The Importance of Employer Branding for Modern Recruiting

The recruiting industry is an ever evolving field, and one area that has really exploded over the last decade is employer branding. Why? Because it’s that important to an organization’s success. 

Before we get any further, make sure you understand exactly what employer branding is. In short, it’s the reputation your company has as an employer. Is it a good place to work, or a bad place to work? It’s much more nuanced than that, so familiarize yourself with the concept before getting started.

Employer branding and recruiting go hand in hand because a recruiting strategy that doesn’t involve branding will really fall flat. 

We’re diving into the importance of employer branding and why so many companies are investing in building a strong employer branding strategy. 

7 Reasons Why Employer Branding is So Important for Your Recruiting Strategy

Image source: Fund That Flip (now Upright)

1. The market is too competitive to ignore employer branding

Despite an ever-changing talent market, tech jobs remain competitive. There are more tech jobs available than there are people to fill them, and as companies continue to digitize, the competition only gets tighter. What does that mean for recruiting?

It means that tech talent have their pick of tech jobs. Especially with the rise of remote work. Their options are even greater, which means that your competition has widened too. 

When picking a tech job, candidates will be looking for the best of the best. Because they can. 

So that means you have to convince them to work for you. This is where a strong employer branding strategy comes into play. 

Candidates will choose companies that have a strong reputation and that treat employees well. You need to show them that’s exactly what you do. 

2. Employer branding can relieve the burden (and cost) of head hunting

The goal of a solid employer brand is to have candidates lining up to work at your company. Your reputation is so strong that they have to work with you, even if you don’t have a job available right now. They’re filling out forms to be notified when jobs in their field open up, because they love your brand so much. At least, that's the goal.

When you can attract candidates like that, you no longer have to invest (at least not heavily) in outbound recruiting and head hunting. Headhunters, which get paid per hire, are notoriously expensive, and often not worth the investment. 

Employer branding that is ongoing and placed in the right audiences and communities attracts top talent. They will come to you, which is great for building a pipeline of potential candidates, even if you’re not hiring.

3. It’s a powerful way to make meaningful connections with candidates

It can be hard to get a sense of a company and their people through a careers page. Good employer branding can help humanize a company — which is, after all,  just a collection of humans working together — and help candidates see themselves at that company. It’s a way to make an authentic connection with candidates, so that they won’t skip over your jobs and instead will want to apply. 

Informal, candid photos can humanize your team — it's not posed or overly polished, in other words, it doesn't look fake. (Image source: Alchemie)

4. Modern job seekers are looking for brands with positive social impact and purpose

When it comes to what candidates want, mission and culture continue to reign as top priorities. According to 2023 Glassdoor research, 50% of candidates won’t work for a company with a bad reputation, and 92% of the current workforce says they’d change jobs to go to a company with an “excellent” reputation. 

Even more so, Millennial and Gen Z workers who are satisfied with their employers’ societal/environmental impact and DEI efforts are more likely to want to stay with their employer for more than 5 years, according to Deloitte.

Employer branding is the best way to show off your mission, culture, DEI efforts, and build a strong reputation that gets candidates excited about the possibility of working with you.

5. Employer branding increases employee engagement & retention

It makes perfect sense: if you show off your culture and values and hire candidates that align with them, they’ll stick around for longer. It’s also proven to be true. 

Employee turnover can be reduced by 28% by investing in employer branding. Candidates have a better understanding of what they’re getting into, what’s expected of them, what their life at that company will be like. It’s a better fit for them and it will keep them engaged and happy at work. 

Image source: Dynatrace

6. It can have a positive impact on your overall brand reputation with customers

If a company has a good reputation among employees, it is likely that they also have a good reputation among customers. Customers might think, if they treat their employees well, they must treat their customers well. Actions speak louder than words, so how you treat employees and the reputation you build around that, says a lot about your company as a whole. 

Just as people want to work with companies that make a positive impact, they also want to purchase from companies that have a positive impact. 

7. Employer branding isn’t a one-and-done process

Employer branding doesn't end once someone is hired. It's an ongoing commitment to doing all you can to make the work experience meaningful, enjoyable, and rewarding to the employee. It’s an integral part of the whole employee lifecycle as it is so tied to employee experience and retention. 

When a great company culture and a strong employer brand is in place, your organization will see huge strides in recruiting and retention. This can include more effective recruiting efforts, higher employee retention rates, and increased levels of enthusiasm and loyalty by your current employees. It’s all about bringing the right people on board, keeping them on board, so your business can thrive and grow. 

Need help with employer branding? We’d love to chat about how to take your strategy to the next level.