Бесплатный фрагмент - Branding Your Way to Better Talent

With gratitude to my husband and son, who inspired me to write this book, and to my loving parents, who have always been an example to me.

This book is dedicated to all companies who love their employees and strive to create the most effective and positive work environment…

About the Author

Discover the secret intersection of HR and marketing with Elena Rusanova, a leading expert in employer branding, founder of Nova HR, an hr-consulting agency.

Starting her career at Moscow State University, Elena quickly realized the potential of connecting talented young professionals with top employers. With her team, she launched the first job board for students, and a career-focused magazine. Later, as an employer branding specialist at Russia’s largest job portal, HeadHunter, she worked with leading businesses in the retail, banking, and telecommunications sectors, helping them create a strong employer brand and connect with top talent.

With 10 years of invaluable experience under her belt, Elena created an online course on employer branding in 2018, providing a clear roadmap for companies looking to establish a successful employer brand without the expensive price tag. In 2019, Elena released her debut book «HR Branding Without a Budget,» which presented a groundbreaking algorithm for building an attractive employer image, regardless of the circumstances.

Now, with a fresh perspective on the unique features and nuances of the American and global job markets, Elena has created a must-read updated edition. Whether you’re a seasoned HR professional or just starting out, Elena’s 100 steps will help you create a compelling employer brand that sets your company apart and attracts the best talent. So why wait?

Join the journey towards a successful employer brand today!

Introduction

In today’s world, competition for talent is growing at an astronomical pace, and companies must make an effort to attract and retain the right employees.

Just take a look at any job board, and you’ll see a multitude of job postings. Often, the texts of different ads are similar, like a mirror image. They all offer the same thing, such as «a young and friendly team in a dynamic, growing company». Sound familiar?

To stand out in this sea of information and ensure that candidates choose your company, you need to promote your employer brand naturally. It’s not about how much money you spend on advertising, but how your employees talk about your company «word of mouth.» That’s the only way to win the race for the best candidates.

This book describes 100 steps to the company of your dreams. Whether you’re a company leader, an employer branding specialist, or a HR consultant, you’ll find useful information in this manual. You can implement most of the ideas on your own or with the help of your employees without spending a fortune on advertising.

Use this book as a diary, mark off the steps you’ve taken, and we wish you luck on your journey to becoming an employer of choice!

What is an employer brand?

— Would you like the most suitable candidates to come to you without any extra effort?

— Do you want employees who trust and are loyal to your company?

— Do you want employees who can support your company in times of difficulty and work at their maximum potential?

— Do you want employees to be the «face» of your company and product/service, so that customers value them?

Can an employer brand help your business thrive?

If you answered «yes» to any of these questions, then your company needs to work on its employer brand.

The concept of an employer brand formulated by Simon Barrow in 1990. Let’s break it down and understand what it means.

On one hand, an employer brand is how much potential employees want to work for you and how easily and quickly you can hire them.

On the other hand, an employer brand shows how satisfied current employees are with their job at your company, and how effective your team is.

Thirdly, an employer brand is what you tell others about yourself as an employer, whether it’s during an interview, in advertising, or on a job vacancy page.

Think back to student job rankings, where top students often list government agencies or luxury car brands as the most attractive employers. In reality, these top job positions are often closed off to young applicants, and premium car brands don’t have official representation in some countries. This is an example of how external recognition and attractiveness of an employer can be formed based on a prestigious product or corporate reputation.

Another example is a small startup with a family atmosphere and unique internal culture that may not be well known in the labor market, even though the employees highly value their company and are proud of their workplace.

Or a company may write beautiful text about itself, how great it is, when in reality, employees are resigning in droves due to a toxic corporate culture.

Do any of these situations sound familiar?

Ideally, employees should be satisfied, candidates should want to work for you, and you should be telling the truth about yourself in a consistent and authentic manner.

In this book, I will offer a classic systematic approach to achieving this without large costs.

Part 1. Is it worth the effort?

Why Does Your Company Need an Employer Brand?

As an HR manager or a leader, you may be wondering if building an employer brand is worth the effort. It’s not about following a trend, but rather, understanding the value an employer brand can bring to your company. Let’s break it down.

What is the primary goal of your business? For example:

— Launching a new product in the market

— Outperforming your competitors

— Expanding your business and achieving 5x revenue growth in the next 3 years

Or something else…

Your answer to this question directly impacts the role an employer brand will play for your company.

