An employer’s brand is the most important factor for job seekers, according to a new report.
How can your small business captivate a new generation of prospective employees? Enticing them with your brand is a good place to start.
Fifty-seven percent of U.S. candidates believe an employer’s brand and reputation is more important today than it was five years ago, according to a recent ManpowerGroup survey. In part, this is due to the lack of compartmentalization between work and home life.
BOOST YOUR BRAND: GET THE LATEST TIPS AND ADVICE ON ALL THINGS MARKETING FROM NFIB.
“Who you work for defines your place in the community,” said Stephen Rees, managing director at ManpowerGroup Solutions North America. “People identify with companies in their lives. Look at all the people who walk around displaying company names on them in some way. Company culture and brand generate an overall feeling and connection.”
Here are a couple other major takeaways from the report.
Trust is key.
Eighty percent of U.S. candidates surveyed believe the most important aspect of an employer’s brand is employer-employee trust.
“One of the first places to develop trust is training the people you put in front of the candidates,” Rees said. “Employers need recruiters that can live and breathe the client’s brand.”
Current employees can be your best advocates.
Thirty percent said the most credible source to learn about a company’s brand is a current employee—they offer authenticity and trustworthiness to a company’s inner workings.
So how can your small business use current employees to heighten trust?
Make them brand ambassadors, according to the report. Allow current employees to have an honest conversation about your brand on social media. That way, potential candidates can get a firsthand look at what company life is all about.
Additionally, provide your employees with a clear brand message they can discuss with people they meet. You can even give them a brand logo to wear, like a company shirt or laptop sticker, to help get the conversation flowing.
