Why You Must Keep Your Employer Brand Promises (and How!)

Your employer brand is essential. It tells people what they can expect as an employee of your organization. And if that brand – and their expectations – are positive, then your good reputation will likely yield more qualified candidates. That’s 50% more candidates to be exact, according to research by LinkedIn. More good candidates mean a faster time-to-hire and a reduced cost-per-hire. Plus, that same research shows that 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before they apply for a job. Would they apply to yours?

Why Your Employer Brand Matters

A great employer brand can do more than improve recruitment efforts. As long as it’s honest (we’ll get to that!), it can also boost retention rates and employee engagement. Companies with positive employer brands experience less turnover thanks to happy employees who are engaged in their work. Happier employees boost your bottom line in two ways:

1. They reduce recruitment costs.
2. They increase revenue, both directly and indirectly.

How’d we come up with that second point? The fact is: Happy employees equal happier customers, and happier customers spend more with your company over time.

But here’s the catch: You can’t lie your way to a good employer brand. And if you try, the word will get out. 

Why You Must Keep Your Employer Brand Promises

Your employer brand likely makes several promises, from competitive pay and quality benefits to a balanced work/life equation and an inclusive culture. These promises may sound great, but they won’t deliver any long-term benefit unless you set out to keep them. In fact, you could end up doing more damage than good if you don’t. 

Let’s say your company plans to capitalize on the fact that most candidates increasingly value an inclusive culture and 76% specifically weigh diversity while applying for jobs. So, you add language about your company’s focus on building an inclusive, diverse workforce to your career-focused webpages and social media channels. But don’t expect candidates to be satisfied. Some may even seek out your current or past employees’ experiences to make sure it’s not just lip service that isn’t backed up by any real effort—especially when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In fact, according to a Glassdoor report, job seekers aren’t sure that employers’ websites, senior leaders or recruiters are entirely honest when it comes to presenting diversity in their employer brand. Yet, 66% will trust your employees’ word. 

The good news: When your leadership sincerely puts in the effort to keep your employer brand promises, your employees are more likely to support your organization and spread the word. And you need their endorsement. According to LinkedIn, candidates trust your employees’ words 3x more than your organization’s when it comes to providing credible information about the employee experience. 

5 Ways to Keep Your Promises

Employers that care about building a positive (and truthful) employer brand that includes DEI efforts can follow these five steps to support their efforts:

1. Ask for good, honest feedback. Use employee surveys to pose questions around your employer brand, particularly what your employees think about your DEI performance. And when you do, always allow anonymity. 
2. Include identity-based questions to measure the diversity of your workforce. This helps you track the effectiveness of DEI efforts when it comes to the numbers while also helping you determine whether your diverse employees are satisfied and likely to stick around.
3. After capturing your employees’ perceptions, dig deeper into your survey results. Segment your data appropriately and use satisfaction benchmarks from industry-leading sources (e-hem, like us) to pinpoint potential weaknesses and identify strengths. 
4. Hone in on two or three key areas for improvement before tackling the rest of your list. Communicate your plans to employees and, as you make progress, share regular updates.
5. Track your progress and be transparent along the way—share results widely and update employees regularly. 

When you stay true to what’s promised and authentically represent what it’s like to work for your company, you’ll be on your way to improving your workplace and strengthening your employer brand.