If you’re a small startup entering the market, you need to gather a team with the right skills and understand how to retain and motivate them. If you’re looking to maximize revenue growth in the next year, developing employees’ product skills to the maximum and increasing sales department productivity, including finding or poaching the best sales specialists, and increasing your company’s market recognition are likely important to you. Or, if you’re entering new sales markets and opening new locations, your employer brand should primarily help you address these tasks: finding potential candidates in the market, quickly filling vacancies, and becoming a recognized employer in the region.

Expectations for an employer brand are individual and depend on the company’s industry, region, leader’s personality, and labor market opportunities and events.

You decide what the desired result is for you. How will you know when you’ve achieved it? For example, will sales increase, employee turnover decrease, or something else?

To attract the right talent and establish a strong presence in the competitive American labor market, it’s crucial to understand who your people are and what your employer brand is all about.

It may seem obvious, but the key is to find people who work well, don’t create conflicts, communicate effectively with management, and aren’t planning to leave the company anytime soon. But just like in finding the perfect partner, many companies tend to focus on abstract and incompatible qualities such as being good-looking, romantic, giving flowers, and earning money.

When it comes to hiring, it’s essential to have a clear and realistic portrait of the ideal candidate, taking into account both formal qualifications such as education and experience, as well as personal values and traits like honesty and even psychophysical characteristics such as being fast-paced and energetic.

If these ideal candidates are in short supply, companies may need to expand their search and adjust their employee profile accordingly. For instance, pharmaceutical companies have started considering candidates without medical backgrounds since the number of medical graduates in the market is limited.

But developing an employer brand isn’t just about focusing on yourself; it’s also important to collaborate with other leaders in the company who share the same vision. As a manager, you should bring in other managers who can help fill vacancies quickly, attract good candidates, and maintain a productive work environment. As an HR professional, you should seek allies in the form of executives and CEOs.

Here are the essential steps you need to take before diving into employer branding!

Step 1: Assess the timeliness of working on your employer brand for your company

In today’s competitive job market in America, where attracting top talent is critical to success, building a strong employer brand is more important than ever. However, before embarking on this journey, it’s important to address any internal issues that could hinder your efforts to promote your brand. For instance, issues such as underpayment, delayed salaries, poor working conditions, and high employee turnover can negatively impact your reputation as an employer, making it difficult to attract top candidates.

To ensure that your employer brand is effective, it’s crucial to focus on fixing any internal problems first. For instance, if your company is going through a merger, acquisition, or bankruptcy, it’s essential to address the challenges that come with these transitions before promoting your employer brand. Similarly, if your company is going through a downsizing or layoff process, it’s critical to prioritize the welfare of your remaining employees by creating a positive work environment that fosters team spirit, instead of investing solely in external branding efforts.

However, in all other cases, building and promoting your employer brand should be a top priority. A strong employer brand helps to differentiate your company from competitors, attract the best candidates, and retain top talent. To create a compelling employer brand, focus on developing a clear and concise brand message that aligns with your company’s values and mission. Use storytelling to showcase the unique employee experiences, benefits, and growth opportunities that your company offers. Lastly, be sure to leverage social media, employee testimonials, and other relevant channels to promote your brand to the right audience. By following these tips, you can build a strong employer brand that will help you attract and retain top talent in today’s competitive job market.

Step 2: Clarify the key tasks facing your company in the next 1—3 years

If you’re a company leader, this answer may be obvious. If you’re in HR, clarify the strategic tasks with management. If you’re a consultant helping a company increase their employer brand recognition, I recommend conducting a thorough analysis of the media and online publications, reading business news: what’s happening with the company, what market events are they acting in response to — and, of course, clarifying this information with the company’s leadership or HR during a personal meeting if possible.

Business news in industry or regional media will help you understand the current status of the company and the situation in the market. Is the firm entering new markets? Is the business testing a new product or looking to completely change their field of activity? Are there any restrictions or difficulties the company faces related to legislation or changes in the economy? For example, think of tobacco or alcohol companies that have to overcome numerous restrictions in the market and develop «safe» directions.

Any work with the employer brand ALWAYS begins with defining the strategy. Keep this focus in mind so that you can regularly stop and ask yourself: how will your actions help the company achieve success and prosperity? Do this so you don’t get bogged down in operations or projects just for the sake of the project.

