What is employer branding?
Employer branding is defined as the overall image that a company conveys to its co-workers, partners, and potential candidates. So it affects the identity and reputation of the firm, the exposure of its values, its organization, and its own culture, both internally and externally. Employer branding is mostly handled by a company’s HR department. It aims to promote the recruitment, but also to optimize the working environment for its current and future employees. Its main objectives are therefore to:
- Make it attractive to new talents
- Retain team members by maximizing well-being at work.
Using various marketing strategies, employer brand communication aims to convey a positive image of itself in line with current trends, in order to remain attractive and build strong teams that drive growth.
Employer branding is not to be confused with brand image. Rather it aims to make people want to be part of the company and proudly promote its values. It is of course intended for potential candidates looking for a desirable working environment, but also prospects and clients who legitimately want to know for whom they are spending money. Good employer brand communication draws new partners and suppliers convinced by the company's reputation, while also attracting media attention.
Why implement this strategy?
Once the employer brand has been defined, implemented, and rolled out internally, opportunely promoting it through communication is an essential strategy for the company's sustainability and growth.
In general, employer brand communication allows you to:
- Enhance your brand image
- Increase its attractiveness
- Develop employee engagement
- Reduce recruitment costs.
When a company succeeds in convincing the public and all the markets it deals with that it offers its employees a healthy and fulfilling working environment and adheres to regulatory compliance, it is guaranteed to have a positive image. A good brand image inevitably leads to increased influence and enables the company to strengthen its reputation. A better reputation attracts prospects and builds customer loyalty, ultimately improving overall performance.
To remain competitive in the long term and communicate effectively about its employer brand, a company must take into account the constant evolution of the expectations of its co-workers and partners. These expectations are particularly influenced by the development of new technologies, and the progressive evolution of mindsets, but also by the social and economic context. A well-thought-out internal and external communication strategy on employer branding can therefore considerably extend the influence of the company and build loyalty among its customers and employees. In this sense, it is crucial to adapt its communication practices and relationship strategies, both with employees and potential future candidates. Mastering digital media to stand out from the crowd and display positive common values is particularly important to enhance one’s brand image, especially among new generations.
When it comes to recruitment, working on your employer's brand and communicating smartly about it has powerful repercussions. The following are statistics highlighted by a recent study*:
- 84% of employees consider leaving their company to join one with a better reputation;
- 1 in 3 candidates would refuse a job in a company that does not have a good reputation;
- A strong employer brand increases the number of qualified applications by 50%.
Finally, it is important to take the current context into account, a consequence of the Covid-19 health crisis, in which the employer brand has taken an unprecedented turn and integrated new issues. If working remotely was a difficult step for many, the return to normal was also complicated. Returning to work, employees’ expectations have changed, as the health crisis has put the focus back on work-related well-being. In this sense, employer branding is now a fast-growing communication lever to highlight a new vision of working conditions. If it already existed, this strategy has now become essential and represents an enormous guarantee of quality for the company.
How can the employer brand be communicated?
Employer brand communication is aimed at employees as well as external partners and clients. To maximize its benefits, it must therefore be implemented both internally and externally. There are a number of interesting solutions to do so. The following are some examples.
The corporate communication interface
The first initiative to communicate your employer's brand internally is obviously to establish an internal corporate communication system. The use of an internal information center enables effective communication on current projects, news, sharing co-worker experiences, and advice on future directions.
The internal communication software proposed by Cenareo offers a relevant and reliable solution for the implementation of this type of communication. Acting as a means of multichannel communication, this intuitive tool is designed for all types of screens, available at any time on PC and smartphones, or tablets.
Use social networks and web tools
Social networks have become omnipresent in everyone's daily life. In recent years, their function has expanded to include business and advertising. For example, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all excellent and inexpensive tools for communicating about your company's employer brand. A dynamic and attractive business page on several of these networks ensures effective and easily shared communication to promote your brand, products or services, values, and corporate culture. Used by all, these networks ensure that you reach a large audience and communicate in real-time using modern and trendy language.
Nowadays web communication is a must to optimize external communication. Setting up and running a website should also be part of your digital strategy. So accompany your promotion on social networks with a blog or website dedicated to the company, on which you can communicate more widely about news, customer feedback, and co-worker experiences to make you attractive.
Digital signage
Employer brand communication is all the more effective when it is used to make innovative information available. In this sense, corporate digital signage is the ideal solution to highlight your employer's brand and thus significantly improve its image. Digital signage is high-impact and attractive, offering state-of-the-art internal communication space with a wide range of possibilities, particularly advantageous in terms of ROI. Several digital and interactive screens linked and controlled by a digital signage player installed on the company’s premises, but also in points of sale, allow the communication of customer and partner satisfaction reviews and constant visibility. A perfect way to boost your communication and your overall performance!
The installation of such a standalone display system is quick and easy with Cenareo, provider of a complete digital signage solution developed at its premises in Toulouse.
Are you interested in digital signage to boost your employer brand communication and want to know more about the Cenareo solution? Find out more now!
