Millennials have been conquering the labor market for a long time, and “iGeneration”, or Generation Z, is on the way. They are attracted by high-profile projects and names. However, they are often not motivated by money and career prospects. They will easily leave for a little-known startup or go downshifting if the atmosphere in the team disappoints them.
They are often annoyed by questions from the series: “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” during the interview, they express their uncertainty about working in the same area for numerous years, like to their parents.
However, they will definitely be interested in the company’s reputation in the market, public founder and even a page in social networks. Applicants choose a brand. Whoever has it is stronger, he will be able to assemble a “dream team”. To better understand and select a suitable successful strategy, use CNA-IT employer branding consulting.
Characteristics of a brand company
- They want to work in a branded company.
- The company-brand is known and recognized in the market.
- The brand company does not limit its employees, but allows them to develop.
- A branded company makes promises and keeps them.
- The brand company employs motivated and proactive employees who are proud to be part of a large team.
In addition to the standard “goodies” in the form of wages, bonuses, social package, training and motivation system, corporate holidays and culture, staff rotation, a lot of other factors influence the employer brand. Among others – “packaging” and media company. It is no longer enough to simply put up a banner at Career Day or support 1-2 events per year. It is important how your site looks like, brand book, what you talk about in public, with whom you work, what social projects you help. This should be a well-planned work at the intersection of HR, marketing, PR and advertising. You should talk about your company offline and online, and do it as sincerely as possible. You can influence what and when they say about your company. Employer branding will help job seekers find you and employees will proudly post photos from corporate races or education sessions.
1. Set a goal
It is believed that the creation of a brand is PR and marketing in its purest form. Only the target audience is different. The employer brand works for current, future, and sometimes former employees. Therefore, first you need to decide on the purpose of creating and promoting an employer brand. What problem do you want to solve with employer branding? Retain star employees or find first-class specialists, for example, in the sales department? Or maybe attract talented young people as interns?
Without a specific goal, you will not even be able to draw up a competent strategy. All this will be like shooting at a shooting range: a lot of shots, but the prize is still on the shelf. The employer brand strategy must be consistent with the overall goals of the company, and with the marketing plan, and with the corporate culture.
2. Determine the target audience
After that, we determine the audience – for whom should your employer brand become a beacon? “All available prospects on the market” or “male/female 25-45” are not acceptable responses. You need to understand: you are looking for an accountant or marketer, full-time or project employment, in the capital or region. Both the channel of communication and the method of conveying information depend on this. For example, for the IT sector, it may be better to post a vacancy in the Telegram channel, and to search for interns, a youth educational resource is suitable. If you are working for an “internal” audience, then first conduct a few in-depth interviews with colleagues and understand the strengths and weaknesses of your company. And then – become interesting to your own employees.
3. We create a unique offer
For each target audience, it is worth working out your proposal, why he / she should choose you. After all, worthy candidates are often inundated with offers. Employers for them are like shop windows: whoever has the most attractive one is most likely to go there. All company resources should talk about your offer and guarantees: website, social networks, top pages, accounts on job sites and even photos of corporate events. The main thing here is not to make false promises with a “full social package, opportunities for growth and development,” white “salary”, which will easily destroy reviews on other sites.
4. Choose sites
Also, if you know your target audience, you will be able to “reach out” to them on the right platform. For example, SMM agencies often run paid ads on Instagram Stories about new vacancies in their team. Others prefer to initially promote “stars” in the company, for example, in the business media, so that potential applicants would like to join their team.
5. Involve “lawyers”
And don’t build your employer brand alone: get your employees involved. They are the “advocates” of your brand, they bring the values and opinion about your company to the “masses” and will give honest feedback. Tell how the company is changing and changing people’s lives.
