Your Employment Brand: Addressing Today’s Recruiting Challenges

With the pandemic just about under control and with a gradually recovering economy, many employers see a paradox: lots of job openings posted, but not enough job applications in return.

In fact, the number of job openings rose to a record high of 9.3 million in April 2021 - up from 8.3 million in March 2021, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In addition, a National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) survey last March found 42% of business owners had job openings they were struggling to fill, representing a record high from past NFIB surveys.

The current labor market may ease into this fall, but what can employers do now to accelerate their recruiting and hiring? How can they hire the workers needed to take advantage of an expected strong business recovery ongoing through this year?

Here are a set of steps to consider:

Build your employment brand: Company leaders should work to build and protect their employment brands by talking with employees to uncover their companies' great attributes and learn the ways to build better work environments aligned with company values.

Communicate your brand: These positive company attributes can be communicated internally and externally to reinforce and disseminate company culture and brand. If you don’t have the right employment brand in place, it will be harder to attract good people to your organization.

Consider “Total Rewards”: We’re in a new era in which employees are evaluating their employers beyond just pay and benefits. To attract qualified candidates who would accept job offers, consider putting in place a concept called “total rewards” – a model that typically combines compensation, benefits, well-being plus career development.

Total rewards is about the entire lifecycle of the employee experience and all the things that matter to help employees stay engaged. A total rewards program, for example, engenders a focus on work-life effectiveness, recognition, performance management and talent development into one package to help companies attract, retain, motivate and engage their employees.

Social media matters: Social media, to be sure, impacts the dynamics around employee recruitment and retention. Recent data, for example, shows 62% of candidates research a company’s brand and reputation on social media, such as via Glassdoor and LinkedIn, before committing to an interview. It’s now about protecting your employment brand.

All told, companies can take proactive steps to maintain and build their reputations as a great place to work. Companies can raise their positive visibility by encouraging employees to represent their companies at venues like industry conferences, professional panel participation and related networking events (whether virtual or in-person).

Every employee is a potential brand ambassador for the company and can help spread positive reviews about their ongoing professional experiences and work life.

If you have questions about your recruiting strategy, especially around Total Rewards, please contact me at kmitchell@impacthrllc.com or 443-741-3900.