Your Employer Brand Matters - Is Yours Strong or Weak?

Companies in every industry are struggling to find and hire the people they need in order to accomplish their growth goals. For many of them, the focus has turned inward as they begin to evaluate the importance of their employer brand. Those who identify opportunities to strengthen their employer brand are the ones who can ultimately leverage it to attract and retain top talent, saving time and money while propelling them ahead of their competitors.

We asked Red Caffeine Account Directors, Christiana Henry and Rachel Radtke to share their experiences working with companies from landscape architecture firms to law firms, each of which wanted to build a strong employer brand as a means to achieving very different objectives.

They answered the following key questions:

• What is an Employer Brand?
• How would a company know if it has a weak employer brand?
• How can a strong employer brand impact a company?

What is an Employer Brand?

At Red Caffeine, we define an employer brand as the entire employment experience as perceived by current, past, and potential employees. Employer brand includes a company’s reputation as a place to work, its workplace environment, mission, vision, values, culture, work/life balance, diversity, equity, inclusion, growth opportunities, compensation, benefits, and perks, as well as its employee value proposition.

[Rachel]: Your employer brand is separate from, but closely related to, your corporate brand. It’s essentially how you sell yourself in order to attract top talent. And it includes all factors that often determine whether employees stay or leave. 

How would a company know if it has a weak employer brand?

[Christiana]: A weak employer brand can negatively impact your company’s recruitment pool, meaning great candidates may not apply for open positions because they don’t feel a connection. 

[Christiana]: To understand how your employer brand comes across, you can analyze the About Us section of your website, particularly where it mentions your mission, vision, core values, and where it highlights individual employees. Or, ask a trusted peer to go through your application process and give honest feedback.

How can a strong employer brand impact a company?

Happy employees talk about your company better, which leads to more business opportunities. When the employer brand is strong, they tell a consistent and compelling story. They provide better customer service. And, they recruit based on an understanding of your core values.

[Christiana]: It’s so important for companies in many industries to stand out in a sea of sameness. We helped one client evaluate their entire hiring process and ultimately differentiate their employer brand based on how they stacked up against other manufacturers in their area when it came to healthcare benefits, per hour wages, shift availability, vacation days, and even the use of robotics. They’re now doing a much better job highlighting the strengths of their employer brand in the job fairs they attend and the collateral they distribute throughout the interview process. As a result, they’re making better fit hires and reducing turnover.

[Rachel]: Make sure you do internal surveys and give employees a voice before communicating an action plan. That tells them, We heard you. We know these are issues that matter to you. Here’s what we’re going to do about it. Your current employees are your brand ambassadors. It’s more important now than it’s ever been to involve them.