When you’ve worked somewhere for a while, it’s easy for you to understand why it’s a good place to be. But what really counts in taking your company’s employer brand to the next level is making prospective employees on the outside see just how great it is. In the hyper competitive market place for top talent, it’s crucial to bridge that gap.
Why Is Outward Branding Important?
Focusing on your current employees’ wellbeing is a good thing, but it does not guarantee the word will reach audiences on the outside. If you are tasked with developing an employer brand strategy, the thing to do is to view your company through the lens of prospective talent, and work closely with a well-rounded team from across the organization to enhance that view.
There’s a tendency for employer brand managers to neglect external communication and marketing. Meanwhile, those responsible for advertising your company may overlook some critical elements of the employee experience. Working together is essential to creating emotional connections that will make prospective talent take notice.
Looking beyond the walls of your workplace for unbiased opinions is also important. Conducting some external research to measure where your employer brand is at with prospective talent can be both eye opening and useful in guiding your branding efforts.
What Are Three Easy Ways I Can Improve Outward Branding?
- Show, Don’t Tell: You can talk up how great your company is all you like, but the public is more inclined to believe you if you offer proof. Try interviewing current employees and use quotes and bios on your website as a way for outsiders to get to know your staff, and what they like about working there. A deeper understanding of your current culture will also help guide the written content for your careers pages, newsletters, recruitment ads and social media campaigns.
- Be Real: Say goodbye to stock photography, and hello to candid snaps of employees around the office or out and about at events or doing volunteer work. Get into the habit of capturing daily work life through photography and video. Keep it fresh and timely.
- Have Some Fun: You may have noticed a trend among some companies to take a tongue-and-cheek approach with customer service on social media. Businesses like Arby’s and Campbell’s have been known to stay relevant by posting memes and having real interactions with customers through platforms like Twitter. When brand appropriate, applying this type of social media approach to your organization is a great way to attract talent: it shows you aren’t afraid to cut loose and have a little fun.
It’s important to ask yourself if people outside your organization care about your employer brand. If the answer is no, reframe your thinking around that simple question. This will help you move the dial to where external talent not only knows who you are, they see you as a great place to work.
About Blu Ivy Group
Blu Ivy Group is a leading employer branding and employee engagement consultancy that aligns your organization with contemporary workplace paradigms. Blu Ivy Group’s mission is to help client’s build award-winning people practices, inspire extraordinary employee engagement, and cultivate unique and desirable workplaces.
We provide integrated solutions in employer brand and engagement research, strategic consulting, employer brand integration, creative and talent communications. Blu Ivy Group is a trusted partner to many of North America’s most respected employer brands. For more information, go to www.bluivygroup.com