It is critical to the future success of your company that you recruit the right people in the right roles at the right time to take your company forward. But how can you ensure that the right people see your job advertisement? And if they do, how can you make sure that they want to work for your company? In this article we are going to explore how the recruitment process is about much more than just the way you hire employees. It is about how they perceive your brand, and how you can improve the candidate experience to make sure that your business becomes an employer of choice, attracting top-notch candidates so you have the edge over competitors in attracting new talent.
What is an employer brand?
Your employer brand is about your company’s reputation as an employer. It is a form of marketing, and just like marketing, it concerns the perception of others towards your company culture and the workplace environment. If you make your company more attractive than your competitors to prospective candidates, you will attract a higher calibre of applicant.
What is an employer brand?
- It is your reputation as an employer with both existing and potential employees
- It projects your company mission and values externally, as well as internally
- It describes the rewards current and future employees can expect when working for your company
- It is about your standing within your industry as an employer of choice
A positive employer brand will attract the best applicants within the industry regardless of company size. It can also provide a competitive advantage because of customer perception. Customers want to work with brands who look after their employees. It implies basic morality, trustworthiness, reliability and a caring attitude.
Benefits of a strong employer brand
Companies who have a strong employer brand can reap the rewards of:
- Attracting top applicants
- Saving on recruitment costs
- Driving employee retention
Attracting Top Applicants
Being regarded as a great place to work can give those companies an edge. In a competitive recruitment market, being regarded as a great place to work gives a business an advantage when it comes to recruitment, even over larger companies. It will attract a larger number of quality candidates, who don’t always make choices based solely on remuneration, but also take into account the culture and vision of an organisation before making their final decision.
Saving recruitment costs
The best candidates are attracted to businesses that have a positive employer brand perception. Therefore companies with a poor employer reputation need to compensate in other ways for not attracting the best people, for example, by offering higher salaries. In addition, if only the best candidates apply because of their employer brand perception, recruitment costs are lower per role because screening and interviewing time is greatly reduced.
Driving employee retention
Employee perceptions are also important when it comes to retaining talent. If they feel valued and closely associated with a brand’s mission and culture, they are likely to be more productive and to stay with their employer for a longer period of time, helping to create both growth and stability. This continuity is invaluable to service businesses, where customers become used to dealing with one specific person for issues. Frequent personnel changes may not be viewed positively. Employees who feel that they are listened to and know they contribute to an organisation’s success will spread their positivity about that company to others through word of mouth. This will enhance the company’s reputation as a good employer, at absolutely no cost to the company itself.You can read more about the benefits of employer branding in this white paper from LinkedIn.
The candidate experience
In the introduction to this blog, we stated that improving the candidate experience can help your business to become an employer of choice. But what do we mean by the candidate experience?
This is about how prospective employees feel about your brand as they go through the recruitment process, from the initial search and application right through to follow-ups, interviews and the induction process. Every step of the recruitment process gives you the opportunity to create a positive experience for candidates, enhancing the employer brand.
Ways to improve the candidate experience
There are lots of quite simple steps a company can take to improve the candidate experience and help to raise their profile as an employer of choice. The recruitment process starts with how you share information outside the company:
Corporate profile
- How easy is it to find out about your company history, culture, community involvement and any achievements or awards? Candidates will allocate time to research a company to decide whether they want to work there, or not.
- Use your corporate social media channels to share company and team news, for example awards or training achievements.
- Do you have a site or web page for careers? Make sure it is updated regularly with employment news for example current vacancies and the latest recruits. Go into detail about the benefits of working for such a great company and what current employees love about it.
Job descriptions
A job description needs to attract the right people to save wasting time and money on both sides. It should be clearly written and specific so candidates can match their skills and experience to the qualifications and experience you are looking for.
- Get a clear picture of what the role involves by talking to the current team and involve the manager right from the start
- What makes the role interesting?
- What are the main objectives and goals? How will performance be measured?
- How does the role impact other business functions and company goals?
- Always use inclusive language to encourage applications across the board and/or include an compassionate diversity statement
Here is an interesting article in The Wall Street Journal about vocabulary that can make people think twice about applying for a job.
The application process
The process should be easy to understand and accessible to all. If there are too many questions not pertinent to the role, people may just give up before they complete it. We have all completed those forms that took hours of our time, only to be rewarded with no response whatsoever. Think about how that feels and avoid common pitfalls.
- Is your application form complicated? When was the last time it was updated/amended?
- Is it available in different formats, e.g. braille, large print?
- Is it appropriate for the way people apply for jobs today, for example can it be completed on-screen, is it mobile or tablet friendly? Can candidates link the form to their profile on LinkedIn for example?
The interview
It is important to communicate with prospective candidates, so they know what to expect during the interview:
- Do they need to bring anything with them?
- Have you given them clear directions on where to find the office?
- What will you go through with them during the interview?
- Don’t just fire questions at them, make eye contact, engage and put them at ease
A prepared candidate will be more relaxed and can let more of their personality show than one who is on edge and doesn’t know what they will be asked next.
Feedback
Feedback is an essential part of the recruitment process and contributes to the candidate experience. It should start with an acknowledgement that you have received their application. Even if this is an automated response, it will be received positively by prospective employees. Post interview feedback should be a two-way experience, even when the applicant is not progressing to the final round. Talking to them in person gives recruiters the opportunity to say positive things about the interviewee as well as giving reasons why they will not progress further. This gives the candidate something to work on for future interviews and a positive appreciation of the candidate experience, even though they were not successful on this occasion. Recruiters can take the opportunity to ask what applicants thought about the whole recruitment process so it can be refined and improved.
Benefits of a positive candidate experience
According to Personio, there are five benefits to companies from a positive candidate experience:
- Competitive advantage
- Shared values
- Employee retention
- Lower costs
- Hiring top talent before your competitors get the chance
Improving the candidate experience can enhance the employer brand so that your company becomes an employer of choice. This can have many benefits for the organisation including competitive advantages and cost savings, as well as a loyal, fulfilled and happy workforce. When you work with us, you don’t need to worry about the candidate’s experience, because we take care of everything for you. We act as an extension of your brand, making sure that prospective candidates have a positive perception of your company right through the recruitment process, from defining the role and the job description, through to candidate feedback, so they feel encouraged to apply for roles in the future and tell others about their positive experience, even if they were unsuccessful. If you are interested in the candidate experience and the benefits of a good employer brand, why not talk to us today to see how we can develop your recruitment process to bring you the most talented candidates.
