Employer Branding – What Does the Rumor Say About Your Company?
A LinkedIn study on employer branding reveals that 75% of candidates consider a company’s reputation before applying for a job. Additionally, a report from Svenskt Näringsliv (Swedish Enterprise) indicates that 7 out of 10 Swedish companies find recruiting increasingly challenging, with skill shortages being the primary barrier to growth. Therefore, it is crucial to actively work on your employer brand to attract the right candidates – and to keep them.
What is Employer Branding?
Employer branding pertains to a company’s reputation in the job market, i.e., how it’s perceived by job seekers and stakeholders. To influence this perception, it’s essential to engage in employer branding actively, meaning communicating your company as an attractive place to work.
The goal is to attract and retain the right talent. In this regard, current employees play a vital role as your best ambassadors. Hence, merely presenting the company as attractive is insufficient; a continuous effort to build and maintain a positive workplace identity that contributes to a good reputation is necessary.
By clearly communicating and reinforcing positive aspects, companies can attract top talent and retain current employees longer.
What does it take to succeed?
Being an attractive workplace entails more than offering pastries on special occasions. Not to discredit pastries, but the focus should be on creating a work environment where everyone feels respected and valued. This requires a conscious, long-term strategic effort, focusing on:
Communication
Clearly and openly communicate the company’s values, culture, and benefits, both internally and externally.
Employee involvement
Allow employees to participate in the company’s culture and decisions. Listen to their opinions and feedback, making them feel part of the company’s successes.
Professional development
Provide opportunities for career development and continuous learning, showing the company’s investment in its employees’ futures.
Feedback
Regularly collect feedback from employees to identify improvement areas and act on this feedback. Success is measured by engaged employees, increased career page traffic, and a higher number of applications from top candidates.
Reaching new audiences and attracting potential candidates
Once the strategy is in place, it’s time to reach those not already fans or connected to your company through someone who works with you. Consider creating a campaign in the channels where your potential top candidates already hang out. This often involves creating short videos on your career page, highlighting the benefits of working with you. So, let’s look at 5 great examples of employer branding videos for inspiration:
Intel: Our jokes aren’t like your jokes
Humor is always a hit, and internal humor is the best. We can all relate to the wonderful feeling of finding just the right context.
Fiverr: Another Generic Recruitment Video
Another brilliant example of humor is Fiverr, mocking how stereotypical most employer branding videos are. The message is if you’re good at what you do, you can work anywhere – but if you’re the best at what you do, you should work at Fiverr.
Volvo elegantly highlights the people behind the brand, emphasizing diversity as a crucial part of their employer identity. The soundtrack by Viola Martinsson, a Swedish artist from a small town along the Norrland coast, adds perfection to every detail.
True to Apple’s ethos, their employer branding video does not show people, embodying the essence of ‘Think different.’
Beamery: Probably the best (or worst) recruitment video ever
Beamery takes a unique approach by showing what happens ‘behind the scenes’, playing on the idea that as a recruiting company, they should be experts at creating employer branding videos. By showcasing the opposite, they highlight the company’s soft values, making it an appealing place to work.