Employer branding strategy: A step-by-step guide for success

October 29, 2024

What does the general public think of when they see something related to your organization?

Regardless of what they think, it’s the impact of your employer branding, which refers to how people perceive your business.

For example, what comes to mind when you think of Starbucks?

You likely imagine their notorious logo, hot cups of coffee, and baristas working hard in their synonymous green aprons to create elaborate drinks.

Well, none of this is by accident.

Starbucks has a powerful consumer brand, and every aspect (the logo, the aprons, the product) was meticulously put together on purpose.

However, today, we’re talking about employer brands instead of consumer brands.

An employer brand is very similar, but it directly refers to how people perceive what it’s like to work at your business.

A powerful employer branding strategy is one of the best ways to boost employee retention and consistently attract top talent.

In fact, according to LinkedIn, 75% of job seekers directly consider an employer’s brand when applying for a job.

Why is that?

There are a few reasons, the main one being that most people don’t want to work for a company with a bad reputation.

Moreover, companies with positive reputations tend to have better company cultures, opportunities for growth, and an ideal work-life balance—all things potential candidates crave right now.

Thus, you have every incentive to develop a positive employer brand for your organization.

In this article, I’ll teach you how to do just that, so stick around to learn more.

What is an employer branding strategy?

Where consumer branding is about making your organization appealing to customers, employer branding focuses on improving your reputation among workers – existing employees, and potential candidates.

Strong employer brands have a desirable work culture, enticing success stories (like someone starting at the bottom and working their way to the top), and agreeable company values (like diversity and a focus on career development).

An employee branding strategy refers to your methods for convincing the public that you’re a great employer.

This includes doing things like:

Sharing glowing employee testimonials
Offering attractive perks like flexible schedules
Responding to ratings on third-party review sites (both good and bad)
Creating a candidate persona to understand the needs and wants of your talent pool truly
Writing enticing job descriptions designed to attract the most qualified candidates

These are all ways to improve your employer branding, but we’ll explore specific strategies briefly.

Knowing that your employer brand is a crucial aspect of the recruitment process is essential.

You need a positive employer brand to attract qualified applicants to your organization.

The proof?

According to LinkedIn, companies that invest in employer branding are three times as likely to make a quality hire.

Also, research by Career Arc found that 69% of candidates would outright reject a job offer from a company with a wrong employer brand, even if they were unemployed.

These stats prove the importance of a company’s reputation, so it’s not something to take lightly.

What are the main benefits of a successful employer branding strategy?

Whenever job candidates view your organization as a strong employer brand, they’ll start lining up to apply.

This will significantly increase the size of your talent pool, enabling you to pick from the cream of the crop instead of settling for what you have available.

Furthermore, former employees who had a positive experience working for you will become loyal brand ambassadors.

This means they’ll sing your praises to their friends, family, and co-workers, heightening the chances that you’ll land your ideal candidate for your next job opening.

Here’s a look at the primary benefits you’ll enjoy from a bustling employer brand strategy.

Reduce employee turnover and improve retention

As stated, an employer’s brand matters to potential employees so much that it can make or break the deal.

Therefore, organizations with strong employer brands boast low turnover rates.

Employees also stay with the organization for longer, improving retention.

More research by LinkedIn found that strong employer branding can boost retention rates by 28%.

This is because as long as you provide a pleasant employee experience (meaning your branding isn’t smoke and mirrors), your workers won’t need to look for other employment opportunities.

Improve employee engagement

Strong employer branding is also effective at improving employee engagement levels.

A vibrant and flexible workplace culture is conducive to better well-being, enhanced productivity, and increased focus.

The LinkedIn report above found that positive employer brands correlate with 20% higher levels of employee engagement.

This is especially true for organizations offering flexible working schedules, a significant demand for today’s job candidates.

Increased employee referrals

Ask any HR professional right now, and they’ll tell you that the hiring process is a nightmare.

Between massive talent shortages and a global skills gap, sourcing qualified candidates has become more challenging.

As a result, alternative hiring methods like internal recruitment and employee referrals have become prevalent talent acquisition methods.

Referrals are much easier to obtain if you have a strong employer brand. For one, your employees will genuinely enjoy working for you, so they’ll naturally recommend you to their friends and colleagues.

Next, providing a solid candidate experience ensures that the referred applicants you receive will:

Likely accept the job offer and remain with your company
Leave you a good employer review and recommend you in the future

This can create a spiraling effect where your referrals also land more referrals.

Reduce recruitment and hiring costs

Lastly, a positive employer brand can allow you to ease back on advertising your open positions as much.

Posting jobs on boards like Indeed and Monster costs money (if you want your listings to be seen), which adds up over time.

However, if qualified candidates are lining up to apply at your company, you won’t have to post open positions on career sites nearly as much.

Candidates will also self-select, meaning they’ll only apply for jobs they’re genuinely interested in and qualified for, saving time and money.

How to develop an employer branding strategy from scratch

Now, it’s time to learn how to create and implement an employer branding strategy for your organization.

