Here are the main employer branding challenges [new rap

Here we are not really shy about our nerdiness.

We love data. We love to conduct experiments. And when posting a new report that combines the two, we moan happily and immediately devour the results - always keeping in mind what they mean for marketers.

One of the most recent examples of this phenomenon is the Hinge Research Institute's 2017 Employer Branding Study. It is packed with data on the latest challenges facing B2B companies, especially those in the professional services arena - with a particular focus on recruiting.and the retention of top talent.

Actually, a lot of it comes down to branding - in particular, branding your business by as an employer, as well as a service provider.

In this article, we'll dive into the report's findings and what marketers need to know to build a brand as an employer.

What is the employer brand?

According to BusinessDictionary , a brand is the "design, sign, symbol, unique words or a combination of these elements ... Create an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. ”

In the past we have written about the importance and ways of branding your business based on an audience of current and potential customers, as well as the buyer pe rsonas . But when it comes to recruiting the best talent po helping your organization grow, branding remains key - but the way you position your business as an employer may be different than you do as a service provider.

In no way does that mean that you should fake your brand for another type of audience. It just means that you can use different (factual) information to create a value proposition as a hiring person, as opposed to that of your products and services.

In a nutshell, your employees' brand should include three key pieces:

1. Your Employer Value Proposition (EVP). According to Hinge , it is "a compelling appeal to potential employees ... made up of a set of characteristics, features and values ​​that describe what it is like to work in your organization and how it improves the lives of employees. ”MayTo authentically communicate this, you must also include…
2. The voice of your current employees. From their perspective, how does it feel to work for your company? How would they describe the culture? What do they like the most?
3. Specialized marketing content. This may include any current content you have that establishes your business as an authority or opinion leader - in some cases this content may need to be repurposed for employer branding and recruiting purposes, but anything that makes your attraction an exciting place to work. worth considering.

The main challenges of employer branding for marketers

The methodology

By publishing the study on employer brand , Hinge sought to answer several questions - for the full list, see the full study here . But we wanted to explore the two that we inmost puzzled:

1. What challenges are professional services companies facing today?
2. What is the role of marketing in employer branding? / li>

To answer these questions, Hinge interviewed a sample of 801 professionals, who fell into one of the following two categories:

1. Talent-Evaluators : employees directly involved in the company's recruiting and hiring efforts, who have been asked to answer questions about these internal processes.
2. Employee-candidates: Employees generally excluded from recruiting and hiring efforts, who have answered questions about how they approach their own respective job searches.

Here is a deion of each category was represented:

Source: Hinge Research Institute

And, a look on the industries represented:

Source: Hinge Research Institute

The data

What challenges do service companies face professionals face today?

When Hinge asked respondents to identify their top professional challenges, they were not limited to any particular business category. And yet, take a look at how many major challenges lie in the area of ​​talent recruitment, development and retention:

Source: Hinge Research Institute

In fact, more than half of respondents indicated "attracting the best talent / recruiting "as their biggest challenge, making it The second most cited difficulty for talent assessors and candidate-employees. In fourth place, meanwhile, was the reduction in turnover .

In other words: human operations - as we do themlet's call it home here - have an impact on all areas of a business. Not only does something like turnover cause significant costs for employers, it also leaves individual teams and employees in dire straits when they lose talent. In addition to their own workload, they now have to take on the tasks of those who have left, while trying to find suitable replacements.

Note that "maintaining a positive public image" is also on the list. This is reflected in recruiting efforts: according to Harvard Business Review , a company's bad reputation can cost it 10% more than a company with a good reputation for recruiting a new employee.

So how can companies manage their reputation in such a way as to increase their attractiveness to talent? It goes beyond doing the right thing - which,yes, is imperative - and often involves managing their brands too.

This is where marketers come in. After all, the subject of the study was employer branding - and branding is a marketing category. Perhaps this is why Hinge also asked the question to respondents, "What is the role of marketing in employer branding?" Next, we'll explore these results.

What is the role of marketing in employer branding?

Source: Hinge Research Institute

Looking at the two previous charts side by side Coast, it 's interesting to note the similarities between the upper chalk nges identified by professionals, as well as those cited as the greatest responsibilities of marketers within the employer brand. Both questions generated identifying responses. the generation ofleads (whether in the form of a client or a talent pipeline), a positive public image (or making the company attractive) and the best leverage technology (we include maintenance of a website and the focus on social media here) as priorities.

But we want to dig a little deeper into some of these marketing responsibilities, specifically “creating content for digital marketing”. We've talked a lot about content strategy, including the digital realm. And while creating quality, valuable content can attract an audience of prospects - one of the fundamentals of inbound marketing - it could potentially do the same for prospects.

When I was preparing for my interviews, one of the first things I did was voraciously read the marketing blog. Of course, this is the team I was interviewing to join - but reading this content,as well as further researching the downloadable offers created by the team - gave me insight into the culture of the company and got me thinking about the creation. process. What are the brainstorms like there? How are all of these blog post and downloadable content ideas generated? It was very intriguing and it helped my enthusiasm to be a part of it.

But before reading the blog, I did a general research for information about the company. I've read Glassdoor reviews, browsed the Culture Code , and even came across the culture and careers blog, Monter . And while that first piece - the Glassdoor reviews - isn't technically owned by, the company still managed its presence there, providing a detailed response to every review. And when combined, all of this content creates a cohesive presence: the employer brand.

See thiswhat are we getting at?

What to do with this information

Now, just for fun, let's take a look at the results of the report in regards to the "main criteria applicants should consider when opportunity assessment ":

Source: Hinge Research Institute

Aha! The main response from candidate-employees was “company culture.” And while your company has a remarkable culture, it will do nothing to benefit your recruiting efforts if you keep it a secret. It needs to be part of your employer brand and communicated through the content you produce.

And if you don't already have an established culture - or a cultural code, as we have here - here is a great opportunity to create one. Not only will this help your recruiting efforts, but it may also force you to recognize exactly the type of business and team you wish to have, and how (or if) your current culture currently matches what you would like it to be. .

These principles can guide the kind of hiring decisions you make in the future and can even influence how you manage your current teams, ideally promoting talent retention.

This speaks volumes for the importance of internal employer branding as well. I am a big fan of the phrase “Practice what you preach”. While this is much easier said than done, the employer message you deliver externally should accurately reflect what is really going on within your company. The last thing you want to do is focus all of your employer branding efforts on recruiting outside talent, only for those new hires to come into the company to witness something completely different.rent, or great turning point. r - this can position them as leak risks.

So remember: when creating your employer brand, think about where you want your company culture to be - and just how much you miss. currently the mark on these criteria. An important part of branding is honesty, both with target audiences and with yourself.

Oh, and by the way: We're hiring .