In the highly competitive world of staffing and recruiting, building a strong employer brand is critical to attracting and retaining top talent. Your brand is in the eyes of the beholder—in this case, both employers and jobseekers—and it can be tough to stand out amongst the nearly 13,000 other staffing and recruiting firms in the US.
But unlike what you may have read online, a strong employer brand is more than just a catchy tagline or a slick website. It’s a comprehensive strategy that communicates your company’s unique values, culture and mission to potential candidates. And it’s the siren song that cuts through the noise and attracts your audience like a magnet.
Companies with strong employer brands are often seen as more desirable places to work, and it’s no secret that employees are more likely to be loyal, committed and productive when they feel proud to work for their company. But what does that look like in practice?
Here, we’ll explore the key elements of a strong employer brand in the staffing and recruiting industry and share some practical tips on how to build and maintain it with real-life examples.
What Makes a Strong Employer Brand?
If you want your firm to be well-known for its strong employer brand, then start with a solid foundation that nails the basics. This part is simple, but not necessarily easy.
Here are five key elements to focus on internally so you can attract and retain top talent, differentiate your company from the competition, and build a reputation as a great firm to build a relationship with, whether as a client or candidate.
1. Clear and Compelling Messaging
The first and most important element of a strong employer brand is clear and compelling messaging. Your messaging should convey your company’s values, culture and mission in a way that resonates with potential candidates. Your messaging should be consistent across all channels, from your website and social media profiles to your job postings and recruitment emails.
When developing your messaging, consider the following questions:
- What sets your company apart from the competition? Really think about this one beyond the obvious. There are so many firms out there that tout people-centered messaging. How can you show your audience what they get when they work with you? What’s it really like?
- What are your company’s core values and how do they guide your business and how you treat your people?
- What kind of company culture do you exemplify and how does it impact your employees?
- What is the agreed upon way that people work together and build relationships from the inside out?
- What is your company’s mission? How does the difference your firm is committed to making deliver on what matters to your employees?
2. A well-designed website
Taking the time to strategize, build and design a website with seamless user experience is critical to building a strong employer brand. Your website should be easy to navigate, visually appealing and provide potential clients and candidates with all the information they need to make an informed decision about working with your company.
When designing your website, consider the following:
- Use high-quality images and videos that showcase your company’s culture and values.
- Design your website to be mobile-friendly, since 45% of candidates apply for jobs using a mobile device.
- Make it easy to find information about your company’s mission, values and culture.
- Use clear and concise language to craft exceptional job descriptions that clearly articulate the value and impact of a given role and the related requirements.
3. Social media presence
An approachable and down to earth, yet professional and high-value social media presence is essential to building an effective employer brand. Social media allows you to connect with potential candidates, showcase your company culture and engage with your current employees in a more casual and connection-driven way.
When developing your social media strategy, consider the following:
- Choose the right platforms for your company. LinkedIn is a must for recruiting and staffing companies, but other platforms like Twitter, Instagram and even TikTok may also be powerful places to engage with your target audience.
- Create unique, interesting and shareable content that showcases your company culture, values and mission.
- Encourage your employees to share your content on their own social media to extend your reach and bring your employer brand to life. Pro-tip: Provide clear social sharing guidelines to protect your employer brand and encourage ambassadorship.
- Monitor your social media profiles regularly and respond promptly to any questions or comments from potential clients and candidates.
With the potential of reaching multiple audiences through your social channels, it’s critical to implement a social media strategy that’s engaging, relatable and focused on delivering value-driven content to support folks in their job search and in talent search.
4. Social proof (with receipts)
One of the most effective ways to build a strong employer brand in the staffing and recruiting industry is through employee testimonials. Potential candidates are more likely to trust the opinions of current and former employees than they are to trust your company’s own messaging. It’s sources like these that will have a heavy hand in shaping your employer brand—so it’s important to talk the talk and walk the walk.
