Morgan Parkes Recruitment: How important is employer branding?

In this blog Morgan Parkes discusses the importance of employer branding, including:

• Storytelling
• Technology and employees
• Your culture
• The employee journey

At EDGE Creative, we have often spoken about the importance of brand. Whether that’s in terms of global identity or dynamic and static branding – brand encompasses a range of different features. One of these factors is the topic of employer branding. How important is it to your business?

Below, our partner Morgan Parkes Recruitment outlines the importance of employer branding.

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At some point, in every sector, a company will ask themselves, ‘how do we attract the best talent to come and work with us?’ or ‘what makes us enviable to the brightest and best?’ These types of questions fall into the category of Employer Branding, a term not to be confused with company brandings such as logos, letterheads, or brand colours for example.  

A strong employer brand is a must-have for any organisation looking to recruit talent in today’s competitive job market. So, what must a company have in place to promote a strong and persuasive employer brand? Let’s break this down into a few key areas:

Storytelling

A company must be good at this. A multi-national company will have started somewhere, be it a desk and phone in the back bedroom or perhaps the CEO had a vision of how a workplace should be. Whatever the company’s history and its success, this story is the backbone of your employer brand.

Technology and your employees

If you have happy employees, you immediately have loyal ambassadors of the company that will want to sing the praises of their employers. Companies may be a little apprehensive about a freestyling team member chatting to a camera, but please read on.

The power of technology and in particular video, is well documented with research suggesting that ‘Gen Z is rapidly turning to video for brand discovery and engagement’ (HR Technologist, 2020). For organisations to be on the radar of this upcoming talent, video and social media must play a key role in their marketing and employer brand strategy. What can be better than a current employee talking about what it is like to work where they work and why?

Culture

The culture of a company is also essential in the success of an employer brand. How the organisation is managed from senior directors down to the administration team will affect how it is viewed by employees and customers alike. A strong and inclusive corporate culture is something to shout about to potential candidates, use outlets such as blog posts, quotes, social media posts to share why your company is the place to work.

Candidates are drawn to a company or position for various reasons including remuneration and benefits, however, there are usually other non-tangible elements that will attract them. These areas can include flexible working, mental health support, training, team nights out, or even a ‘free’ day off on their birthday. A company should not overlook areas like these, as top talent can sometimes forego a high salary for a healthy and inspiring workplace culture.

The candidate/employee journey

What attracts an individual to further the recruitment process with a company? As we have mentioned, it could be the role or the pay, but there are also other experiences along the way that will ensure the success of the recruitment journey. These could be:

• The application process and communication
• The transparency of the company online, including their website, social media and recruitment sites. Candidates may visit these for ratings and employee feedback.
• The use of technology to make the recruitment process more streamlined such as video recorded questions ahead of an interview
• Accessible information about current employees and their experience at the company
• Mapping the application process and keeping the candidate updated

If a company can implement processes that will keep the candidate at the heart of their recruitment and also continue that attention into their employment, they are much more likely to be invested long term.

We have covered just a few of the areas that can be considered when growing or implementing your employer brand.  The current coronavirus pandemic has catapulted companies into adapting to a whole new way of working, the main change has been the requirement for remote working. As lockdown eases, and offices return to a new normal, companies may face further demands from top talent, who prefer to remote work as they juggle work-life commitments and enjoy a better work-life balance. The world of work is a changing landscape and companies will face the challenge to stand out to attract and retain their best workforce.

If you are a company looking to grow your team and would like support in sourcing the best talent, please contact us today to discuss your needs on 0121 296 5766 or email kate@morganparkes.co.uk.

EDGE Creative 

At EDGE Creative, we understand the importance of teamwork, feedback, growing and development, which is what makes EDGE such an exciting place to work.

If you are interested in joining our team, place send your CV to info@edge-creative.com or view our current vacancies on our about us page.