As the effects of the pandemic live on, there has been a shift towards people becoming more discerning about who they want to work for. A variety of concerns, such as job security and benefits, have become paramount in job searches, with many questions regarding growth and stability being on everybody’s minds.
All these factors lead to the question: why is human resources important?
After all, it's human resources that will convince both new applicants and pre-existing employees that your organization offers the job security and benefits people are looking for.
In the article below, we'll go over why marketing your human resources is the best thing you can do for your business.
Making yourself a priority in the minds of applicants reduces your costs
For many businesses during pandemic, the bottom line is one of the most important considerations to keep in mind. Adapting an employer branding strategy in a pandemic at first glance might thus seem like the more costly move to make. But research shows that this sort of investment makes better sense in the long run. Platforms, such as LinkedIn, project that companies can save up to 43% on cost per hire as opposed to those with no brand recognition.
That sort of statistic is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to employer branding. Not only does it cost less to hire, but when you market your company in such a way that prioritizes people, you put yourself in the minds of applicants, much in the way you might do with any other product. Research by LinkedIn shows how most users on recruitment websites are passive job seekers, while only about 30% are active. Thus companies who are able to channel a much more compassionate brand identity are able to target talent more efficiently with less cost when they utilize other methods of recruitment beyond the traditional recruitment agency.
A strategy companies should take a look at instead is to start changing their brand image from the inside out. You can do this in a variety of ways, such as managing events and public relation efforts, that can help inspire prospective applicants. As a business, you want to be at the forefront of those you want to hire. By increasing your brand presence online and offline, you can bring awareness to them that can funnel into interest when they’re looking for a job. Especially in such a time like this where unemployment is at an all-time high, you are lessening your costs considerably by having people come to you through your employer branding.
Recruiting great talents now for a greater tomorrow
Employer branding is more than just marketing your human resources department. Oftentimes, it means a full integration of your marketing into the workplace – from culture to benefits. This is something companies need to be keen on, largely because employer reputation on websites like Glassdoor can highly impact whether job seekers continue on with their application.
By integrating your company’s work culture with your employer branding, you create avenues where not only you can succeed, but where like-minded individuals can too. This more public relations geared strategy helps foster growth in such a way that it encourages both the company and those in it to create a culture that constantly looks towards success. Research shows that “employee turnover can be reduced by 28%” when companies put in more emphasis into employer branding that is driven by values and compassion, giving those who do stay a much greater chance at growth in the long run. A simple way this can be done is to advocate for more transparent and authentic leadership that can communicate more personably to employees, such as thought leadership.
Turning your employer branding into capital
As opposed to recruitment websites, employer branding is much more of a soft sell that utilizes opportunities, such as social media, to recruit possible applicants. Possible plan of action can be to feature more casual and fun content that puts employees at the forefront of spreading the mission and vision of your company. By turning your employees into ambassadors, you can create more organic and candid content that will better lure in prospective applicants who just happen to look through your social media.
To do this best, the Harvard Business Review recommends that companies identify their key cultural points that can be highlighted to create a comprehensive brand identity that encourages values that employees and prospective applicants can resonate with. This doesn’t just apply to benefits and perks, but also more intangible aspects of work life, such as sense of purpose and quality of leadership. Such a process allows for companies to thrive and turn toward their goals in a much more value-adding way. You can even use a variety of tools that already spread your brand message, such as marketing, events management, public relations, that can directly target high quality talent.
By being able to push a kind of workplace culture into your marketing, you will be able to create a system of recruitment that gathers applicants based on attachment to your culture and reputation. Adapting such a method can only serve to help you grow and can help drive efficiency to a much healthier and conducive work environment, especially in the face of a pandemic.
-Written by Alexandra Goño