As an HR or manager, it’s important to stay focused on the company’s overall goals and objectives, even when working on specific projects or initiatives. By understanding the company’s strategic priorities, you can align your employer brand initiatives with the broader business strategy, helping to drive growth and success for your organization.

Step 3: Define what to expect from your employer brand to achieve your goals

As an HR professional or manager, you understand the importance of having a strong employer brand. But what exactly do you expect from it? The answer will vary depending on your company’s unique strategic goals and expectations. To effectively communicate your expectations, you need to be specific and back it up with numbers.

For example, instead of just saying «hire new staff» or «create a good atmosphere,» state your goals clearly and specifically. You could say something like, «hire a team of 30 employees for our new call center selling a new service in Los Angeles within 3 months,» or «retrain our current staff to achieve international reporting standards,» or «run a large advertising campaign targeting young technical graduates in Boston for our IT internship program».

Sometimes, working on your employer brand is a personal motivation of an HR specialist or manager, such as building their personal brand. You can be direct about this by saying something like, «Our CEO wants to be seen as a top business leader and have our company ranked in the top 10 best employers for a specific ranking.» Being honest and transparent about your expectations is a significant victory because it allows you to understand how this work will benefit your company’s business.

It’s essential to persuade your leadership team on the importance of investing in your employer brand now rather than later. To do this, you need to demonstrate the connection between your employer brand and your company’s strategic or personal goals. Once you can show the benefits, you can easily «sell» this idea to your leadership team and move forward with your plans.

In the American labor market, the competition for top talent is fierce, and building a strong employer brand can help you stand out from the crowd. By being specific about your goals, linking your employer brand to strategic or personal objectives, and demonstrating the benefits to your leadership team, you can create a strong employer brand that attracts top talent and drives business success.

Step 4: Consider what external factors are hindering your employer brand efforts

These are limitations that your company faces, such as a shortage of qualified candidates in the region or having an office in an unappealing location. Additionally, skilled workers may be leaving your city for more central cities, exacerbating the situation.

Regularly study the market around you to understand your weaknesses and risks and identify where to focus your employer brand efforts in the future. Utilize free analytical resources, such as Glassdoor or LinkedIn, where you can monitor the number of candidates and job postings in your area, salary expectations, and specific candidate profiles for different professions. This will give you valuable information about your market and future candidates. You may need to search for new candidate niches with fundamentally different experiences, education, and skills if they are scarce in the labor market or find ways to lure and attract current job seekers.

If you discover that your company pays below-market wages after monitoring salaries, you may need to first review your compensation system before focusing on employer branding efforts. Remember, a competitive compensation package is an important factor in attracting and retaining top talent.

Step 5: Clarify how and when you will measure the success of your employer brand

In order for your work on the employer brand to be more than just a creative process, it’s important to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of each action. These are commonly known as KPIs (key performance indicators), which you set for yourself. The choice of a particular metric depends on your situation, your goals, and your expectations for the employer brand.

If you want to attract the best candidates, then focus on recruitment metrics. If you want to improve your company’s overall recognition and image in the market, then look at candidate surveys or rankings of employers. And if your goal is to make the lives of your current employees more interesting, increase their engagement in the company, or create a high-achieving atmosphere, then focus on internal indicators such as engagement percentage or health metrics in the office.

Think about your evaluation criteria, plan your goals, and set a timeline for achieving them. For example, aim to increase engagement by at least 3 target points. And don’t forget about the time frame for achieving these goals, set a deadline for when you would like to achieve the desired results: in a month, a quarter, or a year. Long-term goals, such as increasing recognition in the market, are best evaluated at least a year after starting work, while short-term tasks, such as recruiting for an internship, can be evaluated on a quarterly basis.

Here’s an example of how measuring KPIs can make a difference:

Meet ABC Inc., a company with a new employer branding strategy. ABC Inc. identified their main goal as attracting high-quality candidates, particularly in the tech industry. They set a goal to increase their application rate by 10% within the next 6 months.

To achieve this goal, they started tracking the source of their job applicants and analyzed their website traffic. After identifying the most effective sources and optimizing their website, they were able to achieve their goal in just 4 months, exceeding their initial target with a 12% increase in applications.

