As a relatively new concept in the business world, employer brand or talent brand has notoriously been a function without an obvious home. Some argue forcefully it should be housed under TA or HR, while others insist it belongs under marketing, as one “face” of a more encompassing master or parent brand.
Regardless of where it lives, one thing is clear — as the “front line” of the TA function, recruiters are an important (and often first) human touch point in delivering against an organization’s employer brand promise. This can be equal parts exciting and overwhelming to recruiters, who are often tasked with the pressing demands of filling open seats, while having little to no formal employer brand education.
Where is a recruiter to begin? To help cut through the confusion and misconceptions, we created our top five tips every recruiter should know. While it’s by no means exhaustive, it provides a great starting point for recruiters serious about taking their talent brand skills to the next level.
- We Don’t “Own” Our Employer Brand… Our Candidates and Employees Do!
A common misconception among TA professionals is that an employer brand is something we ‘own’ or ‘create.’ In reality, employer brands are based on the perceptions of job candidates, current and previous employees, and the wider communities in which we operate. Through our career site, job descriptions, and other recruitment marketing collateral, we can (and should) be active participants in the ongoing conversation about our employer brand, but it ultimately exists in the minds of the talent audiences we serve. Our brand is what they believe it is, not what we say it is. Ideally, the two are aligned! - As a Recruiter, You Are the “Face” of Our Employer Brand to the External Talent Market
Recruiters wear many hats. One of the most important is as the “face” of an organization’s employer brand to the external talent market. Every action we take (or don’t take) as recruiters is a reflection of our employer brand that can shape the perceptions of job candidates, hopefully for the better. For recruiters, the employer brand should serve as a ‘north star’ or guide in terms of how you engage with candidates. For instance, an organization that promotes schedule flexibility and work/life balance should reflect these values during the interview process. If we say we value flexible schedules but then only offer interviews early in the morning when parents are often busy with their children, we’re not practicing what we preach, and candidates will notice. - Authenticity Means Being Honest. “Tricking” Prospective Employees Hurts Us All in the End!
Too often, employer branding is treated like a tactic instead of a strategy. A tactic can be thought of a specific, focused action designed to address an immediate problem. For example: Say you need to fill 100 empty seats by next Friday. As a short-term tactic, you might try blasting whatever messages are known to be most appealing to prospective candidates to get them to apply and accept an offer. This might actually work, but soon enough they will discover the bait and switch, and either leave the organization altogether, or drag down morale. An alternative (and more strategic) approach is being radically honest about both the good and bad of your company as an employer. This may mean you need an extra week to fill some seats, but the end result will be new hires who are joining with an accurate portrayal of what it’s like to work in the organization, and this ultimately translates to fewer backfilled seats you’ll be tasked with filling two months down the road.
- Our Employer Brand “Lives” Throughout the Talent Lifecycle, Not Merely in Recruiting
When we think of “employer brand” we are often rightly focused on job candidates. And while recruiters are arguably one of the most important “faces” of an employer brand (see #2 above), it’s important to realize that as recruiters, we are just one part of a larger system of touchpoints and faces of the brand that include hiring managers, benefits administrators, the wider HR function, the marketing department, department heads, leadership, and more. Strong employer brands emerge when all of the different faces of the brand are in lock step in supporting candidate and employee experiences that live up to employer brand’s promise.
- Employer Brand Building is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Fostering a strong employer brand takes time and buy-in from leadership, and the reality is, one or both of these can be in short supply in many organizations. While it’s true that recruiters are the “face” of the employer brand to candidates, recruiters can only be as effective as leadership empowers them to be. And so the next time you’re tasked with filling 100 seats in a week, don’t be afraid to gently remind leadership that while this can be done, it may not be in the long-term interest of the organization or its employer brand.
