The employer branding, or the art of attracting talents.

According to Linkhumans, 67% of candidates would accept a lower salary if the company they are interested in received positive online reviews. 78% of people check a company’s reputation as an employer before applying. A strong employer brand increases the number of highly qualified applications by 50%. Three figures that highlight the importance of a strong employer brand.

The concept of the employer brand emerged in the 1990s. This essential idea is attributed to Simon Barrow, an American business leader. He was the first to suggest the idea of “applying brand management techniques (marketing) to human resource management.” In other words: thinking of how a company manages human relations as a product to be sold as well — internally, but especially externally.

The Pillars of a Trustworthy Employer Brand

To succeed in building a strong employer brand, you need four essential elements:

1. The unique identity of the company (its DNA). In other words: knowing exactly who the company is and the values it wants to convey. This is the DNA.

2. Internal perception. Answering the question: “How do employees see the company?” Employees are, in fact, the company’s first ambassadors. Their internal vision directly influences their external communication.

3. External reputation. How the company is perceived by external parties such as clients, the general public, and financial institutions is equally crucial. A good reputation inspires trust and attracts talent.

4. Overall human resources strategy. This last pillar is key to supporting the healthy development of the employer brand. It includes talent management, training, internal communication, and promoting a positive corporate culture.

To better understand, here are examples of what not to do—and what to do, of course.

What to Avoid

“For Christmas, our regional director gave a speech to the whole team. He had a word for everyone. When he got to me, he called me ‘the other’s sister,’ referring to my older sister who has been here for a long time. I have been working on this team for three years. He then tried to make up for it by saying he mainly remembered the names of employees who really made an effort. That Christmas day was when I decided to leave,” recalls Karima, who never misses a chance to tell how much this big company ignores its employees.

In terms of employer branding, some mistakes can be costly. Here are five NOT to make:

1/ Lack of transparency

Concealing important information about the company, its goals, viability, performance… instantly breaks trust. It’s better to communicate bad news than not to communicate at all.

2/ Ignoring bad behavior

#MeToo brought awareness, but the road ahead is long. Even today, some totally inappropriate behaviors are minimized or go unpunished.

3/ Having no career development strategy

It’s been widely discussed: the idea of doing the same job from 9 to 5 for 30 years is outdated. Today, an employer brand is strong if HR supports employees in their career development, whether horizontal or vertical.

4/ Ignoring feedback

Many companies take advantage of annual meetings to hear from employees about their wishes, experiences, and improvements needed. This step is important. But it becomes useless or counterproductive if there’s no concrete follow-up on what was shared.

5/ Discrimination and injustice

This seems obvious, but it’s important to say again. A company that fosters or allows discrimination (gender, race, religion, sexual orientation…) risks quickly being sidelined.

Best Practices to Adopt

Conversely, to gain credibility, certain things can be tried. First, remember these five reversed pieces of advice:

* Listen to employees
* Communicate transparently
* Promote diversity and inclusion
* Invest in professional development
* Sanction all misconduct or inappropriate behavior
* And, of course, offer attractive benefits and policies that meet employee needs (insurance, paid leave, etc.).

Here are 5 concrete and original examples that can boost your employer brand:

1. Company Volunteer Day
Getting involved in an association takes time. Many employees want to do it. Why wouldn’t the company offer ways for employees to engage through the company?

2. Bringing “companions” to work
53% of Belgians have pets. Allowing them—somehow—to bring pets to the workplace could be a real added value for your employer brand.

3. Reverse Mentorship Program
Another idea is to encourage knowledge exchange by organizing a program where younger employees mentor more experienced ones.

4. Leisure Clubs
Create clubs or interest groups within the company so employees can share hobbies or pastimes like reading, gaming, sports, hiking… It also strengthens bonds between employees.

5. Personal Development Day
Also very popular: personal development. Some companies dedicate a day each year to this topic by organizing workshops on well-being, stress management, communication… This can be combined with mental health support, another current topic.

Measuring Your Reputation: How to Gauge the Strength of Your Employer Brand?

Implementing initiatives is one thing, but how do you know if they work? There are ways to assess and improve your employer brand.

For example, employee surveys can evaluate satisfaction, engagement, and perception of company culture. Analyzing applications and retention rates is another way: the number and quality of applications for open positions indicate whether the company is attractive as an employer. Additionally, a low turnover rate shows how current employees perceive the company.

E-reputation analysis: Today, tools can analyze your reputation online—on recruitment sites, professional sharing platforms (LinkedIn), or employer review sites (Glassdoor). Examining reviews and ratings can provide valuable insights about your employer brand.

Another option is to participate in awards or rankings. Many countries have annual awards recognizing best workplaces. Such recognition impacts current employees as well as potential future talent.

What’s at stake is not only what the company offers as a product or service, but how it organizes internally to offer them with respect for all. As American author Rusty Rueff sums it up: “If the reputation of a company’s products and services is its face, the talent brand is its heart and soul.”