Remember, your goal is to improve the public’s perception of your brand as an employer, such as the type of work environment you provide.

To attract the best talent, candidates must be under the impression that working for you will benefit them greatly.

Bear in mind that this stretches far beyond advertising salaries and bonuses.

Instead, your branding needs to include why what your organization does matters and how it benefits the world.

People want to know they’re doing meaningful work, so your brand should reflect that.

Research shows that when new employees feel their work is meaningful, their performance increases by 33%, and their commitment to the organization rises by 75%.

Yet, a lot goes into developing an employer branding strategy, so let’s break it down into digestible steps.

Step #1: Understand your unique value proposition

First, you need to know what sets you apart from other organizations.

In other words, what value are you offering the world through your work?

You could revolutionize the world with innovative products, help consumers find more affordable options, or do something else.

Above all else, your value proposition must be unique, concise, and impactful.

To get your creative juices flowing, here’s an example value proposition for a fictional marketing business that sells SEO services:

Our mission is to help businesses grow by expanding their online reach. Every day, we help entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses compete with the big dogs by outranking their competitors on Google.

Remember, your goal is to plant the seed in the public’s mind that you do meaningful work that improves the world.

Step #2: Conduct an employer brand audit

Next, it’s time to get your finger on the pulse of what the public currently thinks of you as an employer.

This means conducting an audit where you analyze the following:

What people are saying about your brand on social media (social listening tools like Hootsuite and Google Trends are both practical tools for this)
Employee feedback (to gauge your current employee experience)
Third-party review sites like Glassdoor to see what former employees say.
Internal surveys to new hires (to gauge how effective your onboarding process is)

Once you’ve checked these boxes, you’ll have a solid understanding of your current employer brand.

Even if it’s on the negative side, the following steps will help you amend that, so don’t feel too bad if your brand isn’t where you want it to be yet.

Step #3: Write an employee value proposition (EVP)

Once the audit is complete, you should create a value proposition that is strictly for employees.

Rather than focusing on what you do this time, you should focus on what you do for your employees.

This means listing all the perks involved with becoming one of your employees.

Be sure to mention things like:

Offering flexible schedules (hybrid work, remote work, condensed workweeks, etc.)
Any notable benefits (company car, health insurance, profit sharing, etc.)
A focus on career development for employees
A diverse, fun, and productive work environment
Vibrant company culture

Your EVP should be included on your website’s career page to make it visible to your applicants. You can include it in job postings on boards like Indeed and social media channels like LinkedIn.

Besides compensation and benefits, don’t forget to mention your employee’s meaningful impact on your work.

Remind your prospects that without them, none of the positive impacts you have on the world are possible, which may inspire them to apply.

Step #4: Create a list of brand KPIs (key performance indicators)

You’ll need a way to ensure that your employer brand has the effect you want on your business, which is where KPIs come into play.

By setting a series of key performance indicators related to recruitment, engagement, and job satisfaction – you’ll know whether you’re heading in the right direction.

Essential KPIs to set for your employer brand include:

Time-to-fill rates for open positions (if your employer brand is powerful, this rate should be low)
Employee satisfaction and turnover rates
Cost-per-hire and onboarding costs
Total number of job applications received
Social media engagement metrics (all platforms)

These will help you steer your strategy in the right direction. If one of your KPIs starts to falter, it’s a sign that your plan needs some tweaking.

Step #5: Use blogs, videos, and image carousels to craft a brand story

Storytelling is one of the most potent elements when creating a brand.

Audiences love a good story, regardless of whether it appears on a big screen.

The most successful brands use storytelling to hook audiences and employees, but they don’t make themselves the main focus.

Instead, your brand story should position your employees as heroes, with your organization as wise mentors who help them reach their true potential.

For example, you could choose one of your employees as the focal point for a short video or image carousel. In it, you make it all about their development. In particular, talk about how working at your organization led them to where they are today, which should be a new and improved version of themselves.

Here’s a quick example using the same fictional SEO company as before:

(Employee name) was always interested in marketing but didn’t know where to start. While she began work at (your company) as an intern, we quickly noticed her potential. After investing in a few training courses, we gave her a shot as a junior marketing associate.

After two short years and some continued education, she became the chief editor for our blog and is next in line to become the Director of Marketing.

As you can see, the focus is entirely on the employee’s journey to becoming a respected marketing professional. The trick is that your organization got her there, and prospective employees will remember that.

Concluding thoughts: Employer branding strategy

We’ve covered a lot so far, so let’s briefly recap:

Your employer brand refers to how the public perceives what it would be like to work for you.
Strong employer brands yield significant benefits like better retention rates and higher engagement.
Crafting an employer branding strategy involves creating value propositions, conducting an audit, and telling a compelling brand story.

Today’s employees are concerned with more than large salaries, so don’t forget to include things like flexible schedules, meaningful work, and diversity in your value propositions.

More Resources:
Employer branding strategies to attract top talent
What is employer branding? How does it help with hiring?
Employee value proposition in action: Compelling real-world examples