Employer Branding 101: How to Use it to Attract & Retain Top Talent

Despite fears of a looming recession, the job market remains tight. And while we find that compensation and flexible work policies are the biggest factor in attracting talented candidates, a successful approach to “employer branding” can help set you apart in the mind of potential prospects. And in a tight labor market, every advantage can make a major difference.

Factors that affect employee satisfaction and retention

In the past we have polled our database of thousands of candidates to find out what non-monetary perks most influence their job satisfaction. According to our poll, the following three factors ranked the highest:

• A work from home option or strong flexible work policies: Different employees have different reasons for favoring work-from-home, but we are finding that employees increasingly favor flexibility or a fully-remote option.
• A four day workweek: A variation of flexible work policies, a four-day workweek ranked high on our poll.
• Free development courses: Employees really responded to the idea of an employer investing in their professional development through courses, conferences and other forms of formal professional development.

Elements of an employer brand

Key areas to think about in crafting an employer brand:

• Values and culture: How does your company define its values? If this has never been formalized, it might be worth taking steps to formalize it.
• Location and amenities: Employees like being in cities with lots of amenities and when that is not available, it’s valuable if their employer offers extras like a gym or free wholesome snacks.
• Work/life balance: Employees prize work life balance and if that has never been formally defined at your company, it can be a strong component of a employee brand.
• Sustainability: Our poll found that sustainability ranked surprisingly high on the list of factors that influence job satisfaction, so it’s worth considering in crafting your employer brand.
• Family friendly policies: Parental leave is a strong component in many employer brands.
• DEI policies: DEI stands for “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” and many employees want to know what their employers are doing to ensure they are proactively seeking to hire candidates that reflect a variety of backgrounds.
• Investment in education: Employees like to see programs to help them advance and sharpen skills. Read more about upskilling here>>

Doing your research

The best place to start in terms of crafting an employee brand is to assess what has been done in the past and what others in the same industry are doing.

Things to consider:

• What materials already exist, for example values statements
• What materials need to be defined
• What materials need to be developed, for example, marketing materials like websites and/or social media and newsletter campaigns.

Consider using your existing employees for intelligence

Current employees are a great resource to enlist in crafting an employer brand. Consider using a survey or focus group to gather information from different employee groups.

How to disseminate your employer brand

The most typical way to disseminate an employer brand is through digital channels, possible through a stand-alone website or web campaign. Other ideas for presenting your employer brand:

• Newsletters
• Employee job fairs
• Conferences
• Social media, including networks like Linkedin, Facebook or even TikTok

Need more help?

Need more help in attracting and retaining top talent? Contact us to speak with a recruiting specialist.