Are you attracting, hiring and retaining the right candidates?
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”, Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.
Prospective candidates are no longer just reading the job description, they want an employer brand and employee experience matching their expectations.
A strong employer brand differentiates you from the competition. Defining your employer brand enables you to define what makes your organisation special. When your employer brand is strong, it will improve your employee retention and boost your recruitment activities. The stronger your employer brand, the less you spend to recruit new employees.
The employer brand is an increasingly important tool for attracting high quality candidates. Some organisations misinterpret the employer brand as an invitation to build a package and highlight all the good things about the organisation and cover up the negative points that may discourage prospective employees. This approach can have the oppositive effect on employee morale once a candidate is hired, and ultimately employee retention.
The purpose of an employer brand is to inspire and motivate the best candidates to engage and join your organisation. It allows candidates to be informed before and during the interview process. An employer brand will give the candidate details on:
- Organisation history, missions and values
- The team (LinkedIn Profiles) and culture
- Remote working and office detail
- Career opportunity and progression
In addition to the document research, it’s important to create a verbal feedback loop. This loop should include direct contact with the hiring manager, HR and the recruitment partner. As an example, a verbal feedback loop demonstrates the organisation’s behaviour and values towards open communication. This will attract like-minded candidates who will thrive with the organisation rather than candidates who might have the qualifications but lack the communication skills that will allow them to unlock their potential with your organisation.
Aligning the employer brand and employee experience minimises the risk of a new employee being unhappy. By getting this right, an organisation increases employee retention and eliminates the risks of costs of a bad hire – on average 3 x Basic Salary (i.e. 3 x £100K)
Organisations that create a strong employer brand use it as a long-term asset. It makes the organisation unique and enables it to share information freely throughout the recruitment process. Regular input from all parts of the organisation makes the employer brand present and accurate, thus taking the steps to improve the employee experience and ultimately your ability to the right candidates.
Adam Tully
JIE Search is a leading authority for VC backed software organisations when building and growing high performing businesses. JIE Search can build and scale teams for innovative software organisations with no obvious restrictions to top talent.
