all of these companies to your list of competitors

Research Your Competitors

• Check out the Career and social media pages of these competitor companies and look for themes in their branding efforts.

• What messaging are they using to attract talent?

• Are there any similarities between them? Between your company's brand and theirs?

Research Your Competitors

• The purpose here is to ensure that your brand messaging is differentiating your company from other companies that are competing with you for the same talent. Your company needs to stand apart from the competition while speaking directly to what your target talent values.

Stakeholders to

Partner With

Marketing/Communications

Social Media

Owners

Senior Leadership

Legal

…and the most important stakeholder…

Your Employees!!

• Your brand IS your employees• Engaging your employees to participate in branding efforts

makes your brand authentic and interesting to their networks and peers. 

• Start by identifying your current brand ambassadors:• Employees who speak at professional events, conferences, etc.• Employees who are active on social media

Data and

Analytics… Oh My!!

Data and Analytics

• What is the goal of your branding efforts?• More/better/faster hires? • More company followers

on social media? • How are you going to

measure success?

Data and Analytics

Your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) - Measure applicant activity by monitoring your ATS and report on applicant numbers, time to hire, source of hire, etc.

Google Analytics - Measure the amount of traffic coming to your Careers site and where it is coming from with Google Analytics. This way you can learn the best sources of where your candidate flow are coming from and adjust your branding efforts accordingly.

Social Media - Measure your company social media page followers and engagement through your corporate accounts and analytics available through your social media tools.

And Now A Word About Content!

• Use the information you collected from your current employees as well as your competitors to create your company’s unique branding message.

• Engage your Marketing/Communications teams in crafting this message.

Infographics

Suggestions For

Content

Pictures

Company news and

information

Videos

Audio

Blog

Sharing Content

• Social media - LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, etc. - choose the most relevant ones to your audience.

• Share content from your industry that would interest your audience. Use an RSS reader like “Feedly” to curate content

• Create a sharing schedule using social media management tools like Buffer or Hootsuite

Careers Page

• Have information about your benefits/perks on your Careers page (both external site and LinkedIn)• Mention what benefits/perks your

company offers - e.g.: free lunch, “take your dog to work day”, extra PTO, etc.

• Use pictures and videos of your REAL employees on the Careers page… no stock photos.

• Link to your social media accounts – have an embedded feed of your Twitter/Instagram.

A Few More Notes On Employer Branding

• You cannot copy another company’s brand – every company culture and brand is unique.

• Not all branding techniques and best practices work for every company – research and experiment!

• Results of branding efforts are not immediate – long-term strategy.

Best Practices (or good ones anyway)

Be Original!

• The main point in researching your competitor employer brands is to make sure you are differentiating yours from theirs• Ex: every company offers

career development and training opportunities – show how your employees are using this opportunity

• Tell original stories about your real employees to differentiate

Candidate Experience

• It is important for your brand to provide a positive experience for all candidates (successful and unsuccessful)

• People spread information about your company through word of mouth

Candidate Experience

• Have a stellar application process – • Easy and painless - test your

application process and work with your ATS vendor to strengthen it

• Mobile optimized Careers site? • Respond quickly to candidates, let

unsuccessful ones know when they are out of the running and show appreciation for their interest. Provide all candidates with the most positive experience possible.

Onboarding

• It is important to have a robust onboarding program to integrate new hires into your culture.

• Provide new hires with the tools necessary to be brand ambassadors for your company.

• Explain your brand message to them and let them know how they can get involved.

• Offer help with their LinkedIn profile and training on using and sharing your content with their networks on social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn.

Questions?Connect with Me!

LinkedIn: ca.linkedin.com/in/rogersshawn/enTwitter: @shawnjrogers