By setting clear goals and tracking KPIs, ABC Inc. was able to make data-driven decisions and achieve their desired results.

Step 6: Measure the loyalty level of your employees

One of the simplest ways to learn how your employees feel about your company is by using a technique called the Net Promoter Score (NPS). You can conduct this survey on your company’s intranet or distribute a questionnaire with two questions in person: «How likely are you to recommend our company as a place to work to your friends and acquaintances?» Respondents rate their likelihood on a scale of 0 to 10. The second question is optional and in a free-form format: «Why did you rate us as you did?»

When analyzing the results, calculate the percentage of people who gave a score of 9 or 10 (known as brand promoters) and subtract the percentage of those who gave a score of 0 to 6 (known as brand detractors). This gives you your NPS index.

What do you do with the NPS index? You can compare it to industry benchmarks or regularly measure and compare it within your company. In my opinion, the latter is more logical and effective. When implementing any changes, it’s important to track the changes and improvements. The answer to the question, «Why did you rate us as you did?» provides information for reflection and possible insights. You can also add another question: «What can we improve to increase your score?» Then wait for suggestions and comments from employees.

This technique is used worldwide and is universal because its indicators are easy to measure, compare over time, and against other companies. Measuring employee loyalty is critical to building and maintaining a strong employer brand, which is essential to attracting and retaining top talent in the competitive American labor market.

Step 7: Choose your way to measure employee success, loyalty, health, and activity

What is your criterion for success when it comes to working with your staff? Is it the number of employees referred to your company, their engagement and response to internal events, or maybe the number of comments on your company’s intranet? Perhaps, it’s the turnover rate of your employees.

There are no universal criteria, you choose what is right for you. For example, in one of my client’s companies, they measured the number of employees who took sick leave. Sick leave was a critical factor for their business, causing significant losses. Therefore, in working on their employer brand, they decided to focus on increasing comfort, reducing stress levels in the office, and promoting health. In another company, they focused on making employees more engaged in corporate communications by encouraging them to visit the intranet more often, read the news digest, and participate in HR activities. Therefore, the attendance rates of their internal portal became the key metrics in their employer brand work. Some managers measure how often their employees smile at work, how much less they smoke, or how little time they spend on social media. It’s also important for a manager to ensure that their employees provide quality customer service, so you can evaluate customer satisfaction with the work of your sales or support department.

Step 8: Find out what it means to be a prestigious employer brand

As an HR manager, you understand the importance of being a prestigious employer brand in today’s competitive job market. But what exactly does it mean to be a prestigious employer brand? And how can you ensure that your company is perceived as such by potential candidates?

One way to gauge your employer brand’s prestige is by utilizing existing ratings of the most attractive companies to work for. In the United States, this includes lists like Fortune’s «100 Best Companies to Work For» and Glassdoor’s «Best Places to Work». Applying for these rankings can provide your company with valuable feedback on your position relative to your competitors, as well as free PR for your brand across your region or even the entire country.

You can also learn about similar rankings from leading job sites, consulting firms, and media outlets, including international ones. Large business publications and radio stations often conduct these rankings. If you’re interested in a more specific market, research other resources and opportunities. For instance, you can survey students at educational institutions if you’re interested in recruiting them, or measure the number of recommendations your company receives on social media or professional networks.

By staying informed about the latest trends in employer branding and taking steps to improve your company’s reputation, you can attract and retain top talent and build a strong competitive advantage in the American labor market.

Step 9: If your goal is to become popular on the internet, regularly collect reviews and comments about your company

In today’s digital age, information about companies is widely available and easily accessible. People share their opinions on social media, blogs, and even on job websites if given the option. Popular career channels on platforms like Telegram also offer their opinions on companies as employers. All of this online space can either help you promote your employer brand or damage it if you’re not monitoring reviews and feedback.

If you find it tedious to manually check websites every day to see what candidates or former employees are saying about your company, or you don’t want to miss any new comments, we recommend using a service like Google Alerts. Set it up to regularly monitor new mentions of your company by specifying your company’s name and relevant keywords. The system will then automatically collect and send you fresh posts, making it easy for you to stay on top of your online reputation.

At this step, it’s essential to collect all relevant reviews, count 100% of all opinions about your company, and calculate the percentage of negative, positive, and neutral mentions. This will serve as a benchmark for further evaluation. However, keep in mind that online reviews tend to skew negative, so it’s crucial to monitor the dynamics of negative reviews to take corrective action quickly.

