Money doesn’t talk as loudly as it used to. In today’s talent-driven marketplace, a company’s reputation — its employer brand — speaks volumes to potential hires in a way that a salary offer can’t.
Employer Branding Through the Employee Life Cycle: Four Phases
A strong employer brand is the secret sauce not only for talent recruitment, but also for employee engagement and company loyalty — critical factors for business success. Yet many companies focus only on the recruitment part and miss out on the benefits of holistic employer branding. To shift approaches, think about employer branding over four key phases in the employee lifecycle: pre-recruitment, interview and offer, onboarding and retention and post-exit.
Pre-Recruitment
The challenge: Rather than convince desired hires to consider your company, flip the script. Cultivate a strong reputation as a desirable place to work, and you’ll have top talent asking you about open positions.
Get started: What about your employee experience is exciting or rewarding? Maybe it’s the entrepreneurial environment that encourages risk-taking or the opportunity to be mentored by senior executives. Whatever it is, demonstrate it. For example, we publish short “day in the life” videos so prospective hires can see what it’s really like to work here.
Next level: Don’t rely on your HR team to do all the promotion; get employees involved too. On average, employees have 10 times as many LinkedIn connections as their companies and are considered more trustworthy than official company channels. Simple, authentic posts are best. WeWork employees, for example, share insights into their daily work life — ranging from team meetings to the company’s annual retreat — using hashtags like #wearewework, #wwcamp, #ilovemyjob and #dreamteam. This is an easy, effective way to demonstrate camaraderie and provide a glimpse into company culture.
Interview And Offer
The challenge: During the interview, you have the opportunity to present your employer brand and address candidates' concerns about workplace culture and employee development.
Get started: When candidates come in for interviews, assess the alignment of their experience and their expectations. Be sure your employee brand messaging is reflected in the culture candidates can observe, from the person who greets them at the door to the person in charge of hiring.
Next level: Seal the deal with offer delivery. If your company is big on mentorship, for example, connect your prospective hire with their potential mentor as part of the offer process. Show prospective hires your company is ready to follow through on employer brand promises from day one.
Onboarding and Retention
The challenge: An estimated 40% of employees quit their jobs after less than a year. Part of the problem: The experience of working for your company does not match your employer brand promises.
Get started: To build camaraderie from day one and minimize the risk for an early departure, assign a peer partner to each new hire. This partner is someone with whom the new hire can have a candid conversation about challenges and disappointments, without fear of repercussion. Maybe the new hire thought they’d have greater project ownership or professional enrichment. If there’s been a miscommunication, this concern can be resolved quickly rather than letting frustrations fester.
Next level: Annual employee surveys can be useful for quantitative feedback, but they don’t often allow for clarification or additional information. If your company is struggling with turnover, supplement surveys with interviews. Speak to current employees about their perceptions and experiences: Is there a gap between employer brand expectations and reality? Frame questions in a positive manner so the answers focus on improvement opportunities, not company criticism.
Post-Exit
The challenge: Even with a strong employer brand, it’s inevitable that some employees will leave for other opportunities. How your company handles these transitions speaks volumes to your brand and sets the tone for future referrals or a return as a “boomerang employee.”
Get started: Rather than treating former employees as defectors, keep the communication lines open. Depending on the circumstances of an employee’s departure, this could mean the occasional lunch meeting, an invitation to your annual holiday party or a coffee chat with a former mentor. Doing so shows employees that a diversity of experiences outside your company can be a great thing — and that their insights and learnings are still valued.
Next level: Some of my company's best hires have come via referrals from former or returning employees. Why? We strive to ensure every employee leaves on a positive note. Do this by acknowledging their contributions and celebrating their next step. Let them know they’ve been a valued team member, and that the door is always open for future opportunities.
Money may not get top talent in the door, but your employer brand can. When the experience of working for your company matches the brand promises you have made, you’ll benefit from engaged employees who turn into your greatest company advocates.
