Employer Branding for SMEs

Employer Branding for SMEs

Do you know what your organisation’s reputation is as an employer?  Have you thought about how you can manage and influence your reputation among job seekers, employees and key stakeholders?  Employer branding encompasses everything you do to position your company as an employer of choice.

Why is this important?

When researching your company, 75% of candidates will check your reputation, and 77% of candidates will want to understand your culture and values before they even consider applying to you.

What does it include?

Your employer branding covers a wide range of different areas, including compensation, culture, the work environment, job security, career opportunities, and employee insights. So, how can you showcase this for candidates applying to your organisation?

Three quick wins are easy to implement to improve your employer branding.

1. Improve your online presence and your company profile

Candidates will research your organisation during the recruitment process so your messages should be clear and positive.  Show the company history and vision and what problems your company solves.  Use social media and your website to showcase your work environment and culture.

2. Improve your online reviews

Candidates will see your online reviews via Indeed and Glassdoor.  Make sure you are addressing all your reviews, both positive and negative.  Take a positive viewpoint that will diminish the feedback and show that you care.  Rate any reviews as either helpful or unhelpful as this affects the positioning of the reviews.

3. Look at your social media strategy

This is a longer-term strategy with the one objective of why this is a great place to work.  Think about what platforms you are using for different demographics of candidates.  The things in 2024 which are most important to candidates include seeing your diversity and inclusivity in the workplace, what digital innovation you are using and showcasing your people and culture.

Action points for you:

Considering this information as a business owner/hiring manager you may want to:

• Review your website and social media in line with your employer branding objectives.  Consider what you can post in the longer term and on a weekly basis.
• Look at your recruitment process and the candidate experience – what can you do to make candidates feel they have missed a great opportunity, rather than dodged a bullet.  Think about timeliness, communication and doing what you say you are going to do, when you say you will.
• Spend some time responding to your reviews (refer to the last edition of this newsletter for more action points on this.)
• Ask your teams what information they want to share and how to share it.  If some departments regularly meet together outside work, or you run regular activities for the teams, then make sure you are writing about it and posting.
• Run an employee engagement survey to find out exactly what your teams think of working with you and address any areas and themes that are uncovered.

If you want help to reduce the time that you spend on recruitment optimise your hiring processes and attract the best candidates book a free 30 minute strategy session with me, Caroline Hunt at Emerald Starfish HERE.