Nowadays your employer brand is just as important than your actual brand. In fact, an organisation’s employer branding is what will set them apart to help attract the best talent and eventually win them. It’s what people believe working for your organisation is and the key to a successful employer brand is your employees – I mean who better to say how good it is to work for your organisation, than the people who work they?
But does this mean employer brand is something your organisation can’t control? Here are 10 recruiting experts who tell us whether this is fact or fiction.
Erin Wilson
A company can build their employer brand. A company can influence their employer brand. A company cannot control their employer brand. Sites like Glassdoor and mobile apps like Blind, make it impossible. These days, employees hear about your brand from someone (or somewhere) else. Focus on the true story and execution. That’s what you can control.
A company can build their employer brand. A company can influence their employer brand. A company cannot control their employer brand. Sites like Glassdoor and mobile apps like Blind, make it impossible. These days, employees hear about your brand from someone (or somewhere) else. Focus on the true story and execution. That’s what you can control.Erin Wilson is Founder and Talent Engineer at Hirepool.io
Leela Srinivasan
Much like its corporate brand, a company can influence its employer brand, but never fully control it. We live in an age of unprecedented transparency, leading to a loss of brand control, but an increase in brand authenticity. Your employer brand has never been more shaped by the genuine stories and perspectives of your employees, alumni, and candidates – sometimes recounted via company-edited channels, often not (hello, Glassdoor). Even your customers and the health of your business can be impacted by their perceptions of what it’s like to work at your company, as Uber is finding out right now.Leela Srinivasan, Chief Marketing Officer at Lever.
Amy Volas
If it were only that easy to flip a switch and “control” your employer brand. What you put out into the “atmosphere” absolutely makes an impact. More importantly, it’s the foundation you’re creating internally to have your employees be your biggest brand builders. If they’re set up for success, operating under strong leadership, your products/services are providing value and ultimately the team is thriving and growing that is your employment branding golden ticket. Leverage all of this awesomeness to tell your “story” to bolster your employment brand and that equals control in my book.Amy Volas is Chieftain of Avenue Talent Partners.
Lars Schmidt
Most companies that are successful in recruiting take steps to proactively influence and shape their employer brand.
Control? No. Influence? Yes. All companies have an EB whether they consciously shape it or not.
Lars Schmidt is the Founder of Amplify.
Chad MacRae
Employers can cultivate and guide their employer brand through messaging, but they can’t control it. Your employer brand is your promise to candidates – not the promise you tell them, but the promise you show them through your actions. So, match your actions to your messaging. Live your employer brand, don’t just market a facade.Chad MacRae is the Founder of Recruiting Social.
Stacy Zapar
I don’t know if “control” is the ideal word to use but I do think that every company can (and should!) join in the conversation to help shape their employer brand. The more we can educate our audience (about the company, people, values, culture, work being done, etc.), the more likely we are to attract the right people who are most likely to be successful and engaged employees. The best way to evangelize our brand is to engage our employees and get their voices out there, telling their stories, perspectives and experiences.Stacy is the Founder of Tenfold & The Talent Agency.
John Feldmann
Absolutely, but it can’t be created or changed overnight. It has to evolve over time with a great deal of thought and effort. An employer brand identifies a company as an employer of choice to both current and future employees. In order to establish itself as an employer for which employees want to work, a company should outwardly project expertise in its field, as well as a sense of appreciation for its employees, and this must be done over a period of months or years.John Feldmann is a writer for Insperity Recruiting Services.
Maren Hogan
There are many players that can get involved in your employer branding strategy. Some valuable professionals include your talent acquisition pro, marketing department leads, and HR. Other important employees to include are front-line managers and employees who hold key positions, so you can fully understand the true complexity and get a comprehensive look at what’s happening inside the company. If anybody is going to own it, let it be talent acquisition.Maren Hogan is CEO and Founder of Red Branch Media.
Craig Fisher
Yes, companies can control employer brand. A brand is a perception. A culture is harder to change. A company must find the good in their culture by asking employees, and highlight those things. And they must be transparent about working on the things that are not so good. Get your employees to be more vocal online about the great parts of their job.Craig Fisher is Head of Employer Brand, CA Technologies, and Allegis Global Solutions.
Will Staney
While companies can’t control what is said about them, an employer brand is something that can be developed and managed with enough care. Employers are able to control the message they’re putting out there, but it’s ultimately up to employees, both current and former, that manage how the brand is perceived. Companies can insure a well balanced and accurate portrayal of their employer brand by focusing on treating employees well, being fair and transparent, and then empowering their employees to be advocates for attracting high caliber talent.Will is the Founder & Principal Consultant at Proactive Talent Strategies.
