Aligning Employer Branding with Business Strategy

We all know the importance of employer branding in talent acquisition – it has become one of those buzzwords in the HR industry that everyone likes to talk about and most people like to claim they are doing right. But employment branding is so much more than just posting jobs on social media sites. Instead, the most successful companies recognize that employer branding is critical to not just finding talent, but ensuring that HR strategy is aligned with overall business strategy.

 

One of the best ways to improve employer branding is to get non-HR people into the function. There is currently an emerging trend to bring outside expertise into the HR department, as evidenced by the growing number of companies adding marketing professionals to their talent acquisition teams. By gaining their expertise, it will be easier to drive consistency around brand messaging and tie in the employer value proposition to improve the company’s ability to engage top talent. By leveraging professionals outside the realm of HR, those responsible for talent acquisition can gain access to the best marketing practices and communications strategies to ensure the message put forth by HR is truly consistent with the company’s brand.

 

In addition to bringing non-HR people into the talent acquisition process to share their expertise, the organization should leverage a number of social media platforms that facilitate and bring greater consistency to the way they promote their employer brand. Such platforms as Hootsuite encourage teams to be more collaborative in developing their social media efforts while improving alignment of corporate messaging through whichever methods and destinations the company chooses to distribute its job opportunities.

 

Using LinkedIn can also go a long way in ensuring all staff – not just those involved with HR – can take an active role in the recruitment process while still staying consistent with brand messaging. By sharing job descriptions and messages that employees can post on their LinkedIn pages, the company benefits from reaching those networks, while ensuring its recruiting materials are presented in the same way. In addition, training people on how to use LinkedIn as part of the onboarding process, for recruitment purposes as well as overall brand messaging, can ensure all employees project a unified voice for all of their LinkedIn activities.

 

Of course, this isn’t to say that employees have to spit out the same prefabricated message. Providing training on how employees can best position the company and its employer brand when speaking on behalf of the organization through any medium or platform will further help maintain a consistent voice. By enabling people to use their own words, but providing guidance on how to project what the company can offer as a place to work, they can create a more personal connection when discussing the brand, but still stay true to overall company vision.

 

The ability to project a strong and positive employer brand is essential to attracting top talent to the organization. As such, the last thing any company wants is its employees sending out inconsistent messages regarding the work environment and experience they can provide. Fortunately, there are a number of tools and methods that can help all employees find a unified voice to share the company’s unique employer value proposition and entice the best candidates to apply.