Attractive employer brand: Your key to success in the war of talent
Employer branding has been gaining in relevance for years due to the much-cited “war for talent”. The ongoing shortage of skilled labour is forcing employers to work harder to attract potential employees. This necessity is intensifying in view of the increasing fluctuation on the labour market, particularly among Generation Z, who are more willing to change jobs. As a result, companies need to prepare for the generational shift and adapt their work structures and cultures accordingly to meet the needs of Gen Z and soon Gen Alpha.
These changes are also placing new demands on recruitment. Applicants increasingly expect transparency, simplicity and efficiency in the application process. These expectations are forcing companies to rethink their recruitment methods and adapt them to modern standards.
At the same time, digital and social changes are driving new working models that demand flexibility and agility in the workplace. Companies must adapt to these changes and take appropriate measures to remain competitive.
Employees are the driving force behind a company’s growth and success. It is therefore important to attract talented employees with the greatest fit to the company and integrate them successfully. In addition, employee commitment should be increased and staff turnover reduced. Employees also have a fundamental function as brand designers and brand ambassadors: they play a decisive role in shaping the perception of the company from the perspective of the target groups.
To summarise: A strong employer brand is essential in the “war for talent” in order to attract and retain talented and suitable employees in the long term.
5 steps to a successful employer brand
These five relevant steps serve to derive your successful employer branding strategy:
1. Target groups
First, the most relevant target groups are defined and their needs and requirements are consistently placed at the centre of the process: Your existing and future employees. Using existing insights and/or an employee survey, their central needs, wishes, requirements and points of contact along the employer journey are identified, which are relevant from the employee’s point of view in relation to the decision for or against your company as a future employer.
2. Positioning
Based on this, the positioning of your employer brand is defined in comparison with your corporate brand: the Employer Value Proposition (EVP). As with any brand positioning, the three quality criteria of relevance, differentiation and credibility are consistently adhered to.
3. Communication
This is followed by the translation of the core benefits into communicative messages and concrete argumentation chains for a targeted approach to the relevant target groups.
4. Measures
The positioning of the employer brand still only exists on paper. The bridge to implementation is missing for your long-term success. We build this bridge by identifying the moments of truth, the most important contact points along the employee journey. We don’t just develop general communication or behavioural guidelines for these decisive moments. The aim is to develop dedicated implementation measures for brand-supporting behaviour and for correspondingly aligned communication, processes and systems.
5 Employer Branding Guide
All content is summarised in the Employer Branding Guide. The guide supports the implementation of the employer brand in communication and behaviour.
In addition, the Employer Branding Management System provides you with a tool that allows you to measure the success of implementation using specific key performance indicators (KPIs) (e.g. number of incoming applications, recruitment rate, staff turnover rate, reputation, key figures for contact point perception, etc.).
Your benefit
The employer branding control system creates transparency regarding the success of employer branding or recruiting and enables you to manage your employer brand in a targeted way. Addressing the applicants with relevant, credible and differentiating content increases the efficiency of the applicant communication.
The intended measures to implement or convey the employer brand positioning do not only comprise the brand communication, but also the behaviour of employees as well as the organisational processes and systems. Overall, it guarantees a consistent brand experience across all relevant touchpoints and raises your employer reputation.
Together with smooth and efficiently working HR or recruiting processes, this in turn simplifies winning over qualified employees that fit with the brand/company and at the same time has a positive effect on the fluctuation rate. The bond of existing talents to your company can be strengthened. This way you can satisfy your long-term demand for employees and simultaneously save on costs.
A strong employer brand reinforces your position in the competitive environment – and puts you in an excellent position during the ‘war for talents’.
Contact me!
Jürgen Messmer
PROJECT MANAGER