Step 10: Track recruitment metrics to improve hiring efficiency

As an HR manager or business owner, your goal is to attract the best talent to your organization. One way to do this is by tracking recruitment metrics. Luckily, there are free tools available on job sites and in Excel that make this process easy.

Start by tracking the number of views and responses to your job postings, as well as the number of candidates selected for interviews and those who ultimately get hired. You should also keep track of how many candidates successfully complete their probationary periods, as this metric reflects how well you have identified your target audience and developed an effective onboarding process.

It’s important to calculate conversion rates for each step of the recruitment process. This includes the conversion rate from views to responses, responses to suitable resumes, and suitable resumes to successful hires. By measuring these conversion rates, you can identify areas of improvement in your recruitment process.

When comparing your metrics, it’s important to use your own historical data rather than industry benchmarks. This allows you to see the impact of changes you’ve made to your employer brand, such as optimizing job postings, revising interview templates, or experimenting with different marketing strategies.

By consistently tracking your recruitment metrics and adjusting your strategies accordingly, you can improve your employer brand and attract the best talent to your organization.

Step 11: Use ready-made solutions to track recruitment statistics and automate them wherever possible

Recruiting can be a time-consuming process, but there are ways to make it more efficient. One of these is by using job sites such as Indeed or Glassdoor that offer detailed recruitment statistics at the click of a button. While these statistics are limited to the job site you’re using, it’s a good start. If you’re using multiple sites, you’ll have to combine the data yourself.

Alternatively, there are specialized recruitment services like «Greenhouse» or «Breezy HR» that can provide all the statistical data you need to assess your recruitment process. All you have to do is identify areas for improvement and growth. If you’re using recruitment automation software, you can easily export recruitment statistics from there.

Remember that all contractors, including recruiting agencies and freelancers, can also gather and track recruitment statistics. Make sure to exchange information with them and use it to find the most effective channels, sources, and methods for recruitment. For example, you can track your reduction in time and cost to close vacancies, which directly depends on the effectiveness and popularity of your employer brand.

As an HR manager, it’s essential to make informed decisions based on accurate data. By automating your recruitment statistics, you can easily measure your success and identify areas for improvement. With the right tools and resources, you can streamline your recruitment process, save time and money, and ultimately build a stronger employer brand that attracts top talent.

Step 12: Define your employer brand’s target audience

Defining your target audience is a critical step that directly relates to the strategic objectives of your company. To get started, think about who your primary audience is — employees or job candidates — depending on whether you’re working on your employer brand internally or externally. For instance, if you’re a successful startup with a healthy and inspiring work culture, you may want to share that with the labor market, and your primary focus should be on job candidates.

Next, consider the types of employees or job candidates you need the most, or whose departure would critically impact your business. For IT companies, this may include various categories of developers and testers, for retail businesses, it could be store employees, and for pharmaceutical companies, medical representatives. These are the individuals who directly impact the product, sales, and reputation of your business. You may have multiple target audiences, particularly if you have multiple objectives, such as office personnel and sales staff. Narrow your focus by describing the qualities that these people must possess to make your business successful.

It’s helpful to assess whether your current employees meet your requirements, or if you need people with different specializations, profiles, and competencies. If you can identify specific employees who are ideal for your company, use them as a benchmark to describe your target audience.

Step 13: Clarify what sets apart your successful and loyal employees?

Let’s conduct a simple mental experiment. Identify the employees who are the most effective and loyal to the company. Use data from assessments, 360-degree feedback evaluations, or engagement surveys. Then, write down what distinguishes the most effective and loyal employees from the unsuccessful ones. Consult with your line managers, who will be happy to share their understanding with you.

For example, for a popular brand’s jewelry store, it is essential that salespeople can work at a high pace and are stress-resistant, including physically — standing on their feet all day. For startups, it is crucial that employees can work in situations of uncertainty and quickly adapt to new market conditions.

You can even conduct a small interview or focus group with managers who will share their observations about why some employees are more successful, what helps them, and why others are less effective. The more differences you write down, the better. All of this information will be useful in the next steps. Write about not only work experience, skills, and competencies but also personality traits — everything that sets apart your most successful people in the company. Don’t be afraid that the list will be too long; you can prioritize and shorten it in the next steps.

