Employer Brand Insights: 2020 and beyond

In 2020, when it came to talent attraction, many of us had to set aside major initiatives and press the 'pause' button as we all, collectively, tried to figure out what the future of work could look like, what our candidates expect of us now and how we respond to shifting talent demographics and their needs.

Here are a few insights I shared throughout 2020 that I believe will help guide a strong, effective employer brand strategy going into 2021.

The external dialogue about your employer brand is going to continue whether you choose to participate or not. One of the most powerful things you can do is create a culture where your employees feel confident in advocating for your organization as a place to work. Think of it as a variation of the old concept of "word of mouth" marketing.

Companies that support external talent advocacy have higher quality of hire and more engaged employees!

It's tempting to look at employer brand campaigns and initiatives and try to tie them to a specific number of hires or even applicants. The conversion-to-hire rate is a singular, lower-funnel metric that does speak to campaign efficacy, but it's not the only thing that defines employer brand success.

I find it helpful to think of the traditional marketing funnel when I'm measuring employer brand success - Awareness, Consideration and Conversion. Think about how your candidates perceive you, your reputation in the market, how external candidates are responding to your creative & messaging and what the trending sentiment is.

A 'funnel' mindset will help create a more holistic, strategic way to measure your employer brand.

I get it... bad Glassdoor reviews are scary. Negative comments on your LinkedIn page are unpleasant to confront. Disgruntled former employees venting on your Indeed.com profile are sometimes really frustrating.

The great thing is - the opportunity for dialogue exists. Like Yelp or Tripadvisor, you can take control of the narrative and respond to these reviews. You can also use them as a source of insight as you evolve your EVP. Certain elements of your employee experience are always going to be aspirational and a work in progress. The unvarnished opinion of current and former employees is a source of insight for you to improve on key areas of opportunity.

Bill Gates said, "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning." The same is often true for your employees and former employees.

Now that we're all getting into the thick of employer brand planning for the next year, it's important to remember what is going to be strategic and sustainable. While you may not have the budget of a client-facing brand marketing team, you can leverage your resources to the fullest by doing a deep-dive with your business partners on hiring forecasts. Look at peak times during the year and plan big initiatives 2-3 months beforehand.

This way, you create momentum and buzz so that when job requisitions open up, you are approaching a warm audience instead of a cool one.