By Leigh Anderson, Managing Director at Bis Henderson Recruitment
Recruitment within the supply chain and logistics sector has shifted towards a candidate-centric market rather than an employer-led one. While this is undoubtedly the right shift, the result is that employers now need to continuously review their branding to ensure they stand out from competitors and win talented individuals to their team.
What is employer branding?
Employer branding encapsulates how a business’s current and future workforce perceives them. To achieve a positive impression, a brand must showcase what it has to offer to its employees; some examples include:
- Progression opportunities
- Fair opportunities for all
- A great working environment and culture
- Competitive salary
- Flexibility surrounding remote working
And additional benefits.
Why employer branding is important
We are in an age where both positive and negative experiences can be shared across the globe in a matter of minutes. Poor experiences from employees and even candidates can not only weaken your employee branding but your brand’s overall reputation, which can directly impact your revenue.
A strong employer branding communicates your company values to potential candidates, making it more likely that individuals applying for positions will share these values. It can be the difference between hiring an incredibly talented individual and them choosing to work for your competitor.
It’s not enough to provide a perception of solid branding; you must follow it through. Employer branding is fluid; if it isn’t continuously monitored, analysed and adapted, you may struggle to not only attract fresh talent but hold on to the talent that you’ve got.
How do you evaluate your employer branding?
What is your company time-to-hire rate?
Whenever your company recruits, record how long it takes from first engagement with a candidate to having an employment offer accepted. If you see that the time lag is increasing over time, that’s a good indication that there may be an employer branding issue.
However, when analysing, it’s important to define the reason behind the time-to-hire and its relevance to your brand. For example, if the candidate would have to relocate to accept the position, they may take longer to decide than someone who lives within an easily commutable distance. That doesn’t necessarily suggest a branding problem, which is why good analysis is essential to this practice.
What is your job acceptance rate?
As you take steps to improve your employer branding, this should be reflected in the uptake of job offer acceptance. You should seek feedback from any candidate who declined a job offer with your business. If they chose a competitor over you, it’s worth trying to ascertain what they did differently to win the candidate over.
What is your new hire retention rate?
A strong employer brand will not only entice talented individuals to join your company, but it should also increase your new hire retention rate. If you’re finding that new hires are leaving swiftly after coming onboard, and if more seasoned employees are starting to look for positions elsewhere, that’s a strong signal that there’s a problem.
When employees resign, there’s a high chance that they won’t tell you the real reason why they are leaving. Therefore, it’s essential that you continually monitor your employee happiness, welcome any feedback and consistently act on viable suggestions to prevent issues accumulating to the point where loyal and new employees leave.
Are your current employees suggesting candidates?
Employee referrals are a fantastic avenue to go down to discover and meet new potential candidates. Moving to a company a friend, family member, or former colleague works at is an incentive that even passive candidates often find difficult to refuse.
But more than that, knowing that employees are happily recommending your company to someone they know and care about is a great indicator of positive employee branding.
On the other hand, if you have a referral policy in place but employees are rarely making use of it, that’s a signal that there’s a problem.
How to improve your employer branding
It’s essential to monitor and improve your employer branding continuously. Even if it appears better than ever before, you must keep your eyes on changes within the industry and plan your next steps to ensure your company continues to attract the strongest candidates.
Continuously read online reviews
Reading reviews left by your former employees and those of your competitors will give a good indication of whether your practices are improving or declining. While an employee is extremely unlikely to offer the real reason they are leaving a role to their employer, they are likely to share this information via an online review, particularly as individuals can remain anonymous on some platforms.
If your competitors are gaining a lot of good reviews and your brand isn’t, consider adopting some of the practices highlighted by employees as positive. This can make a significant difference over time.
Be consistent in communicating your brand values
Whatever your values, ensure that these are at the forefront of all communication channels. Whether it’s through online marketing channels, traditional marketing media or your recruitment strategies, potential candidates should be able to quickly ascertain why your company exists and what you are hoping to achieve.
Initiate an anonymous feedback and suggestions process
Strong employer branding positively influences current employees first and foremost. They are the people on the ground, working with you to achieve your company’s goals. Therefore, they have a lot of insights to offer.
Implementing an anonymous feedback and suggestion system allows you to understand not only what your employees are looking for to be happier at work, but it is also a fantastic indicator of what potential candidates may be looking for in a new role.
Perhaps more importantly, providing employees with the opportunity to make suggestions that you can then action will show that their voice matters to you, building more profound levels of loyalty, performance and workplace satisfaction.
Employer branding is essential to business success
Improving employer branding takes time, which is why it’s worth continuously monitoring perceptions and taking action as soon as possible to prevent your branding from dropping to a position it will take years to recover from.
However, even if your company has reached that low point, it’s possible to breathe life back into your employer branding. It may take some effort, but the rewards are more than worthwhile.
If any of the above resonates with you or your business or you’d like to find out more about our Supply Chain and Logistics Recruitment, contact us today on 01604 876 345 or email [email protected]
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