Remember, employer branding is not just about attracting new talent. It is also about retaining your best employees by creating a work environment that fits their needs and values. By understanding what makes your most successful and loyal employees tick, you can tailor your employer brand to attract and retain similar talent.

Step 14: Find what’s critically important for your job candidates and employees in terms of professional skills?

As an HR or manager, you want to ensure that you are hiring the best candidates for your company. One way to do this is to consider the critical skills required for a particular role, also known as hard skills. For example, technical skills such as proficiency in specific software or the ability to work with certain equipment are essential for some positions.

When creating your list of critical skills, it’s important to ask yourself if these skills can be acquired through training or on-the-job learning. This will help you to avoid unnecessarily narrowing your candidate pool. If your company has the resources and time for retraining or upskilling employees, you may be able to reduce the list of critical skills required for the role.

For instance, let’s say your company is in need of IT specialists who are proficient in both C++ and Python programming languages. However, your business uses Agile processes, and the ability to work with SCRAM or KANBAN isn’t mandatory. Your company is willing to train candidates who possess the basic technical skills and have a similar company culture.

By focusing on the essential skills and remaining open to investing in employee development, you can create a more inclusive employer brand and attract a broader pool of qualified candidates. Remember, a company’s reputation can significantly impact its ability to recruit and retain top talent. By providing opportunities for learning and growth, you can build a strong employer brand that resonates with job seekers and employees alike.

Step 15: Identify the values and soft skills of your company’s ideal candidates

To build a strong employer brand, it’s crucial to understand the values and personality traits that align with your company’s culture. Soft skills, which are the personal qualities that distinguish successful employees and candidates, should be considered in this process. This can include everything from communication and presentation skills to behavioral traits, principles, and values that guide a person’s life.

For example, in the American IT startup market, team players are highly valued. Knowing whether someone is an extrovert or an introvert, a team player or an individualist, and whether they are money or relationship-oriented can help you determine if they would fit well in your company.

In fact, understanding the individuality of your employees can help you build a more effective employer brand. Rather than taking a shotgun approach to advertising, focusing on the unique values and traits of your target audience can help your brand resonate more strongly with potential candidates.

By identifying the specific qualities that make up your company’s culture, you can ensure that new hires share the same values and work ethic as your team. This creates a more cohesive and effective team, which ultimately benefits the business as a whole.

As a manager, it’s important to reflect on how your own values and personality traits align with those of your company. After all, the soul of a company starts with its founder, and building a strong employer brand requires the alignment of both the leader and the employees.

Step 16: Discover where your target audience lives, visits, what they like and read

As an HR manager or business owner, you know how crucial it is to attract top talent to your company. But do you know where to find them and what they like? Identifying your target audience is key to developing a strong employer brand and attracting the right candidates.

Firstly, consider where your target audience lives, visits, and what they read. For instance, a well-known American retail chain that hires cashiers and store directors identified their target audience as women over 35 who value family values and enjoy watching classic American movies. They even used this knowledge in their advertising campaign by hanging posters in their stores with memorable quotes from famous female movies.

To discover where your target audience spends their time and what they enjoy, you can ask your current employees for their insights. Ask what social networks, websites, newspapers, and magazines they read, what conferences and events they attend, and where they get their information. By doing this, you can better understand what platforms and channels to use to reach out to potential candidates.

For instance, if you’re looking to hire software developers, they’re likely to be active on professional forums, use Slack, and participate in hackathons. On the other hand, if you’re recruiting pharmacists, they’re likely to read American Pharmacy Journal or Pharmacy Times.

If you have a large company, consider conducting a survey on your intranet or portal to gather feedback from your employees. This can help you understand what platforms and channels you should prioritize to reach your target audience.

By understanding your target audience’s preferences and interests, you can tailor your employer branding efforts to resonate with them. This, in turn, can help attract the right candidates to your company and keep your organization thriving. Remember, every detail counts when it comes to hiring and retaining talent.

Step 17: Have you considered expanding your target audience and exploring new niches?

The job market is becoming increasingly competitive every day. For instance, according to a popular job site, last year an average of 6—7 people applied for each job opening. However, in certain industries and professional categories, such as IT, telecom, and pharmaceuticals, this number drops to 2—3 people per opening. And this is not even a complete list! Can you imagine the level of competition? This is especially true if your market is objectively limited and too narrow, to the point where you can count all possible candidates on one hand. Companies in small towns, remote locations, or in specific industries face this challenge.

