Employer Branding: The Ingredient to Attract and Retain Employees
/
We all hear the words “company culture” these days. But what does that really mean and why does it matter?
In the highly-competitive hospitality industry, hiring, training, rewarding and keeping the best people is more complex than ever. Digital media— from Glassdoor to social media sites — has given disgruntled employees an easy place to vent and share their experiences with other prospective team members.
Your brand today extends far beyond the logo, your interior design, and your ad campaign. Those are the things that your customers and guests see and experience. But your employer brand is how you’re perceived by people who are as important as those consumers — the individuals and teams that make your service experience come alive.
“Done well, employer branding will spark buzz around your company, and this buzz will attract motivated job seekers and an army of happy employees.” LinkedIn
But employer branding’s impact extends far beyond employee satisfaction and retention. It has an impact on how consumers perceive your business. A whopping 64 percent of consumers stop supporting a brand after hearing news of that company’s poor employee treatment.
So, how do you attract and retain the best employees and keep those customers?
What Goes Into an Employer Brand?
An employer brand is a cohesive combination of an organization’s mission, values, culture, and personality. A great employer brand conveys (and delivers on) the message that the organization is a good employer and a great place to work, according to SHRM.
A strong employer brand needs to be closely connected to the company brand. For example, a restaurant chain that serves fresh local ingredients may also encourage its employees to take time off to work in the community. A hotel that prides itself on stellar personalized customer service will invest in special training to ensure every employee has the skills to deliver on that promise. In other words, ensuring that every team member embraces, believes in, and communicates the company’s values makes the brand experience come alive at every touchpoint.
Put yourself in the mind of a prospective applicant. Most job searches today involve online research. Just as a diner will look at menu items, photos of hotel rooms, and star ratings and reviews, applicants will look at your career pages (on your website and via a Google search) to see what your company believes in and how they behave and what employees say about you.
An Employer Value Proposition (EVP) summarizes how and why an employer differs from others in the category. It extends way beyond salary and benefits and, as the term implies, captures the unique value that the job will offer the person taking it.
Measuring the Power of Employer Branding
According to Bernard Marr, a globally-recognized business consultant and author, businesses need to set objective and clear measures of how their employer branding is translating into revenue. Among the factors are:
Employer ranking: How your company is being “scored” on job sites
Social listening: What are people (past employees, current employees, and customers) saying about your practices and your team
Retention and hiring rates: These measures are easy to track over time if you have an automated and integrated platform — especially one designed for the hospitality industry
Exit interview feedback: High-performing team members with one foot out the door are your best source of insights into what you can do better as an employer. Listen, learn, and capture common themes. Automate the process so that you gather consistent — and quantifiable — information.
Establish a baseline and start tracking results as soon as you can. Although 96 percent of companies believe their employer brand and reputation impacts revenue, fewer than half (44 percent) actually monitor that impact, according to CareerArc. Utilizing the right hospitality technology can make the process easier and can lead to decisions and practices that cut costs and generate long-term results.
“Employer branding is critical to your bottom-line. A good employer brand can reduce turnover rates by 28%, and cut your costs-per-hire by half. Additionally, candidates who apply for roles are 50% more qualified when the company has a good employer brand.” Hubspot
Building a Better Employer Brand
The steps to creating, enhancing, or evolving your employer brand should involve the participation of both your senior management as well as valued team members. Like great product or service positioning, your employer brand must be:
Aspirational, yet credible. Why just be a great place to work if you can be perceived as the best career experience someone has had in his or her life? According to Recruiting.com, great employer brands:
Create a sense of urgency and excitement about working for the company;
Engage the mind, heart, and dreams of candidates;
Complement your company’s products and/or services;
Provide a clear, compelling reason to work for them.
Research-based. Knowing what is most important to your best-performing and longest-tenured employees will give you insights into what features and benefits are most valued by your team members. This is not always a “one size fits all” exercise. Some segments like recent grads just starting out in the field may value training opportunities and salary whereas other employees with children may value schedule flexibility.
Clearly and powerfully communicated. A job seeker can visit a website and see immediately what a company stands for and how they treat employees. A great example of this Zingerman’s mission and guiding principles. It is free of jargon, fun to read, and compelling. In fact, the founders still meet with every new hire to share the business vision and how team members fit into it.
Collaborative and transparent. Social media and ratings are now a key component of every brand. Just as consumers rate your food and service and management (hopefully) responds to online reviews, how you interact with comments — negative and positive — from employees shows that you are open to listening, learning, and improving.
Measurable. Share key statistics and sentiments with your team and be honest about areas for improvement. Build a spirit of open, honest, and actionable communication.
Some great examples of excellent employee branding include;
Yellowstone Club. Their dynamic and colorful career section includes profiles of real employees who, in their own voices, share stories of their satisfaction and opportunities with the company. Each job function is detailed, so prospective team members have a strong sense of expectations before they even apply.
“We are rooted in tradition, crafted with care, modern and expressive, and proud to be local,” asserts Proper Hotel’s people site. That statement inspires and informs prospective and current employees alike.
Magnolia Bakery’s career site is as appetizing as their cupcakes. They include a section about their charity initiatives, which will attract like-minded applicants.
Making a commitment to employees is a powerful way for a restaurant brand to stand apart from its competition. Inamo does just that, telling viewers that they will develop their skills, enjoy benefits, and be recognized.
These sites also make engaging with the brands’ social media sites simple for viewers. Today’s applicants will thoroughly check out a company prior to pursuing an open position. Your brand reputation should be consistent and engaging throughout your digital footprint.
Crafting your company’s employer brand is not an overnight exercise. It requires thought, teamwork, and even help from professional resources who are experienced with crafting messaging and programming.
Most important, you must deliver on the promise at all stages of the hiring, onboarding, management, and exit process.
How Harri Can Help You Build That Brand
Human-centric technology (automation that simplifies the hiring process and delights both employers and employees) is an important part of making your employer brand come to life at every touchpoint. When someone is job hunting, how is your brand presented to them online? The right system can simplify that process.
We ensure your career pages are easy to create, compelling, engaging, and consistent with your company brand.
Every step of the communication, interviewing, training and communication journey can be an opportunity to deliver a powerful and consistent experience — supporting your brand and values. Our client Proper Hospitality reports an increase in 3x the applicants and 2x decrease in time to hire.
But, as important as these statistics are qualitative measurements. If employer branding is “done right” and taken seriously, you’ll attract more of the right applicants — those employees whose values and goals are consistent with what your company believes in. They’ll feel a part of your brand’s success and community and help other team members — and your company — thrive.