Employer Branding in Global Hiring: 5 Techniques for Creating a Strong Employer Brand

Outline:

1. Introduction
2. What is employer branding?
3. Why is employer branding important in global hiring?
4. Creating a compelling employer value proposition (EVP)
5. Components of Employer Branding
6. How to Create and Implement a Strong Employer Brand for Global Hiring

Introduction

In the current job market, a strong employer branding is essential for attracting and retaining top talent.

Attracting and retaining top talent has become a significant challenge across all industries in the B2B space.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work policies and hybrid alternatives to traditional office environments, as businesses strive to attract job seekers.

However, the pandemic has also sparked the Great Resignation. Millions of people are leaving their jobs in search of better opportunities. This disruption has highlighted the need for employers to offer greater flexibility and support to their employees, as well as higher salaries.

To stand out in this competitive environment, businesses must effectively convey their strengths. They should position themselves as the perfect workplace for potential employees. Offering attractive benefits alone may not be enough, as job seekers seek a company culture that aligns with their values and career aspirations.

Employer branding provides businesses with the tools to communicate their unique value proposition to job applicants. Without it, companies risk leaving candidates with unanswered questions about their culture and values. They may struggle to attract and retain top talent.

• According to Sagefrog reports, employees seek answers to the following questions:
  What makes your company tick?
• What is your culture like?
• Why should I work for you?

These questions can be perfectly answered when companies brand themselves rightly.

What is employer branding?

Employer branding is the process of creating and promoting a company's reputation as an employer to attract and retain talent. It involves creating a positive image of the company that resonates with current and potential employees.

Sagefrog puts it this way, "Employer branding considers how you want to be perceived as an employer and communicates that image strategically and consistently to job seekers and teams across the company."

Why is employer branding important in global hiring?

In global hiring, employer branding is particularly important because it can help to attract talent from all over the world. It creates the internal motivation, excitement and understanding of what it is to work with your company.

Zety reports that company reviews influenced applicants job acceptance in 2020 by 86%. While Linkedin reports show that 80% of recruiters believe employer branding has a significant impact on hiring talent."

People don't necessarily have to travel to visit a physical office, and with remote work, employees may never visit even after being hired. So how does the employee or prospective talent have the feel of the company's heartbeat, ambience and culture? Certainly through employer branding. A strong employer brand can also help to differentiate your company from competitors, and increase employee engagement and retention.

The most important goal is to attract top talent for the right positions while transforming current employees to influencers and trusted advocates through a clear employer value proposition.

Creating an Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

An Employer Value Proposition is a communication that highlights a company's attractiveness as an employer. It articulates the company's fundamental principles regarding the ideal work environment, the culture it fosters, and the perks it provides for its employees.

Your EVP is the unique set of benefits that your company offers to employees. It should be based on your company culture and values, and should be compelling enough to attract top talent. Some examples of EVPs include flexible work arrangements, competitive salaries and benefits, career development opportunities, and a positive work-life balance.

Most Employer Value Proposition shared with employees or communicated through the communication touch points contain the following:

- Belief : The ideal workplace your company cultivates for employees.

- APPROACH: The factors that contribute to your unique company culture.

- Benefit: The advantages of working for your company, from compensation to career advancement.

While having an Employer Value Proposition is great, knowing the messaging elements that'll help employees and talents better understand your brand and generate long-term internal motivation is where the job lies.

Components of Employer Branding

→ Inspiring mission and vision

→ Unique employer differentiators

→ Compelling company story

→ Competitive compensation, benefits and perks

→ Positive workplace culture

→ Clear roles and responsibilities

→ Established career pathways

How to Create and Implement a Strong Employer Branding for Global Hiring

To maximise the impact of your employer-branded messaging and visuals, it is essential to adopt an implementation strategy that encompasses five critical areas. Human resources and leadership teams that prioritise these elements will find it easier to fill key positions with the appropriate individuals and achieve sustainable growth.

• Employee Support & Structure
• Organisational Transparency
• Employee Advocacy
• Recruitment Strategy
• Employer Brand Audits

Have a Solid Employee Support & Structure

Providing a positive employee experience is the first step in building a positive employer image. To achieve this, prioritise the support systems that contribute to an enjoyable and empowering journey for your employees while they are with your company.

