If you are looking to create a great experience for potential candidates you’d hire, you may want to invest part of your digital strategy on Employer Branding. Employer branding is the strategic process of creating and maintaining your company’s reputation as a great place to work. It is the image your company creates that encompasses the values, workplace culture, employee engagement, and overall experience that define your appeal in the job market.
As KWSM: a digital marketing agency and a full-service team of brand journalists, we know that your company’s story—and the experience of working there—is the most compelling content you can share.
The nature of hiring has fundamentally changed. Due to the rise of remote and hybrid work options, the power dynamic has shifted: employees are now interviewing us as much as we are interviewing them. This means the onus is entirely on the employer to prove that your organization is the right choice.
“Employer branding is all about translating your authentic company culture into a compelling story that entices those strong candidates to apply,” says KWSM VP of Strategy Jeff Soto. “The best strategy is taking authentic internal employee experiences and leveraging those as external messages to your prospective employees.”
Employer Branding vs. Company Branding: Alignment is Key
It’s easy to confuse employer branding with your overall corporate brand (or company brand), but they serve different, though aligned, purposes. Both must be aligned to ensure a consistent corporate identity and prevent a “dissonance disaster.”
- Corporate Branding focuses on shaping the overall perception of your company by external stakeholders, including customers, investors, and the general public, to build trust and loyalty for your products or services.
- Employer Branding focuses on prospective and current employees, positioning the company as a desirable place to work.
The Cultural Truth: Your Employer Value Proposition (EVP)
The foundation of a strong employer brand is a clear and compelling Employer Value Proposition (EVP). This is the core promise an organization makes to its employees—the unique benefits, opportunities, and experiences employees receive in return for their skills and contributions. This promise creates a psychological contract that, if broken, damages your brand.
Defining your EVP requires radical honesty, because, as KWSM President Katie Wagner often says, “Employer brand is about what’s actually happening, not what you hope is happening.” If your promise doesn’t match reality, the brand will fail.
We delve into this critical concept in our Employer Branding Services, where we help you define and communicate your unique offering. A strong EVP goes beyond just salary and benefits, including:
- Career Development: Opportunities for growth, learning, mentorship, and clear progression pathways.
- Work Environment: A welcoming, supportive, and inclusive culture that values well-being and flexibility.
- Company Values and Mission: A compelling purpose that aligns with the employee’s conscience and gives them a sense of direction.
- Compensation and Benefits: Competitive pay and holistic perks like health, mental health support, and work-life balance options.
Why Employer Branding is Crucial: The A-Player Principle
A strong employer brand is an investment that pays significant dividends for both recruitment and retention. This is not just a soft HR initiative; it’s a hard business strategy.
- Attracts Top Talent and Reduces Cost-Per-Hire: Companies with strong employer brands receive 50% more qualified applicants, have a 50% lower cost-per-hire, and fill positions twice as fast. A compelling brand acts as a magnet for A-players who align with your values.
- Improves Employee Retention and Engagement: Engaged and satisfied employees are more likely to stay long-term, reducing turnover, increasing loyalty, and boosting overall productivity.
- Enhances Credibility and Trust: Candidates trust a company’s employees three times more than the company itself. Showcasing the authentic employee experience provides the “inside view” that 75% of job seekers crave before applying.
The most strategic reason to invest is the A-Player Principle: A-players do not want to work with C-players. The employees doing the work for your clients are your biggest asset, and if you can’t maintain a high standard of talent, your best people will leave. Your clients know this, too. They care if you can attract and retain A-players because those are the people doing the work that affects their business.
“Many businesses miss a huge opportunity by not applying the same strategic marketing focus to their employee experience as they do to their customer experience. Your employees are your first audience, and a strong employer brand is the ultimate tool for both nearbound marketing—through employee referrals—and long-term, sustainable growth,” says Wagner. “The power dynamic has shifted; employees are interviewing us, and a well-defined strategy is the only way to prove we’re the right choice and retain those A-players who will drive our clients’ success.”
Related Webinar: Attract & Retain Top Talent: A Strategic Approach to Employer Branding
Employer Branding Strategy and Implementation: Building Your Marketing Funnel
Employer branding is not a one-off campaign; it’s a long-term, strategic effort that requires cross-functional collaboration between HR, marketing, and leadership. Every engagement at KWSM starts with a 6-week Digital Marketing Strategy to analyze your current standing and provide a cohesive, data-driven roadmap.
For marketers, it is best to think of recruiting as a lead generation funnel aimed at candidates instead of clients. This funnel requires both inbound and outbound tactics.
- Define Your Landing Page: Your careers page on your website is the landing page for your candidate lead gen campaign. It needs to be constantly updated with engaging content, employee testimonials, and clear messaging.
- Employee Case Studies: Using employee case studies is more impactful than the CEO talking. For instance, you can create stories about internal growth, just as we did in our Case Study: Leveraging Paid & Organic Employer Branding Tactics to Attract New Talent. This Storybrand-led content elevates the employee to the “hero” of the narrative.
