Recruitment is more than just sourcing — it’s building a reputation. To attract top talent, it’s necessary to lean into yours. When customers and candidates alike think of your company, their mind and mood should shift to meet your brand. Through word of mouth, posts on the internet, and in the minds of those who know of you, this brand will become your company’s public identity over time. Maintaining it is crucial. 

Your employer brand can determine whether or not potential employees select you over a competitor. The role your employer brand plays in recruiting cannot be overstated, and we’ll be going over the ways it impacts the process.

What is an Employer’s Brand?

While your brand image is how the public perceives you, your employer brand is how your employees see you. Past, present, and future employees are all affected by this brand. It is the combination of their experiences with you, their expectations for the future of your organization, and the place that they see for themselves within your organization.

High Retention Rate Announces Stability

A major component of your employer brand is the future path of each individual employee. While opportunities for promotion build your image, poor retention can cripple your brand. Candidates that see an outflux of employees will feel that their position is uncertain before they even start with you. 

A focus on retention and employee satisfaction can bolster your employer brand by avoiding this uncertainty. Talent will see a stable workplace that understands its employees’ needs. Former employees and current employees should be happy to reinforce this reputation, and your brand will draw more top talent into your fold.

Satisfied Employees Bring In New Talent

A strong employer brand is backed by your satisfied employees. These are the people that embody your company’s vision and are going to stick around for the long haul. Their word-of-mouth descriptions of what it’s like to work at your company are the most influential for new employees, as they can tell that their praise is genuine and heartfelt. Having a number of happy experts will attract top talent to your company like there’s no tomorrow.

A Good Brand Reduces Cost Per Hire

As any lead recruiter will tell you, hiring new employees is extremely costly. Each worker you bring on costs an average of $4,000, but a bad hire can cost more. Having a strong, public employer brand can cut these costs by attracting superior candidates to your organization. Recent LinkedIn data suggests that the draw of a good employer brand can reduce cost-per-hire by around 50%. The speed at which new hires are brought in nearly doubles as well.

A Welcoming Brand Can Increase Culture Add

Culture add is the process of examining your company and trying to fill in the gaps—as opposed to filling positions based on the existing culture, also known as culture fit. If your workplace culture is branded as inclusive and welcoming, you’re more likely to attract people of all backgrounds. This can allow you to increase your internal talent pool diversity, a key component of culture add. 

A company with culture add as a focus often boasts a more diverse and creative workforce. Talent looking at your company will often take your diversity into account — and for some, it can be a deciding factor.

A Competitive EVP is Key

An EVP (Employee Value Proposition) is essentially the culmination of your company’s employee brand. It’s all of the benefits that employees receive when working for your organization, including salary, benefits, culture, work environment, and career progression opportunities.  

Using your EVP to your advantage answers the question “What’s in it for me?” It tells the employee what their story with your company will and could be if they join. They’ll feel a sense of belonging and direction, and will be more trusting of management to direct them as necessary.