The competition for talent in the built-environment industry is incredibly intense.
The unemployment rate is at its lowest since 1969 (only 3.6%). Built-environment businesses are facing a challenge in finding and keeping talented employees. As a result, they need to change their recruitment and retention strategies.
Many organizations have invested more heavily in internal marketing and branding strategies. There is fierce competition to attract top talent, leading to a greater emphasis on employer branding.
LinkedIn's Sarah Lybrand says employer branding is "a second brand related to its primary brand about how you're viewed as an employer. This is your employer brand, and it lives and breathes in the minds and hearts of your former, current, and future employees."
There is a reason successful companies are investing more in internal marketing strategies like employer branding. It works to attract and keep talent.
- 75% of active job seekers are likely to apply if the employer actively manages its employer brand (Glassdoor)
- 92% of people would consider changing jobs if offered a role with a company with an excellent corporate reputation (Forbes)
- A survey of over 5,000 workers found that 77 percent would "consider a company's culture" before seeking a job there. (Business News Daily)
Engaged Talent is More Productive and Loyal
The talent you need and the talent you have value clarity, authenticity, and investment in their professional development and personal happiness. A practical, consistently executed employer branding strategy delivers on two essential talent competition fronts:
- It projects, in an authentic way, the culture, values, and opportunities for the growth of talent in the marketplace
- It delivers on these promises internally. Thus your team experiences an authentic employer brand that increases engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty to your company.
There are many parallels between talent acquisition and employee retention with lead conversion and customer retention. To be effective, both require attention, investment, and alignment between external and internal marketing and branding efforts.
Embracing internal marketing and employer branding can transform productivity, and the customer experience in one fell swoop. As the quality of your internal culture directly impacts your company's ability to deliver outstanding customer experiences.
How to Develop a Strong Employer Brand that Attracts and Retains Top Talent
A strong employer brand is quite simple in concept. Create a perception in the market that your company is a great place to work. You'll have more top talent. Excellent workplace practices lead to talent retention and natural referrals.
Easier said than done. Concept, easy. Execution, not so much.
Here are five tips for developing a strong employer brand:
Know Thyself. Building an employer brand is only possible.
If you know who you are and what you stand for. To attract potential hires and keep current team members happy, those defining the employer brand must work to create the identity.
An employer branding campaign with roots not in genuine values is a recipe for disaster. The talent you're recruiting will quickly see the brand as inauthentic and move on. Existing talent will get disengaged and leave.
So, the first order of business is to create an employer brand task force that will lead the effort. Gather survey data consistently at essential moments or turning points. Moments such as regular online surveys, onboarding surveys, and exit interviews.
You'll need a comprehensive audit of your employer brand. This gives your task force team a lay of the land before unthinkingly leaping into action.
To win the talent war, companies must adopt a new mindset focused on marketing and promotion.
Develop an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)
The employer brand audit should provide a road map that creates a clear, authentic, and fundamental Employee Value Proposition or EVP. An EVP is similar to a mission statement. It should capture the essence of your employer brand's culture and values.
A strong EVP will inform job seekers what they will get from your company in exchange for joining it. It will also define what an existing employee should experience when they walk in the door daily.
In all cases, the EVP must align with the overall employer brand. Any breakdown along the way in alignment made to your team or target market will hurt your company.
Reimagine Recruiting and Employee Retention
Talent acquisition and retention are undergoing a paradigm shift due to the most competitive talent market in decades. There's plenty of opportunity and not enough talent to go around.
To win the talent war, companies must adopt a new mindset focused on marketing and promotion. Posting jobs on Indeed and waiting for suitable resumes to appear won't work in this talent environment. Human Resources or those tasked with recruiting must adopt an aggressive marketing and promotion mentality both externally and internally.
The HR department takes on a marking role after establishing the employer brand and Employee Value Proposition (EVP). It's time to promote why your company is a great workplace.
Use marketing to attract new talent and retain your invested employees. Celebrate their achievements. Collect endorsements from your team. Highlight your company culture and promote your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) at networking events.
Create Consistent Internal Branding Campaigns
An employer brand is a living thing that needs nurture to thrive. The workplace culture you worked hard to embed will only fall apart if internal marketing and branding campaigns actively reinforce it.
A lack of new talent leads to stagnant performance, production, and a lack of new ideas. The loss of existing talent does the same. When your employee branding and workplace culture are lacking, it leads to negative customer experiences. This harms your reputation, increases customer loss, and reduces lead conversions.
Everything connects. Invest in internal marketing campaigns using various content types to strengthen your employer brand. Celebrate the culture, team members' successes, and why your company is a great workplace.
Total Buy-in and Full Integration into the Business
Strong employer branding, more effective hiring, and improved talent retention all start at the top. We've all heard of trickle-down economics; in this case, it's trickle-down employee branding.
From the founder and CEO to the executive team and senior managers, employer brand and EVP buy-in is critical. Failing in hiring and talent retention can harm your company's ability to provide a great customer experience.
You can use the tips above to attract the best talent, retain your existing staff, and deliver outstanding customer experiences. Your authentic employer brand will positively impact every aspect of your organization and how your customers experience your brand.