If this sounds like your company, then be prepared to think of ways to expand your audience. This could mean considering people you’ve never thought of as potential employees before. Consider the example of popular fast-food chains in the US. While they used to primarily hire students and recent graduates, nowadays they also employ older workers, such as migrants. Some companies are targeting women on maternity leave, while others are open to candidates over the age of 50, particularly in light of current economic events. Employees from other regions, remote working mothers, and more could all be potential candidates for your company. If you are interested in exploring these audiences, I recommend reaching out directly to services like «FlexJobs», which train such candidates and can recommend the best ones for your business.

Step 18: Decide who can become a co-author of your employer brand and a brand ambassador

Firstly, it could be managers who understand the importance of working with the employer brand and are willing to promote changes among their employees. These are individuals who personally conduct interviews with candidates or speak at industry events and are willing to take responsibility for how the company is positioned in the labor market.

Next, take a look at your employees. Those who have been with the company for a long time or have earned a reputation for loyalty are of particular interest. Alternatively, it could be new hires with a passion for sharing their interview experience and career development with candidates, similar to what they experienced themselves.

It’s great if some of them have a blog on Instagram, are good writers or speakers, or are interested in video production.

The most important thing is that these individuals are willing to share their experience with candidates. Engaging your own employees and managers in the work of the employer brand is the most cost-effective way to do this. One leading recruitment agency decided not to hire any contractors to create and promote their employer brand. Instead, they assembled a team of enthusiastic and responsible individuals from different departments of the company and created a special project. This team took on the research part, developed the core of the brand, the creative concept for its promotion, and actively promoted the company in the labor market, involving other employees in the process. These people are your most valuable resource.

Encourage your managers and employees to become brand ambassadors by providing them with training and resources to help them communicate effectively with candidates and promote the employer brand in a positive light. This can include workshops, training materials, and guidelines for social media communication. Make sure to communicate the importance of their role in building and maintaining the employer brand to inspire their engagement and commitment.

Step 19: Can your company’s product or service promote your employer brand?

Often, a candidate’s love for the products a company produces plays a crucial role in their decision to work for that company. For companies that produce questionable goods or products with a low reputation, it’s even more difficult to hire staff because they have to overcome additional negativity. If your product is loved by your audience, they will have a positive view of your company as an employer. To understand if your product consumers are potential candidates for your company, check how actively your own employees use your products (or services) and how often they recommend them to others. Do the sales channels or points of sale for your company align with the possible places where candidates frequent? If you answered «Yes» to at least one of these questions, then this is another potential resource for your employer brand efforts.

All of this is possible only if your product brand has a good reputation and is recognizable in the market. It’s unlikely that we can imagine job ads on cigarette packs or batteries. In all other cases, the possibilities are endless. Remember the photos of employees on lotion jars, the CEO’s letters in packages of a popular toothpaste, or flyers with job openings in stores — these are just a few examples of using the consumer channel for promotion.

For example, imagine a popular clothing brand using their website and social media to not only showcase their products but also to highlight their company culture, employee stories, and benefits. This can attract potential candidates who align with the company’s values and appreciate their products.

Another example could be a tech company that provides a platform for remote work, showcasing their product as not just a solution for businesses but also a benefit for employees seeking a better work-life balance.

Incorporating your product or service into your employer brand strategy can not only attract potential candidates but also increase loyalty and engagement among current employees. It’s important to ensure that your product brand aligns with your employer brand and that the messaging is consistent across all channels.

Step 20: Make a list of people who can help you promote your employer brand

These are the leaders and employee ambassadors of your brand. In addition to interested and engaged employees, you’ll need specialists who can perform specific tasks and optimize your budget to avoid outsourcing: designers for creating visuals, SMM specialists for social media promotion, copywriters for writing texts, event managers for organizing events, PR specialists for planning media outreach, and others. If you work with interns, they can help test ideas on young professionals. Don’t forget to consider remote employees or freelancers, who are increasingly common in the American labor market.

