What makes a company attractive to employees?
A strong employer brand can attract and retain top talent, while a poor or negative employer brand can make it difficult to attract and retain quality employees.
What makes a company attractive to employees?
Is it compensation, benefits, future earnings potential, flexible working, career development opportunities, meaningful and/or challenging work, learning opportunities, the work environment and culture, the team and leadership? It is all this and more. The above are examples of your employee value proposition, your reputation as an employer and as a great place to work is your employer brand.
Employee value proposition: the value you offer people and the experience they can expect. It's HR-speak for all the great reasons you might work for a particular company.
Employer brand: your reputation as an employer and the perception of the company as a great place to work.
Focus on making your company attractive to the people you want to hire
First things first, you don't need to win over everyone. Define your EVP for the people that matter most – your critical talent. Understand what they want, and shape your offers and messages accordingly.
Who - get clear on your critical talent groups. Who are the people you need in your business? How would you define them?
What - identify the specific needs and expectations of this group of people. There is no one-size fits all or blueprint to replicate here. You need to look at who you are trying to appeal to and learn about their needs, wants and expectations. We recommend using a combination of quantitative and qualitative data here - talk to your team and undertake desktop research into what matters to your target groups.
How - how will you design your offering to meet the needs of your target group while adhering to any business constraints. This is where your research comes into play - look critically at the benefits that are most meaningful for your target group and note, not all benefits have a monetary cost. Examples:
Career Development: Think training, mentoring, and opportunities for growth. Employees love it when their company invests in their future.
Work-Life Balance: Offering flexible hours, remote work, and time off shows
Compensation and Benefits: A competitive salary, bonuses, health plans
Culture and Work Environment: Your company culture and values, combined with the workspace and relationships, can make all the difference.
What influences your employer brand?
Culture and Practices: as you grow, a perception of your culture and what type of company you are emerges. Work/life balance, career development opportunities, physical environment, performance orientation, flexibility and the work you offer all influence your employer brand.
Online Presence: If people haven’t heard about you, they look online. Your website, job adverts, LinkedIn profiles, awards, and online reviews all form perceptions of your employer brand.
Recruitment Process: The best recruiters are great storytellers - they're able to get your company to the top of the candidates list, if they can tell a compelling story. From the candidate experience, to the messages you share along the way, candidates create a view of who you are based on their recruitment experience.
Onboarding: The way you welcome newbies can influence your brand. Employees love to share their first impressions - good and bad - with friends and family members.
So, why should someone join your company? What makes it worth staying for the long haul? If you don't have the answers make this a priority or risk losing your best people to your competitors. Contact us to finetune your employer brand and develop a compelling EVP