Secondly, define your company culture and values. This will help you to create a brand that accurately reflects what your company stands for and what it's like to work there. You can use employee surveys, focus groups, and other feedback mechanisms to get a sense of your company culture and values.

1. Review your compensation structure, benefits package, and workplace perks each year to add new incentives, improve existing ones, and remain competitive as an employer in the job market.
2. Consider offering remote or hybrid work opportunities, career development resources, continuing education pathways, and team building activities to attract and retain top talent.
3. Create a strong onboarding process.

Building a strong onboarding is also crucial in welcoming new hires and equipping them with everything they need to feel prepared. This includes introducing them to your company's history, mission, vision, and values, as well as providing adequate training and access to the appropriate tools to perform their job well.

It is also essential to introduce them to their colleagues and make time to check in frequently during their first few weeks and consistently throughout their career to provide guidance and monitor satisfaction.

By following an onboarding checklist, you can deliver a more personalised experience that ensures an effective talent management.

Build Organisational Transparency

Employers who prioritise transparency are valued by their employees. To cultivate a culture of openness, teams should be encouraged to share successes, seek assistance when necessary, and stay up-to-date on the company's progress and trajectory.

An open-door policy that safeguards employees who seek assistance and enables them to share new ideas and opinions that could improve the company's competitiveness and workplace satisfaction is essential.

Recognizing employee accomplishments, expressing gratitude for their contributions, and keeping teams informed and connected is critical to avoiding silos and fostering a satisfying work environment.

Regular communication, such as quarterly meetings and other outreach initiatives, can keep everyone informed about the company's status and significant achievements, as well as its future goals and plans for growth.

This ensures that the entire organisation is up to speed, ready to address any potential setbacks, and contribute to making each quarter productive and profitable.

Leverage Employee Advocacy

Every business dreams of having employees who love their work and are eager to share their positive experiences with others. As employees are the backbone of company culture, it is wise to showcase them to the outside world and transform them into brand advocates. There are several strategies for making this dream a reality.

For example, you can create content that showcases employee opinions and accomplishments to give curious job seekers an insight into your team's names and faces.

You can also interview team members about their experiences for blog posts, celebrate promotions on social media, gather testimonials for your careers website, and offer glimpses of their work life through photos and videos.

Encourage employees to share their experiences on social media, and provide them with the tools and resources they need to be effective advocates for your brand.

If your company already has strong brand advocates among your employees, encourage them to engage with your social media profiles by liking and commenting on content or re-sharing active job posts.

Additionally, you could establish an internal referral program that rewards employees who bring in successful candidates with cash bonuses or other exciting perks.

Create a Smooth Recruitment Process

A positive candidate experience can go a long way in strengthening your employer brand. This includes clear communication, timely feedback, and a smooth and transparent recruitment process.

For an employer branding platform to succeed, it's crucial to have a strong recruitment strategy and utilize an efficient recruitment software.

Once you have crafted your messaging, it's important to share it with your HR team and use it to update your website, social media channels, and job listings.

You can create a branded careers page on your website, where job seekers can find information about open positions, learn more about your company culture through testimonials and imagery, and submit their resumes for general consideration.

It's also essential to maintain consistent branding across all social media channels and job boards like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed.

Share links to job applications on social media and showcase your company culture through photos of employees in the office or working remotely, celebrating milestones, and participating in team-building activities.

Any visual content that provides a glimpse of your company's work life can help job seekers imagine themselves as part of your team.

Employer Brand Audits

You know what they say, an employer branding project is never really done. There's always room for improvement, so don't let your branding platform become outdated as your business grows and the competition gets tougher.

Keep refining and better implementing your employer branding game plan. It's important to conduct regular employer brand audits to measure how well it's performing and gather data to help you make actionable improvements.

This can mean running employee satisfaction surveys, stalking social media, and checking out what your competitors are up to. Basically, keep working at it to manage your reputation, attract top talent, and keep your current employees happy.

Generally, employer branding is always a continuous process. By maintaining a positive work culture, building transparency and using recruitment tools like Tech1M, you ensure that both existing and incoming employees have a consistent and positive messaging about your organisation.