How do the world’s top brands position themselves to employees?

It’s often not enough for brands and companies to sustain a sales-focused reputation in the market among present and potential customers. There is another core audience they must cater to when it comes to managing perceptions – their present and potential employees.

Employer branding is all about a company’s reputation as an employer and the sum of values it brings to its employees. Markers like job satisfaction, work-life balance, opportunities to learn and grow, recognition of contribution, and responsiveness to work-related issues are a few of the elements that determine a company’s work culture and, by extension, its positioning as an employer.

While corporate branding takes its cues from what a company does, employer branding is more about what a company is. Put another way, it means the size or level of success of a company is no guarantee of its reputation as a good employer. That is why you can often find large multinational companies fighting negative perceptions about their work cultures, while tiny organizations can have stellar reputations as great places to work.

The significance of employer branding

A recent company culture survey found that 86% of candidates avoid companies with bad reputations. It also found that millennial job seekers rated ‘people and culture fit’ above all other considerations while applying for a job.

With these statistics in mind, let’s consider the most important reasons why having an employer branding strategy is vital for any company.

1. Attract the best talent: Higher compensation is not enough to get the best person for a job. Advantages like job recognition and growth prospects figure high in the list of priorities for job seekers. A solid reputation as a good place to work can help you attract the best available talent.
2. Avoid retention: Employer branding lets potential employees know in advance if your company is going to be a good fit for them. That, in turn, can help lower your turnover rate and retain a productive talent pool over longer periods.
3. Cut down on hiring time and costs: Candidates are more likely to respond to job offers from companies that have a reputation as healthy places to work. This can help companies avoid rejections and cut down on the time, money, and effort required to onboard new talent.
4. Manage social media perception: Employees, both past and present, review their places of work on social media platforms. People talking positively or negatively about your work culture are sure to influence how prospective employees feel about signing up for a job with your company.

Examples of great employer branding

The most successful employer brands believe in putting people first – enabling their workers to own their work and pursue their career interests and passions. It’s not a matter of just compensation and job satisfaction but also life satisfaction.

Here are a few notable examples of companies that have thrived, at least in part based on employee satisfaction:

• Starbucks. Starbucks is recognized for referring to all its employees as ‘partners’ – everyone from servers at its locations to C-Suite executives. Starbucks says it considers all workers “partners in shared success”. According to placement service Comparably.com, 73% of the coffee chain’s employees report they are proud to be part of Starbucks, with another 82% swearing by the company’s positive work environment. Starbucks’ employer branding strategy is built on a solid social media presence, including Twitter and Instagram channels dedicated to sharing ‘partner’ success stories. The company also offers 100% tuition coverage to part-time and full-time partners selected for a first-time bachelor’s degree through the Arizona State University online program.

• Netflix. “A great workplace combines exceptional colleagues and hard problems”. That’s the message greeting visitors to the Netflix careers page. The streaming giant is known for being extremely picky about getting nothing short of the best talent available. Its philosophy – people over processes – is based on a culture of seeking excellence and working with highly effective people. Netflix refers to its workforce as a ‘dream team’, where every colleague is “extraordinary”. Employee behaviors valued by the company include judgment, selflessness, courage, and curiosity.

Netflix clearly positions itself as a demanding employer, but one that encourages freedom and responsibility and is not a stickler for conventional rules. Employees love working at Netflix, and the company’s annual turnover rate of 11% is well short of the 13% national average for tech companies.

• Mollie. Dutch payment processing company and one of Europe’s fastest-growing fintechs, Mollie, stands out for its employer branding. “Driven by love” is how the company describes its hiring philosophy. In the company’s own words, it “prioritizes inquisitive minds with good ideas and strong opinions”.

Inspired perhaps by the Oompa-Loompas of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, the company calls all its employees Mollies. A fun but highly productive work culture has helped the company grow rapidly since starting in 2004. It currently operates across five European countries, employing 700 happy Mollies. Part of the company’s draw is the clear understanding it provides prospective workers of what to expect from it.

There are countless other examples of successful employer branding that you can use to ramp up your own strategy. Invest in developing your current team while you create an employer value proposition that will help you differentiate yourself in the jobs market. Finally, make sure to build and promote your employer brand image through all your primary marketing channels, but especially on social media.

Boost your hiring with the help of experts

Invest time in building your employer brand by letting experts handle the more time-consuming tasks like sourcing and sorting through talent, compliance requirements, and other admin operations.

Solvex Solutions can be your secret weapon in powering growth. Our suite of specialized services, including staffing consultancy and recruitment outsourcing, is designed to reduce your time spent on manual processes.

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