The Importance of Employer Branding in HR: 7 Big Things Recruiters Need to Know in 2022

Having a powerful employer brand is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s of absolute importance if you’re eyeing out the industry’s best talent to join your company in 2022. 

Whether you have a wonderful work environment, won numerous awards, or an employee filed a complaint against your company – your employer brand can either make or break you.

Companies know how desirable a strong reputation really is, but the exact importance of employer branding in HR is sometimes lost, or even worse, overlooked. As the talent shortage is becoming increasingly alarming, employer branding plays a critical role in helping you attract, retain, and nurture top talent.

So what’s the importance of employer branding in HR? Here are 7 compelling things you’ve got to know in 2022! 

Employer branding is important for recognition

By default, fostering a strong employer brand enables your company to get a great amount of recognition and rapidly boost your brand awareness. All qualified candidates strive to work in well-reputed and esteemed organizations that have successfully nurtured their employer brand. Therefore, when you market yourself as an exceptional employer of choice, you’ll effortlessly attract top talent with ease.

So make sure your employer branding instills a sense of belonging and gives all candidates a true glimpse into your work environment. The first thing you can do is set the stage by promoting your values on your website, branded career page, and social media platforms. Also, you can always broadcast moments of achievement on LinkedIn, such as winning an esteemed award, your mass hiring initiative, or partnering with leading brands across the world. And while you’re at it, might as well highlight the experience and success stories of new hires and current employees to help you convert the right candidates with ease. 

Encourages candidates to seek employment at your company

The importance of employer branding in HR isn’t only about boasting your brand. It’s also about giving candidates a genuine preview of your work environment and culture.

In today’s digital age, candidates are hungry for lucrative opportunities. No one wants to waste time chasing after unattractive opportunities. Today’s candidates seek objective intelligence on employers, and they’re utilizing social media and other sources to gain fruitful insights before deciding to apply. When you cultivate a strong employer brand and reflect it in your recruitment process, you give candidates the chance to determine whether or not the culture, role, and atmosphere are aligned with their goals and values.

This is why we encourage you to create a branded career page with an advanced hiring platform to effortlessly showcase your perks and benefits, values, and open vacancies in a very attractive and appealing way. Your career page is like an open book that gives the prospective candidate a good peek into your company and entices them to seek employment there. As soon as candidates get a sneak peek of your company culture, team spirit, and work environment, they’ll definitely be more excited to apply to your vacancies. 

Enables you to improve retention rates

This goes without saying, but employees who work for companies with powerful employer brands tend to be more invested and motivated. Which in tow, decreases turnover rates.

This makes it easier for HR professionals to cultivate a work environment where all employees feel happy. Which will ultimately make them your brand ambassadors. The importance of employer branding in HR means that you can retain your best employees without the need to squeeze out your marketing budget or break the bank. 

For example, your employees could refer you to good-fit candidates and help you sustain a positive impression through word of mouth. 

The importance of employer branding for HR is also useful for acquiring and retaining clients. For instance, clients want to work with companies that treat their employees right. A poor employer brand, on the other hand, might have them question your reliability and trustworthiness as a partner or vendor.

Helps you grow your business

Whether you’re a big company or small company, your employer brand will speak volumes of your business. Your employer brand is also known as your “talent” or “people” brand. It should tap into the personal and trigger emotions. This approach will make your current employees more productive and driven, which consequently, accelerates your business growth.

Also, a strong employer brand will entice top talent to work with you, without the need to do much of the chasing. Simply because when they see how great your company is, they’ll come flocking to you. This will cause recruiting costs to plummet as talent acquisition teams will experience less friction introducing your company to top talent. Not only will this help you save recruiting costs, but it will also help you shape your recruitment marketing approach.

Supports you in seamlessly reducing time-to-fill

When you have a great employer brand and reputation as an employer, it will take you much less time and cost to fill a vacancy. With a polished employer brand, you won’t need to spend much on recruiting costs. Nor do you have to spend a large sum promoting your job openings on numerous job boards and career sites. Top talent will find you and apply to your vacancies organically. So you don’t have to spend a ginormous amount of time hunting for candidates because they will find you themselves.

Also, when candidates are well familiar with your employer brand they are more likely to respond to recruiters who reach out to them about a vacancy. Which ultimately reduces time-to-fill and time-to-hire; two very core KPIs that influence your talent acquisition strategy. 

When top candidates are more engaged with your company, the keener they will be to join, the faster the recruiting process becomes. This is why employers should truly acknowledge the importance of employer branding in HR, as it can impeccably develop a robust candidate experience and turn passive candidates into brand ambassadors, fast.

Quickly appeals to tech-savvy candidates

You might be looking everywhere – and we mean everywhere – for awesome candidates with tech capabilities. But you just can’t seem to lure these candidates to your job listings. Does this sound familiar to you?

The importance of employer branding in HR isn’t just about wowing prospective candidates with content. It’s also about moving them through a tech-driven and highly innovative hiring process. At the end of the day, technology is the way of the future for employers who aim to stay competitive.

One thing you need to know is that tech-savvy candidates are looking for an exceptional place to thrive in their digital career journey. They’re looking for a company that is tech-savvy too, and a hiring platform can help with that.

A hiring platform powered by AI enables recruiters to smoothly move a candidate through a personalized, ultra-fast, and smooth hiring experience. Which ultimately elevates their engagement and interest in your company. As an employer who demonstrates digital aptitude, you can almost guarantee that you will attract tech-savvy candidates without the hassle.

Helps you build trust fast

Did you know that almost 75% of candidates look into your employer brand before even applying for a job?

No matter how interesting your vacancy is or how attractive your job description might be, if your employer brand doesn’t elicit trust or has a poor online reputation – candidates will hesitate to apply.

In fact, the number one issue that top talent experience is not having enough information about your organization. As a result, this could discourage them to apply and may spark some concerns. This is why recruiters need to fully comprehend the importance of employer branding in HR.

When you regularly invest in your employer brand and consistently refresh the content on your career page and social media platforms – you build trust. You’re openly giving candidates the information they need to get to know more about you. This way, candidates are 3 times more likely to trust your company when your content is relevant, up to date, and credible.

Final thoughts

Acknowledging the importance of employer branding in HR means will having top talent flock toward you, rather than away from you. 

And remember, in this day and age, it takes more than a fancy career page or a few reviews on Glassdoor to build an exceptional employer brand. It’s also the combination of your innovation, agility, credibility, and efficient processes. The better your employer brand is; the better candidates you will attract. When you build an employer brand that resonates with everyone (most importantly your candidates) you will get to stay ahead of the competition and catch your ideal candidates with ease.

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