- Social Media as a Culture Channel: Use platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn for “behind the scenes” content. We’ve outlined How to Showcase Your Company Culture Online, which details how to put your personality, culture, and style into everything you share externally.
Employee and Candidate Focus: Driving Retention Through Development
The successful execution of your strategy hinges on empowering your current team.
Professional Development: The Retention Strategy
An intentional investment in your people’s future is the strongest retention tool you have. Offering genuine career growth is critical because, as the webinar highlighted, sometimes people outgrow their business, and the organization must be prepared to evolve with them.
- Skills Training and Career Opportunities: Employer branding is bolstered by transparent pathways for professional development. This includes providing consistent learning and development opportunities such as skills training and workshops with senior management to ensure employees see a future with you.
- Performance Management and Reward: A clear, continuous performance management and reward structure—not just an annual review—signals to A-players that their dedication is recognized and provides the necessary coaching. This commitment extends to leadership & manager development so that those responsible for coaching and retention have the necessary tools to inspire their teams.
Onboarding and the First Two Weeks
The candidate experience does not end with the job offer. The first two weeks of an employee’s journey determine if they will stay at the company long-term. As was discussed in our recent webinar, onboarding is one of the most underrated, under-focused elements in the entire retention process.
- Avoid the “Eat Alone” Moment: Every touchpoint should reinforce the message of belonging, from making sure an employee has a desk buddy on day one to the manager meeting with them to provide confidence and clarity.
- Set the Foundation: A strong onboarding process lays the foundation for retention. The How Employer Branding Helps with Employee Retention post explores this in detail.
Sustaining the Culture
Culture is delicate and complicated. It is not static; it is a “living, breathing organ” that requires constant care. Studies show it can take 12 to 24 months to build and just 24 hours to destroy. As leaders, you must be fiercely protective of your culture.
- Empower Your Employees: Your current employees are your most powerful brand ambassadors. We recommend organizations create a “Flight Crew” or culture committee—a designated group of employees whose mandate is to make the company the best place to work.
- Celebrate the Values: Recognize employees when they are demonstrating your company values. This reinforces the psychological contract and gives new hires a quicker adoption path, as they see how your team operates in real-time. For more ideas, read 3 Easy Ways to Improve Employer Branding and How Employer Branding Helps Attract New Talent and Retain Top Talent.
Measurement and Improvement: Taming the Data and the Critics
To ensure your strategy is working, you must move beyond anecdotal evidence to measurable results. This is where continuous improvement is non-negotiable.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Track metrics that measure both the efficiency of your talent attraction and the sentiment of your current team.
- Careers Page Conversion Rate: This is a crucial, tangible metric. The industry average for a careers page conversion rate (people who land on the page versus apply) is 18%. If you’re below that, you have room to better showcase your brand.
- Open Application Rate: The number of people applying without a specific position open. This speaks volumes about your brand’s strength—people want to buy into your company.
- Offer Acceptance Rate: If you offer people jobs and they turn them down, you haven’t sold your value proposition effectively.
- Employee Referral Rate: The most powerful indicator of whether your current employees think it’s a good place to work.
Auditing and Review
True strategic success requires an annual review of employer branding efforts. This goes beyond the numbers to include auditing the candidate journey from the moment they see your job advertisement all the way through their first four weeks to ensure the experience is consistent.
- Employee Surveys: Regularly conduct employee surveys to get a safe, anonymous pulse on your culture. This is crucial for continuous improvement—the webinar emphasized the need to look for any “kernels of truth” in external feedback and use internal data to preemptively close those gaps.
Handling the Negative Feedback
You cannot promote your brand without opening yourself up to criticism. Leaders must be willing to swallow their ego, be curious, and look for the “kernels of truth” in external feedback.
- Respond with Respect: You should respond to negative reviews on sites like Glassdoor. Not to argue, but to say, “Thank you for the feedback. I’m going to really consider what you’ve said here.” This tells future candidates that you are an employer who is willing to listen and engage with real concerns.
- Close the Gap: If there’s a disconnect between what you’re saying and what others are saying, you don’t have a strong brand. Use that feedback as a learning opportunity to make changes to your culture and close that gap.
“An intentional employer branding strategy is the backbone of talent acquisition. We help companies articulate their unique advantages, from a flexible work schedule to genuine growth opportunities, ensuring their outreach attracts candidates who are not just qualified, but a true cultural fit,” says Senior Copywriter Kyle Cavaness. “But beyond the attraction phase, true strategic success lies in continuous improvement—you must be fiercely protective of your culture and your EVP through regular audits, ensuring the promise you make is the experience your team receives.”
Next Steps for Your Employer Branding
By consciously and consistently telling the story of what it’s like to work at your company, you are creating a positive work culture, fostering loyalty, and building a pipeline of candidates who are already aligned with your mission. It’s a powerful approach that enhances the effectiveness of all your other inbound, outbound, and nearbound marketing efforts.
KWSM is ready to help. We’re a team of brand journalists who can tell your brand’s unique story through testimonials, case studies, and other digital marketing tactics, building strong connections with your current and future employees, so you can attract the right applicants and keep your A players. Contact us today or learn more about our employer branding services.
