The elements that make an organization attractive to potential new hires are often the same ones that keep current employees engaged, challenged, and satisfied.
To accomplish these goals, try the following steps:
Step 1: Emphasize your sense of purpose. People want to work for an organization that makes a difference in the world.
Step 2: Develop your organizational culture through leadership. Leaders must deliver on cultural expectations of integrity, trust, flexibility, inclusivity, and support for their employees.
Step 3: Articulate professional development and growth opportunities. A top reason people leave an organization is a lack of opportunities for growth and advancement. In some cases, employees may have upward or lateral mobility prospects within the company. Still, they are not aware of those opportunities because they are difficult to find, or leadership has not adequately articulated them.
Make sure to promote internal talent mobility and growth opportunities within employees’ existing jobs such as cross-training and participation in stretch assignments and projects. Remember that growth does not necessarily mean getting a promotion! One of our clients, a payroll organization in a niche industry, was located directly across the street from a larger competitor. Talent would go back and forth between the two organizations, depending on which offered better compensation. We focused on talent development as a differentiator and built a comprehensive training program for all levels of employees, mapping out career paths within the organization. We also drew attention to the fun company culture.
Ultimately, even though the organization was smaller and didn’t pay as well as its competitor, it achieved much better retention rates and overall employee experience scores. After revamping its employer brand, the company did a better job of retaining and satisfying talent.
Step 5: Communicate your external employment brand. Think strategically about building your brand in the marketplace and be creative about broadcasting that brand to the world.
One client in Poland was opening a new location in a competitive environment. We focused on whom the organization wanted to be as an employer, spending time on local media and publicity to create a welcoming experience for prospective employees. Our outreach mirrored the company’s forward-thinking and “cool” customer brand, which enticed people to work there. After imaginative initial recruiting, the company has retained great talent.
Organizations must strategically identify the best areas to make changes and invest in them. Rather than broad sweeps, targeted moves can make incremental differences in the efficacy of your employment brand.
Communicate and Cultivate Your Brand
At the end of the day, talent acquisition and retention involve much more than just communication. Incentive programs, favorable policies, a flexible work environment, reward strategies, and the daily delivery of a good employee experience are all critical to avoid hollow branding.
Managers may have a solid communications strategy but understanding how these pieces work together is difficult. It takes an outsider to fully analyze an organization’s needs and create and implement a strategic plan for improving an employment brand.
How you portray your organization to the world is fundamental to surviving – and thriving – through these challenging times. hrQ understands the best ways to manage your employer brand, from repairing a damaged reputation to planning new strategies for putting your best face forward.
Contact hrQ today to build an employment brand that attracts and retains the best talent in your market.
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