In today’s business climate, Employer Branding has become a core business strategy, shifting from a “nice-to-have” to an essential component of growth and sustainability. In a competitive landscape shaped by remote work and evolving employee expectations, how a company shows up as an employer is just as important as how it shows up in the marketplace. For a company that relies on its employees, Employer Branding is a proactive approach to attracting and retaining the best talent by showcasing your company culture, mission, and values.
In a recent KWSM webinar, KWSM President and CEO Katie Wagner was joined by guests Nancy Erickson, HR Leader and Co-founder of Total Package HR, and Danielle Baldwin, an Executive Coach and Vistage Chair. The discussion focused on how to attract and retain top talent in today’s evolving workplace. The webinar covered how to define your authentic brand and the importance of a strategic approach to hiring and retention.
According to Wagner, “sometimes as business owners, we spend all our time marketing to clients and we forget to market to the candidates we want to attract and even the employees that we want to keep.” This sentiment highlights a critical blind spot for many businesses. Your Employer Brand, or what Wagner calls your “Employer Value Proposition,” is the expression of what you offer employees in exchange for their hard work and loyalty. This includes compensation and benefits, as well as cultural elements such as work-life balance, hybrid schedules, and a supportive work environment. By focusing on your Employer Brand, you can build a strong pipeline of qualified candidates and create a more engaged and productive workforce.
The Power of Authenticity and Storytelling
A powerful Employer Brand is rooted in authenticity. It’s not about what you hope your culture is, but what it’s actually like. This is where a thought leadership approach to Employer Branding is effective. Instead of leaders simply talking about the company, the brand is expressed through the real stories of the people who make the business what it is. By using employee testimonials, case studies, and personal stories, you can showcase your brand in a way that is compelling, genuine, and serves as a tool to attract top talent.
This strategy also serves as a powerful retention tool. When you put your employees and their stories front and center, you are actively celebrating them and making them feel important and valued. As Wagner explains, “If you can attract and retain A-players, you’ll be able to retain clients much easier because those are the people doing the work for your clients.”
Championing Your Brand, Inside and Out
For an Employer Branding strategy to work, it must be embraced at every level of the organization. Leaders must not only set the culture but also empower their team members to be its champions. “Employer Branding is not just about attracting talent, it’s also about retention,” Baldwin states. “It’s about culture. It’s about engagement.”
At KWSM, for example, our core values—Social, Communicative, Passionate, Uncommonly Organized, Creative, Loyal, and Team-Oriented—guide everything we do. We believe that being good at your job is not enough; embodying the KWSM values is an essential function of any role.
When a company hires for cultural fit (along with skills), people who are not in alignment will often self-select out. This is not a bad thing; it’s a sign that your brand is strong enough to attract and repel the right people.
“Employer Branding is an outward expression of your culture,” Erickson explains. “It’s who you are and it’s how you get that out to the world, to prospective employees and even to current employees.”
A Proactive Approach to Attracting Talent
To ensure your Employer Branding efforts are effective, you need a strategic approach and a way to measure your success. Key performance indicators (KPIs) can help you track tangible business outcomes, such as reduced hiring costs and improved retention.
Some important KPIs to track include:
- Careers Page Conversion Rate: The percentage of people who land on your Careers page and submit an application. An average conversion rate is 18%.
- Applicant-to-Interview Percentage: The number of applicants who are qualified enough to be pushed through to an interview, with an average of about 12%.
- Open Applications: The number of people who apply for a job, even when there is no specific position posted.
- Employee Referral Rate: The number of employees who refer friends or colleagues to work for your company, which is a good indicator of whether they think it’s a good place to work.
Finally, every leader must be prepared to handle negative feedback with grace. As the experts shared, reviews will happen, and you must remove the emotion to look for the kernel of truth in the criticism and an opportunity to learn from that person’s experience.
Attract & Retain Top Talent: A Strategic Approach to Employer Branding
Watch the webinar to discover the tangible benefits of a strong employer brand, from boosting morale and enhancing credibility to improving customer satisfaction through long-tenured, knowledgeable staff.
