Guest blog from Terkel.io
What is one sign that indicates your employer brand needs a makeover? To determine when it’s the best time to give your internal brand a facelift, we asked CEOs, business leaders, and other thought leaders this question for their insights. From how your staff and hiring needs change to high turnover rates, there are several strategies below that point to into when your brand could use a makeover.
Here are eight insights that may indicate your employer brand needs a makeover:
- Employer Brand Proclamations Do Not Match Hiring Actions
- Application Rate Among Younger Employees is Down
- Your Website and Career Site Look and Feel Out of Date
- Your Employees Are Disengaged
- Increased Number of Abandoned Job Applications
- When You Can’t Attract the Best Talent
- Your Employer Brand Lacks Consistency
- High and Early Turnover
Employer Brand Proclamations Do Not Match Hiring Actions
The workings of a business evolve, thanks to the influence of various factors, such as market conditions, changing demands of the target audience, pressure from the competition, and internal changes in direction.
These and other factors influence the quality and quantity of employees and managers a business hires, so that the evolution of your workforce matches its list of challenges.
When your employer brand proclamations no longer serve the purpose of attracting employees to combat these problems and hurdles or their transitions, you know your employer brand needs a makeover to match your hiring demands.
Riley Beam, Managing Attorney, Douglas R. Beam, P.A.
Application Rate Among Younger Employees is Down
A surefire sign that you need to revamp your employer branding is when application rates are down for positions that attract younger applicants.
If your number of applications for entry-level positions has dropped year-over-year for the past few periods, it’s probably a good sign you have little name recognition with young people.
More experienced professionals in your space might have a solid perception of your company’s reputation, but if your branding is stale, it likely isn’t resonating with younger audiences. And given that developing young talent is now crucial in today’s competitive landscape for experienced employees, a makeover can attract fresh talent.
John Ross, CEO, Test Prep Insight
Your Website and Career Site Look and Feel Out of Date
The most common sign of an employer brand in need of a makeover is one that looks and feels out of date. This could be clear from a bad website and career site, an irrelevant ad campaign or recruitment marketing efforts, or most likely a combination of both, with a few other indications of inconsistency sprinkled in.
When this is the case, the best and easiest solution is usually a total brand makeover as opposed to an attempt to surgically fix individual elements one at a time.
Ubaldo Perez, Founder & CEO, Hush
Your Employees Are Disengaged
If your employees are unhappy, it’s going to show. This can manifest in several ways, such as high turnover, low productivity, or negative online reviews. But it can also be more subtle, such as a lack of enthusiasm or engagement with company initiatives.
If you’re noticing a general feeling of malaise amongst your employees, it might be time to look at your employer brand.
Are you providing opportunities for professional development? Are you offering competitive compensation and benefits? Do your employees feel like they are part of something larger than themselves? If not, it might be time to give your employer brand a boost.
Todd Saunders, General Manager, BIG Safety
Increased Number of Abandoned Job Applications
When you notice a random or steep drop in the number of job applications due to abandoning mid-process, the process may frustrate prospective candidates.
Your application process could be long, confusing, and antiquated, which makes them question the brand values. The employer brand should fix this by making the job application process easy and encouraging.
Candidates should value the chance to work with the brand, which is why a makeover becomes essential. It could also be that your employees are leaving negative or damaging reviews.
Yongming Song, CEO, Live Poll for Slides
When You Can’t Attract the Best Talent
The best employees are drawn to companies that have a clear sense of identity. That identity goes far beyond values statements and mission statements. It comes from how the company is perceived in the marketplace and how it conducts itself operationally. In a nutshell, how does this company treat me?
In my experience, the best employees are very well informed. They are not only looking at job listings, but reading articles, staying up to date on the latest industry trends, and learning as much as they can about the brands they love (and the ones they don’t).
When they are comparing various opportunities, they are looking at the company’s reputation and asking themselves, “Is this an organization with which I want to align myself professionally?”
When companies struggle to attract the best talent, it’s often a sign that their employer brand needs a makeover.
Luciano Colos, Founder & CEO, PitchGrade
Your Employer Brand Lacks Consistency
A good employer brand needs a through line that connects all elements of it. Your job advertising, career site content, values and mission statement — all these things should complement one another.
If you’re finding that your company’s values and mission statement don’t align with your recruitment marketing or your company’s policies, then it’s a good sign you should take a deeper look.
An employer brand makeover can help you reset and create consistent, clear branding that all companies should aspire to have.
Brian Munce, Managing Director, Gestalt Brand Lab
High and Early Turnover
High and early turnover is a sure sign that your employer brand is due for a serious makeover. These, among other key metrics, are usually the first indicators that how you message to candidates and employees, and express your company culture, is due for a refresh.
Identify those elements of your company that define what it’s like to work in the organization. Clearly articulating your employer brand to potential job seekers can help attract them to your business and empower them to become advocates for your products or services.
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