Think about who you can involve and form a team of people interested in solving these tasks. This will be an advantage for you because working on your employer brand will be part of your overall marketing, PR, and communication strategy, and you won’t have to spend hours explaining to a marketer why a particular advertising poster was created. So, is your team ready? Organize a meeting and explain the importance of the work and what help will be needed from each team member. Creating such a team is already work in itself with employee engagement.

Step 21: Sell the need for working with your employer brand to your management team

If you’re a manager reading this book, feel free to skip this step. However, if you’re a consultant, HR specialist, or recruiter, before embarking on the development and promotion of your employer brand, you need to get management’s buy-in and involve them in the process. This goes beyond just allocating budget, but explaining why this work is essential for the company and for the leader personally.

So, how do you do it? Recall the first two steps. Your answers to those questions are your arguments for management. Why is this important for the business? Why now? How will it help achieve strategic goals? Present all of these arguments and explain what you expect the outcome to be and how it will benefit the company and the leader personally.

If you need statistical data on the labor market, turn to studies on the relationship between employer brand and company sales, the correlation between employee engagement and stock prices, the impact of employer brand on revenue and profitability, and more. You can find all these figures in the reports of international colleagues in the market, so search online or consult with consulting firms.

During the «sales» process, I recommend giving a presentation and demonstrating your work plan and expectations for the employer brand. At the end of your presentation or meeting, be sure to secure the leader’s support for promoting the project both internally and externally.

Part 2. Measure three times, cut once

Can an employer brand be «made up out of thin air» or «pieced together from what we have»? Imagine if you wrote about your company the same way they write about Google — with talk of work-life balance, creative atmosphere, and office smoothies. Or like most companies on job sites, claiming to be a «young and dynamic company with a friendly team.»

What’s wrong with this picture?

An employer brand is not just about appearances. It’s about reality.

Even the most beautiful words can have nothing to do with your company.

Your employer brand is your identity, individuality, uniqueness, and differentiation from other companies in the labor market.

To understand this uniqueness, you must look inside the company and feel the atmosphere and strengths of your work. Listen to what employees and managers say. Collect real personal stories from founders, employees, and everyone who has contributed to the company’s work and growth.

How can you do this?

First of all, find out what your employees and managers value about your company as an employer. Why do they work for you? The best way to gather this information is through interviews, focus groups, or surveys.

Next, carefully study the HR materials that exist in the company, such as the corporate code, new employee book, corporate magazines and digests, news portal, and even official press releases. All of this will show the history and current position of the company in the market, its values, and strengths.

Remember former employees and all applicants who have had any connection to your company and can formulate their opinion.

And of course, look at the labor market and what your direct or indirect competitors are doing. You may think that what you offer to employees is unique to you. Looking at competitors will help you adjust this view and find truly unique things.

Gather as much information as possible about your company as an employer from different perspectives (employees, managers, applicants, competitors), and this will form the basis for creating a unique value proposition.

Below are the steps I recommend taking to gather information about your company effectively.

Step 22: Craft your company story for your employer brand

When it comes to your employer brand, having a compelling story is key. Your story can be the personal journey of your founder or CEO, the values that drive your business, or the challenges your company has overcome. This technique, known as storytelling, is a powerful marketing tool that can effectively convey the meaning of your brand, engage your audience, and create emotional connections.

To create a story for your employer brand, start by asking your company leaders how they got to where they are now, what type of people they want in their company, and what makes your company unique. Find out about the values, mission, and principles that guide your leaders personally and professionally, as well as what they believe is acceptable and unacceptable in your company culture. Learn about what sets your company apart in the market and who your ideal employee is.

You can also gather interviews and articles from founders or leaders from different sources, especially if your company is well-known. These stories can not only showcase your company’s strengths, but also become a source of information for your audience. For example, a popular fast-food chain uses flyers and posters on their walls that tell the story of the founder who discovered the secret ingredient for their famous fried chicken in the 1950s.

By crafting a compelling story for your employer brand, you can differentiate your company from others, attract top talent, and create a sense of pride and loyalty among your employees. Use this technique to build a stronger brand and foster deeper connections with your audience.

Example of top-10 questions to the founder or CEO to dive into your employer brand

1. Can you tell us about your journey to becoming the founder/CEO of this company? What inspired you to start this business?

2. What are the core values that guide your personal and professional life, and how do these values inform your leadership style and decision-making within the company?

3. What do you believe sets this company apart from competitors in the industry, and how do you plan to continue to innovate and evolve in the market?