Many HR professionals underestimate the value that building a strong employer brand holds.

You see, an employer brand is different from a company brand. A company brand is its name, relevancy in the industry, and overall image. An employer brand specifically pertains to how the company is perceived as an employer. Do they offer fair wages, a comfortable atmosphere, and fair treatment? A company that checks these boxes, attracts high-quality candidates and stands out from the competition.

Keep reading for tips on how to build your employer brand and attract the best candidates.

Be Honest

First and foremost, it’s important that you don’t talk the talk unless you can walk the walk. 

In other words, don’t create a false employer image and make promises that you can not fulfill. It’s OK if you can’t offer 4 weeks of PTO and extravagant holiday parties. If you are transparent with what your company can realistically provide, you can create relationships built on trust, which is much more powerful than extra time off.

Honesty sets realistic expectations that lead to higher satisfaction and employee retention.

Highlight What You Do Provide

When making a job listing, advertising on social media, or speaking at a job fair, make your advantages well known. 

Don’t worry so much about what you can’t do and let everyone know all of the awesome things you can provide. 

Do you offer celebratory half days, affordable health plans, emotionally intelligent managers, remote work opportunities, or something else? Highlight those perks and qualities to gain traction and stir up some excitement. 

Evaluate and Make Changes

Unfortunately, like all companies, yours has some undesirable employer flaws. Part of building a strong employer brand is identifying those flaws and making changes. 

As an employer, you don’t have to be perfect, but if you want to develop a good reputation, you can’t let things slide that are negatively affecting your employees.

These flaws range in size and severity. You may be surprised at the things that make employees unsatisfied with their position. If you look at company reviews on Glassdoor, you will see comments like “Management is great but I’m docking points because the air conditioning is always too high”.

You don’t want your five-star company to have a four-star rating because of something easily managed like the building temperature. So, evaluate and make changes. 

You can identify problems by creating satisfaction surveys, anonymous suggestion boxes, and holding frequent feedback meetings. 

Be Inclusive

Inclusivity is a must and if you think that people aren’t looking at your company’s DEI, you are wrong. 

In 2024, diversity, equity, and inclusion are some of the most researched company traits. Candidates want to know the details of your company’s cultural landscape, what accommodations you make, and if wages and treatment are the same for all demographics.

If your company could potentially be seen as close-minded or discriminative, don’t worry because it’s a fairly easy problem to solve. 

• Make sure your teams are from varying backgrounds and demographics.
• Offer private places for prayer, breastfeeding, or other necessary practices.
• Make accommodations for religious holidays. 
• Offer alternative meal options to those with dietary restrictions. 

In most cases, these changes are simple and require minimal additional budgeting.

Implementing DEI policies is crucial to building a strong employer brand because it makes your employees feel welcome and appreciated for their differences. 

Learn more about the importance of DEI at Obsidi.

Conduct Comfortable Interviews

A portion of your employer’s brand reputation is created by individuals who never even made it to orientation. 

How is that possible? Well, most company review websites (like Glassdoor) ask interviewees about the interview process. 

Often, you will find reviews from both hired employees and those who didn’t make the cut.  They comment on how comfortable they felt if the interviewer asked trick questions, the interview length, how many people were also waiting to be interviewed, and more.

All of these things have a positive or negative impact on your reputation as an employer. 

Create a comfortable environment by starting with casual conversation, using open-ended questions to encourage discussion, providing positive feedback, and giving the candidate ample time to represent their true self.

First impressions are the initial blocks laid when building a relationship foundation  So, don’t make the mistake of discounting the power a comfortable interview has on your employer brand.