Why and how to communicate on your employer brand?

In the age of social networks, the new generations are more and more attentive to the image of a company on the net through the comments and opinions left. They are also interested in what their future employer can bring them in terms of career development, fulfilment and training. They are looking for authenticity and reactivity. Human resources therefore now include an important part of communication to build a strategy on the perception of their brand.

This is why the employer brand is a decisive element when looking for a job. It is composed of the opinions available about your company and its place in the best employer rankings.

In order to attract the best candidates, it is important to develop the employer brand through strong HR communication. This represents two major advantages: attracting profiles looking for their dream job and perhaps even the best, and building loyalty among your current employees through better development and therefore lower turnover. Indeed, the happier the employee is with his company, the more he will want to stay there. For companies looking for talent in sectors where the job offer exceeds the demand, the employer brand must be at the heart of the recruitment/human resources strategy. It is therefore important to build a strong brand image as an attractive employer. This is a new way of recruiting, especially when faced with a talent shortage.

In an increasingly competitive job market, it is crucial to think about the employer brand as part of your HR strategy. Here are some levers to ensure your company has a good employer brand identity to attract candidates and retain the best employees.

It is important to be a fairly well-known company with a clearly defined corporate culture in order to reach future candidates and recruit new talent. Indeed, a job seeker generally looks for a job or skill on job boards, not on company sites. Being known therefore allows you to capture the attention of the job seeker, who will more easily consider applying to you. Working on this notoriety requires a strong general communication: advertising, active social networks, good SEO (or natural referencing) for your website.

To be known does not mean to be a multinational company. Large companies have this advantage, but your potential employees do not necessarily want to work in large groups. It is possible to develop your reputation in a local geographical area and at the same time be a startup in order to make young talents want to join your company. Often, the working environment and even the location of the workplace contribute to attracting the ideal candidate.

The audience consists not only of job seekers, but also employees of your company. Engaging this audience allows some to project themselves into your company and for others to speak positively about their experience working for your company and facilitate their retention. For example, you can make a corporate video by asking your employees to share their experiences, or share inspiring experiences to create engagement. In this way, they will gladly become ambassadors for your company’s image and develop a sense of belonging.

You will be able to attract and retain talent at the same time.

Potential candidates today are looking for authenticity above all else. A negative buzz about your company can cause 1/3 of candidates to refuse a job offer. So, it’s all about being honest. For example, don’t try to control the opinions left by former or current employees about your company. An employee who is happy with his or her experience will be happy to be able to testify about it. As for negative opinions, regular follow-up by your HR department will enable you to respond to them in order to limit their impact. It is also possible to suggest to candidates that they leave a comment on their recruitment experience, without imposing it on them. A positive candidate experience will be beneficial for your image because it will also ensure a good quality of life at work.

You need to brand your company in order to attract and retain the best employees.

It is important to create a connection between your company and society at large. It is important to create a connection between your company and society in general, as this contributes greatly to making your employees feel that they have a positive impact on their environment. These employees will therefore be more involved in the company, and you will be able to achieve good talent management by promoting employee engagement and loyalty. How do you do it? This is done, for example, by organizing solidarity events, sports events, support for associations, entrepreneurial projects. It also allows you to promote your company’s values to your future employees.

Finally, you must clearly show what differentiates you from your competitors. In this way you show candidates, especially young graduates, why you should choose your company over another. To perfect this demarcation, why not offer your current employees to give their opinion on what makes your company different, its employer image, what makes them want to stay with you, etc.? This allows you to stand out from the crowd, to encourage your employees’ commitment, and also to offer authentic testimonials. You can do it on your website or on your social media.

For your employer brand to be effective, it is therefore important to consider these 5 points as a whole and to have a real recruitment communication strategy to disseminate it and improve the attractiveness of the company.

Maintaining your employer brand can be very time consuming. For your strategy to be effective, you need to spend time on it, particularly to establish this brand strategy and then to monitor it on a daily basis. You need to be able to develop your brand and differentiate yourself in order to attract more candidates and not get caught up in the talent war. To do this, you need to have an attractive brand image and attract the best profiles around your brand.

Our communication agency Habefast can help you establish your employer brand communication strategy to optimize its effectiveness. In addition, we can also manage the implementation of this strategy, in particular through the organization of your events, the management of the various elements influencing your notoriety (social networks, natural referencing etc.) or by ensuring a follow-up of the comments left on your company.