We have already talked in our blog about the recruitment process and its importance for the employer branding. We also argued that recruitment is also an opportunity for an internal marketing exercise. Let us talk now about the employer branding in more detail and see how a recruitment agency can help maintain a strong employer brand.
HOW DO WE DEFINE EMPLOYER BRAND?
In simple words, it is the reputation of a company as an employer. On the one hand, it is shaped by how candidates (active and passive) and current employees perceive the company. In addition, it’s also defined by the company’s relationship with its employees.
In case you are wondering why employer branding is important, it is because a strong employer brand attracts great talent. On the other hand, a damaged reputation can avert potential talent from joining the company.
To get an impression of what a company is like as an employer, we should look into the following:
- What the company culture is
- How the company treats its employees
- What the company offers its employees in return for their time, skills, and expertise
- How the company treats its candidates
EASY ACCESS TO COMPANY INFORMATION
People now can obtain information about the company from review websites like Glassdoor (although this is not always a valid indicator), the company’s website, its job postings, and its employee’s social profiles. It can also be communicated by the company’s brand ambassadors, mainly the hiring managers, the HR department, and recruitment agencies that the company works with.
All the internal marketing exercises aimed at improving the business’ employer image can fit into the term employer branding. Their ultimate goal is to ensure that the employees, candidates, clients, and business partners think of the company as a great place to work. This all serves one purpose: attracting the best talent on the job market.
Basically, a company’s employer brand is defined by two things:
- What the company tells about itself
- What others (candidates and employees) tell about the company
Of the two sources, the second one is trusted more. Employee reviews and feedback are always personal and viewed as unbiased. Taken this into account, a company should work on providing the best employee experience possible, starting from the recruitment process.
HOW CAN A RECRUITING COMPANY HELP YOUR EMPLOYER BRAND?
If a company does all the recruiting itself, its in-house people management / HR team should take care of the main employer branding activities. When a recruitment agency comes on board, the company needs to take into account the approach towards employer branding that the recruitment agency will take. For example:
What image of the business will they convey to the market and potential candidates?
Do they know enough about the company, culture and brand to represent the business effectively?
Unless you are certain of this and feel comfortable with the way the agency represents your company, you should consider again why you want to work with this particular recruitment partner.
Having brand ambassadors from outside of the company does pay in the long run. A recruitment agency can help improve the company’s employer brand in the following areas:
1. ATTRACTION OF THE CANDIDATES (ACTIVE AND PASSIVE)
Agency recruiters can spark the candidate’s interest in the company. Good recruiters think about the story they want to tell candidates and how they will represent their client. By understanding the prospective employee’s needs, a recruiter knows what will attract them to an employer.
2. RETENTION OF THE CANDIDATES
Recruiting agency professionals retain candidates by presenting the company from a good side. They provide the right candidate experience in the recruitment process. For example:
- By being positive and honest at the same time
- By acknowledging their needs and communicating those to the employer
- By maintaining a productive dialogue between the company and the candidate.
3. CONVERSION OF THE CANDIDATES (INTO EMPLOYEES)
Finally, when the match with the best fit for the company is established, the task of agency recruiters is to make the hire happen. At this stage, you can begin following internal marketing exercises.
- Drafting and shaping the job offer
- Getting it delivered on time and signed by the candidate
- Making sure that the onboarding goes smoothly
The most important thing that a third-party agency such as Caissa Global can do for your brand is maintaining the dialogue between candidates and your company. As a mediator on the one hand and a buffer on the other, a staffing agency smoothes out the potential conflict areas. It also ensures that the needs of both parties are met in the process. This inevitably leads to a positive perception of the company in regard to your potential employees.
Your employer brand is essentially the differentiating factor enabling you to either attract and retain great talent or be the source of great talent for other companies.
If the perception of your brand as an employer is not positive, your hiring options will be greatly limited, as you will simply not be heard through the noise of a very active employment market. Treat your candidates right. If you don’t, your brand fails to attract everyone those candidates know.
SUMMARY
To sum it all up, working with a professional recruitment agency who “gets” your brand and understands your business is hugely beneficial for your employer brand because:
- Agency recruiters are your brand ambassadors
- Agency recruiters can create a great recruitment experience
- Agency recruiters act as mediators between your company and candidates
