Being a part of the talent acquisition community, you not only have to focus on attracting candidates but also on retaining talent.
That’s where employer branding comes in. Employer branding is often thought of as just a recruiting tool, but in reality it can be incredibly useful when it comes to retaining employees. A strong employer brand can be a powerful business tool you can use that connects your company’s values and people strategy to the brand.
Last week we wrote about the 3 Best Types of Employer Branding Content That Drives Employee Retention. While it gives great examples of how talent acquisition specialists can use their employer brand to keep employees sticking around, let’s look into why that’s important!
Here are the top 3 reasons why you, as a talent acquisition specialist, should care about employer branding for retaining talent:
- It reminds candidates why they were hired – An employer branding strategy consists of not only featured jobs but employee stories, events, awards and things beyond just what a company does to make money. If employees are constantly seeing social posts that remind them that they work for a kick a$$ company that cares about their employees, they will be more engaged, which, in the end, helps talent retention.
- Featuring employees makes those people feel important – A major part of employer branding is getting employees on video or on the phone to talk about themselves and their jobs. This serves as an ego boost and yet another reminder that they are valued enough by the company to represent the company. This also encourages employees to re-think about why they’re working for a company. By doing so, this recommits them to the mission and the importance of their jobs!
- It encourages employee engagement – An effective employer branding strategy encourages employees to not only be engaged in the office but in the social arena. There is nothing more rewarding for an employee than seeing his/her video and/or blog up on their employer’s website or social media. Chances are those employees will share those articles with families and friends making for a cost-effective way to improve brand visibility, engagement and recruiting simultaneously.
In the talent acquisition world, it should already be clear to you why an employer brand is important for recruiting talent, but go a level deeper by understanding the impact it can make on retention. As a leader, you should also individually contribute to your company’s employer branding strategy by sharing, liking, commenting and connecting with those employees being featured. By being an active participant in the employer brand, you will contribute to the overall success of your company’s recruitment marketing strategy and pave the way for other employees to see the benefits.
The more brand visibility you can push out, the easier your job gets – next thing you know those candidates will be coming to you and your employees will be sticking around.