Employer Branding: The Silent Partner in Your Recruitment Process

Welcome to the latest edition of the "Roadmap to Hiring Success" newsletter, where we're delving into a crucial aspect of recruitment that often goes unnoticed: the impact of the hiring experience on your employer brand.

Employer branding and recruitment are inseparable. Your brand not only attracts talent but also sets the stage for the hiring experience. How candidates perceive your brand can significantly affect the quality of talent you attract. Yet, many companies overlook the direct link between their hiring methods and their brand's reputation.

In today's competitive job market, employer branding has emerged as a key differentiator for companies seeking to attract and retain top talent. Your employer brand is not just a logo or a tagline; it's the essence of your company culture, values, and reputation as an employer.

Your employer brand is not what you say it is, it's what your employees say it is. Craft an environment that they can speak of it with pride.

5 Ways Your Hiring Process Might Be Damaging Your Employer Brand

Your Job Adverts:

Job adverts are a sales tool. They're the first impression the market experiences of your brand. Poorly written job adverts that only talk about your company and what the employee must have to apply are highly unlikely to encourage your dream employee to apply. Crafting compelling and attractive job adverts that convert to applications requires focusing on the candidate's needs, not just your own.

Your Hiring Process:

How many hoops are you asking your candidates to jump through? How long does it take for you to respond to applicants? Are all your applicants receiving a response from you, even if it's a "no thanks"? If your process is causing you to lose talent, it might be time for a review.

Communication & Feedback:

How would you rate the communication between your company and job applicants through the process? If you were a candidate in your own process how would you feel?

Communication is key. The more informed a candidate is, the easier it is for them to make a decision at the offer stage. Lack of clarity leads to inaction, which, in this scenario, would be a rejected job offer.

Providing post-interview constructive feedback can make a significant difference in how candidates perceive your brand.

Your Recruitment Methods:

How are you currently managing your recruitment?

Could your recruitment methods be hindering your success?

If you are hiring directly yourself, could it be time to get some extra support? With options like Phlox's fractional recruitment services, you can reduce your workload, improve your employer brand, and enhance the quality of talent you hire.

Working with recruitment agencies? Ensure you are working with the right one. Agencies directly represent your brand. Ask candidates when they come for interview how they have found the experience. Are they well informed? Do they receive post interview feedback?

Choose your recruitment partner like you would an employee. Are their ethics and values aligned with yours? The way they treat candidates is a direct reflection of you and your brand.

Candidate Experience:

Candidate experience is crucial. Both the first impression and the last interaction with your brand are crucial recruiting elements that impact how people talk about you in the market.

Treat departing candidates with respect and clarity to ensure they leave with a positive impression of your brand.

There's a lot to be said about how a company treats people on the way in. And more so how they treat the ones that they have chosen not to hire.

If you sent a survey today to all candidates that have attended an interview at your company, what do you think they would say about the experience?

Summary:

These areas I've highlighted today are likely not things you haven't heard before. These are common areas that, as leaders, we know have a direct impact on employer brand and our recruitment success.

I ask you all to commit to reflecting on each of these areas and think deeply about how they could be impacting your brand, whether positively or negatively.

The slightest tweaks can often make a huge difference.

Case Study:

During a recent Phlox led recruitment project for a global pharmaceutical brand launching in Australia, candidates were proactively speaking up in interviews about how impressive they had found the experience. On multiple occasions it was quoted "its been the best recruitment experience in the entire industry"

Here is how the 5 things above resulted in this outcome:

1. Job Adverts - we crafted jobs advert that would resonate with the ideal employee. It focussed on the value to the candidate and gave a clear picture on what it would be like to work for them.
2. Hiring Process - the process was simple yet effective. It was designed to be collaborative and enjoyable. It was designed so that the candidates had plenty of opportunity to interview them as well as be interviewed themselves.
3. Communication & Feedback: Every interaction with the applicant was filled with information. Candidates were well informed and prepared throughout.
4. Recruitment Method: Being new to the local market, the company wanted a recruitment model that would help share their story, build a magnetic employer brand and get access to the best talent. Our fractional recruitment services were perfectly aligned to their goals. Working with us was the equivalent of having their own internal recruitment team on a fractional basis.
5. Candidate Experience: The entire project was designed around delivering a platinum level experience. The feedback from applicants alone is testament to how well this was received.

How Phlox can support your recruitment success and cultivate a magnetic employer brand:

1. Consultancy Services: At Phlox, we thrive on helping companies achieve recruitment success. Whether you want to review your current methods and processes or need help building out a recruitment strategy, we are here to help.
2. Recruitment Support: Whether its your first hire or you're running a bulk recruitment project, our recruitment services are all designed around making your brand the centre of attention.
3. One-off Recruitment Tasks: Are you pressed for time and need to outsource some of your recruitment tasks? The Phlox team is ready to help with writing a job adverts, mapping the market, crafting your recruitment marketing plan, conducting reference checks and more.

Introducing the Phlox Team:

For those of you who are not aware, I'll be taking a short break soon as I welcome the arrival of my first child.

During this time Phlox services will not cease.

In fact, I've been keeping a secret that Phlox has in fact been a team of 3 for some time.

I am honoured to be supported by 2 very well regarded and experienced recruiters all with recruitment experience in the health industry.

I have worked directly with both of these individuals and can speak first hand to their highly ethical working practices and strong morals and values.

Introducing:

Martina McDermott: For anyone that has crossed paths with Martina will know she dominated the Medical Affairs, Regulatory and Market Access recruitment market for years and is a well respected and highly regarded recruiter who is loved by candidates and clients alike.

Martina is supporting Phlox on an interim basis.

Eleni Giagos: Eleni is another well regarded and highly respected recruiter who is well versed at recruiting roles within the Health/Pharma/MedTech industries. Her passion for candidate care and strong ethical values have been instrumental in solidifying her excellent reputation.

Eleni will be supporting Phlox on a part-time basis whilst she embarks upon her own entrepreneurial journey...more to be revealed directly from Eleni herself in due course...watch this space!

Get in Touch

Whether you're a startup looking to establish your brand or a growing business seeking to refine your recruitment strategy, Phlox Consulting is here to guide you every step of the way.

To explore how our services can elevate your employer brand and transform your recruitment process, please feel free to contact Phlox directly for a confidential discussion.

#employerbrand #recruitment #talentattraction #businessgrowth #teamexpansion