Inspiration to help you take a more creative approach to your recruitment advertising.

The 2019 Employer Branding Insights Report from Wonderful Workplaces highlights that 94% of jobseekers said they took an employer’s brand into consideration when applying for jobs, which is up four percentage points from our 2016 findings. This demonstrates the increasing importance of a strong brand in hiring talent. However, according to 46% of survey respondents, their employers are failing to effectively communicate their employer brand.

Here are some top tips to inspire you to go the extra mile to attract the right talent you need to help your organisation thrive.

Think creatively

Employers have to work a lot harder and smarter to stand out from the crowd and build an employer brand that attracts the best. The explosion of content and social media has meant that employers are becoming increasingly creative about how they target prospective employees, so don’t get left behind. 

Are you communicating what it’s like to work in your organisation? If so, are those messages reaching the talent you need? Here are some ideas to help you:

• Video is a powerful way of engaging with time poor candidates. You can create rough and ready 360° videos of your office or interviews with employees to give candidates an audiovisual insight into your organisation’s culture. 
• Get employees to shoot short videos on their smartphones and share on social media what they love about working for you.  
• Publish thought leadership and Q&A articles on your website, publications and other channels that your prospective candidates are using. 

Make life easier for applicants

In a candidate-driven market, if you’re not making it easy for candidates to apply for your roles and find out about your company culture, your competitors may well be. Is that something you’re prepared to risk in such a tough war for talent? Make sure your application form or process is no longer than it needs to be. Make sure your job adverts sell your company with the right, honest, messages that will attract the sort of people who will thrive in your organisation. Don’t just list a load of requirements you seek from them.

The onus is not just on HR and in-house recruiters

Everyone in your organisation should have some responsibility for recruiting the right people. Do you feel that there should be a greater onus on hiring managers and senior stakeholders within the business? Why not find the top fans of your business  – these could well be your ‘low hanging fruit hires’.

Need advice or help building your employer brand? Get in touch with Wonderful Workplaces on wonderfulworkplaces@haymarket.com 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Jennifer Jackson is the senior content editor for Wonderful Workplaces, helping organisations attract and retain top talent through content, research and events. She has over 12 years experience in HR communications and also manages commercial careers content across Haymarket Business Media’s print and online publications, including Campaign, PRWeek, Third Sector, Horticulture Week, People Management Jobs and Planning Jobs.