There is no doubt that Reputation is a differentiating element for companies. When a business has what we consider to be a good reputation, it is a little easier to attract new customers and retain existing ones. For some time now, we have been aware that the company's reputation must cover areas to which it did not extend until now. This has given rise to what is known as employer branding or employer brand. An element linked to the marketing of the business, and which has a direct influence on your ability to attract talent.
Although more and more organizations are striving for a good reputation as employers, they don't always make the best decisions. Therefore, we are going to examine the most common errors.
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What is employer branding?
Before getting into the matter, it is advisable to dwell for a moment on the concept of employer brand. Thus, we will really understand what its importance is within the personnel selection process.
It is neither more nor less than the image projected by a certain company as an employer. What those who already work there and those who are outside of it, that is, the possible candidates, think of it.
Its importance goes beyond its ability to retain and attract talent, also can influence the turnover. This is because there are more and more consumers who prefer to spend their money in companies that they know offer a good deal to their staff.
As we said at the beginning, employer branding, understood as the good reputation of the company as an employer, can constitute an important differentiating element in the market. Furthermore, it can become a source of competitive advantage when trying to attract talent.
Main mistakes in employer branding
Focus on seeming and not on being
Surely by doing a bit of memory the names of several companies come to mind that, behind the scenes, have an excellent reputation as employers: they offer good salaries, stability, possibilities for promotion, etc.
However, when you speak directly with members of their staff, you discover that behind that good marketing there is nothing. The company has focused on presenting itself to the public and potential candidates as an ideal place to work. But then it turns out that working there is not exactly a dream.
This is one of the biggest mistakes that can be made when trying to build a good reputation as an employer. It doesn't matter what you try to “sell” abroad, because the truth will end up being known sooner or later.
Employer branding is not done from the outside in, but just the opposite. First you have to get the employees to be really happy, and then you can export that ideal company idea to work for.
Not taking advantage of social networks as another of the mistakes in employer branding
Most companies use their digital channels to connect with their audience and publicize their products and services. But there are few that allow us to see what work is like within them.
For someone outside the company, it is impossible to name and face staff members who are not the CEO or heads of the most important departments, and this is a mistake.
A company that publicly value your employees, especially to those who do not hold management positions, is showing that she cares about her staff members and that she is proud of them. With something as simple as this, the image that it projects towards the exterior improves a lot and, surely, in your next selection process receive the resume of many more talented candidates.
It is striking that this can easily be done through social networks. However, the number of entities that take advantage of it is minimal.
In addition, these channels can be taken advantage of from the point of view of employer branding in other ways. For example, with publications that help to transmit the corporate culture, or sharing content that may be of interest for the type of person who would be interested in working at that company.
We are not just talking about LinkedIn, which is the professional social network par excellence. You can also take advantage of the diffusion of other media such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or TikTok.
Not understanding the true importance of the company's reputation as an employer
Cases in which companies begin to work on a strategy to improve their public image as employers are common. But they do it simply because it seems that It's what's in fashion and what to do right now. Again, we are facing a major error.
When we propose a goal to a worker, we see that he responds much better if we also inform him of the reasons why he must reach that goal, and exactly the same thing happens with corporations.
If we intend to improve the employer brand, but we don't really know what this is for or what its importance is, surely Those who must make strategic decisions will not do as well as they should.
In this sense, it may be necessary to first make those responsible aware of the importance of having top-quality talent. In addition, also about the role played by the image that the company projects as an employer when it comes to getting talented candidates to show interest in working for it.
Ignoring the opinion of employees as another of the employer branding mistakes
One of the advantages of employer branding is that, if it is well worked, the company's own workers will become its best ambassadors. These are notor they will hesitate to recommend it to their closest circle when they know that someone is looking for a job.
But we cannot turn staff members into brand ambassadors if they are not satisfied with the treatment they receive or with the working conditions. The company needs to know its starting point. In addition, they also need how her workers feel about her in her role as an employer.
The work climate surveys They are a simple and fast way to obtain information. As we need this to be as objective and realistic as possible, it is interesting to raise the possibility that the information is provided anonymously. Thus, employees will be able to express their opinion without fear of possible reprisals.
The data collected allows the company to analyze where it is: what it is doing well as an employer and what aspects it should improve. Information to use to start making changes and improve the satisfaction of your workforce.
not coordinating efforts
Whose responsibility lies in the process of improving a company's reputation as an employer? It is difficult to answer this question because there is no single department that can do it.
Achieving good results requires the joint work of departments as different from each other as marketing, Human Resources, or communication, among others.
If each one of them works separately, we are not going to reach a good port. The key is in:
- coordinate their efforts
- create a work team with members of the different departments involved
- designate a person in charge
- define the goal
- let these diverse talents work freely.
When responsibility is placed on your department alone, the response you will get will always be incomplete and not efficient enough to produce significant changes in reputation.
Do the same as the rest
Working on this reputation that we are talking about is something relatively new in many companies. Consequently, many do not know very well how to do it. The normal thing in these cases is to look around, and that is not bad, the error comes when what others are doing is copied.
If we want the employer brand to be really effective and serve as a source of competitive advantage, it is useless to do the same as others, Let's go one step further.
You can analyze the strategies of companies in the same or different sectors. But not just to search good practices that can be copied, you also have to do it to detect your weak points or needs that employees have and that are not being covered. Only then can an action plan with real potential to make a difference be designed.
Not having a coherent strategy across different business units
A company with different branches can make the mistake of not having a homogeneous strategy to develop a good reputation as an employer. This is something that works against you, because the good practices put in place will not be as effective as they should be. Consequently, it is essential to harmonize all the work done in this regard.
In a labor market in which attracting talent is becoming increasingly difficult, it is essential for companies to have a good reputation as employers. Reputation that must be backed by facts and acts that confirm what the candidates perceive, hence the need to put an end to errors like the ones we have reviewed.
Platforms that offer feedback to candidates in a selection process, such as Hirint, positively help to improve the employer brand of companies. Find out how we do it here
