The importance of employer branding in recruitment

Companies worldwide are already working on improving their employer brands. You don’t want to be left behind. Here are 3 reasons why employer branding is so important for any recruitment strategy:

Compete in the war for talent

A company is only as great as its people. And great people want to be associated with leading brands.

Recruiters are now taking a more proactive approach to attract and find the best candidates—including those who aren’t actively job searching. While it may seem impossible to compete with huge companies with prominent brand names, employer branding can actually be your secret weapon to attract top candidates.

A strong employer brand is twice as likely to be linked to job consideration compared to a strong company brand, according to LinkedIn research. That means developing your employer brand can help you level the playing field in the war for talent. This is especially important when hiring younger and more junior demographics, on a global scale.

Retain your best employees

Employees working at companies with strong employer brands are more invested and present lower turnover rates. 

And more productive employees mean more business growth. Happy employees feel proud to be part of their company and can become brand ambassadors. For instance, they could refer you to good-fit candidates and create a positive impression through word of mouth. This alone can help to improve your employer brand without increasing your marketing spendings.

Quick tip: Beyond the recruitment process, employer branding is also important for acquiring and retaining customers. People want to work with companies that treat their employees right. A poor employer brand might have them question your reliability and trustworthiness.

Reduce cost per hire

Companies with a weak employer brand report spending almost double on cost per hire than companies with a strong employer brand, according to LinkedIn research.. What’s more, some companies even spend more on employee wages to compensate for their bad reputation. But the majority of job seekers would still completely rule out companies with a negative employer brand. As an example, HBR reports that a 10% salary raise would only tempt 28% of job seekers.

Employer branding is a smart business investment. Whereas a bad reputation costs you quality applicants, a great employer brand means you can spend less on recruiting costs because people will naturally find and apply to your open positions.