In February 2020, right before the world shut down, I was interviewing at a tech start-up for their first-ever Manager of Employer Brand position. The company was entering hypergrowth, aiming to double its headcount year over year for the next three years.
I’ll never forget the hiring manager’s unwavering honesty as she shared that she didn’t know much about the employer brand space but knew we needed brand awareness to reach the company’s lofty recruiting goals.
“If you’re looking to learn from an employer brand expert, this isn’t for you. If you’re looking to build something and make your mark, then this is for you.” she’d said.
It was the most exciting and intimidating statement I had heard, and I was ready for it. I joined the company in March of 2020 and had to figure out, “How do I actually do this?”
For those of you who may find yourself in a similar position, I want to share the steps I took to build an award-winning employer brand.
- Evaluate
- Before addressing problems and developing solutions, it’s essential to understand your business’s current state. You must conduct thorough research to identify your stakeholders and embark on an active listening tour through 1x1s and focus groups. This will help you uncover and comprehend the current state.
- Ask questions like:
- What is already in place?
- What is missing?
- What data already exists?
- What challenges are present in talent attraction and recruitment?
- Are there aspects that are functioning well?
With a clear grasp of the current state, you’ll be better equipped to create a tailored plan that addresses your company’s specific challenges and needs.
- Benchmark
- To chart an impactful road ahead, you have to know where you are to know where you are going. Analyze the marketplace and your competitors to define what “best in class” looks like, understand your differentiators, and how to measure success. When I was starting out, I researched and found some useful information, such as Smashfly’s 2020 Employer Brand and Recruitment Marketing report; I gained insights into the strategies employed by top Fortune 500 companies. I then compared my company’s performance to the top 15% of performers to identify gaps and establish a path to achieving best-in-class status.
- Build
- Once you’ve analyzed your findings, it’s time to develop your strategic roadmap. I recommend prioritizing addressing fundamental issues or aspects of your strategy that either don’t exist or need improvement. For example, suppose your career site lacks content or is just a basic job listing page. In that case, your top priority should be to improve it through engaging storytelling and compelling content tailored to your audience. Additionally, make sure the application process is smooth and user-friendly. Other efforts will be ineffective without addressing these foundational elements, creating a revolving door for prospective talent. Once the foundational elements are in place, you can then focus on adding advanced features and enhancements.
- Report
- As you implement your roadmap, it’s crucial to monitor and assess the effectiveness of your strategy. Tracking progress can be challenging because many companies don’t have the right data infrastructure or struggle with data integrity. Typically, you must piece together various data points to form a comprehensive narrative. I suggest measuring your metrics quarterly and compiling them into a report for distribution among business leaders, stakeholders, and team members. Obtaining stakeholder feedback in conjunction with your metrics can also be valuable. Your report should celebrate successes and highlight noteworthy campaigns or initiatives during that quarter.
- Refine
- As you consistently track your efforts over time, let the data help you decide to keep or stop doing or what you should refine. Data-driven insights are powerful tools for engaging in informed discussions with leadership and key stakeholders. Use these insights to refine your approach and enhance your strategies.
I hope these steps will serve as a guide to get you started. As an employer branding consultant, I believe it’s good to connect with others and learn from them. If you’re looking for help getting started, you can always reach out to me to turn your ideas into reality. My bio has all the ways you can connect with me.