When collecting employee testimonials, consider the following:
- Reach out to a variety of employees, from entry-level staff to senior executives, to get a well-rounded perspective on your company’s culture and values.
- Use video or audio testimonials, which are more engaging than written testimonials.
- Ask employees to share specific examples of how your company has supported their career development and helped them achieve their goals.
- Share image-driven employee testimonials on your website, social media profiles and in your recruitment materials.
- Consider creating a referral list for folks wanting to validate your testimonials.
5. Positive candidate experience
Finally, a positive candidate experience is the last piece to the puzzle of building a strong employer brand. Keep in mind the candidate experience begins well before an application is sent—it begins the moment they land on your website, social media profiles, or hear about your company word of mouth.
When designing your candidate experience, consider the following:
- Make sure your job postings are well crafted and clear. Great job descriptions both compel the user to take action and accurately describe the specific requirements of the position.
- Create a frictionless application process so that it’s easy for candidates to submit their resume and cover letter. If possible, avoid making them both upload their resume and manually enter the information.
- Provide timely and transparent communication throughout the hiring process and keep candidates informed of their status and next steps.
- Provide constructive feedback to candidates who are not selected for the position on why they didn’t win the role and any opportunities for improvement.
What a Strong Employer Brand Looks Like in Action
It’s one thing to read about the makings of a strong employer brand, but it’s a whole other thing to see what it looks like IRL.
Lucky for you, as marketing professionals for change-makers in the staffing and recruiting industry, we know how to spot an excellent employer brand.
Here are three shining examples to inspire you in creating your own strong employer brand and elevating your client and candidate experience so well that people simply can’t wait to work with you.
Example 1: Manpower Group
Hiring Exceptional Talent, Made Simple.
Manpower Group is a global staffing firm that provides a wide range of employment services, including temporary and permanent placement, outsourcing and consulting. Manpower has a reputation for being a socially responsible employer, with a focus on sustainability and corporate citizenship. They’re also publicly committed to providing their employees with opportunities for professional growth and development.
How Manpower Group exemplifies a strong employer brand:
- The company offers a truly unique value proposition in their space, focusing on sustainable employment versus generic people-centered messaging.
- Their content game is top-notch, featuring relevant, highly valuable free resources in line with trends and forecasting for the current year.
- They offer a seamless website user experience on both desktop and mobile that’s easily navigable, digestible and attractive.
- Manpower has a consistent social media presence, demonstrating clear thought leadership, diversity and tangible takeaways for clients and candidates.
Example 2: Creative Circle
“A Bright Future is Humanly Possible.”
Creative Circle is a staffing agency specializing in connecting creative professionals, such as designers, writers and marketers with creative-focused freelance and full-time job opportunities. More specifically, Creative Circle dedicates their efforts to digital marketing and creative staffing, managed services, and in-house studio development nationwide.
How Creative Circle exemplifies a strong employer brand:
- Focus on a specialized niche makes Creative Circle an easy choice for creative professionals.
- The brand uses transparent language to communicate their core values, vision and DEI policy.
- The brand shows up strong on social media and via email with hot jobs and a straightforward reply-email process to be considered for them.
- Creative Circle’s branding, design and content is highly, well, creative—which makes it stand out in the staffing and recruiting space.
Example 3: Versique
Where Every Candidate is Versatile and Unique.
We love to shout out our parent company Versique—but we’re not doing it just because we like them. Versique is a Minneapolis-based professional recruitment and consulting firm offering a range of services including executive search, consulting and recruitment for both permanent and contract positions across various industries. Their rapidly expanding areas of expertise include finance, marketing, human resources, technology and operations.
Versique has also been recognized as a top firm by several industry publications and has won numerous awards for their services—accolades that only build their employer brand’s credibility.
How Versique exemplifies a strong employer brand:
- The messaging, copy and content is emotionally resonant and motivates folks to take action toward their goals.
- The company makes it immediately clear that it can support professionals with varying needs, skillsets and goals for their next career move.
- The website features a robust job board for jobseekers that’s free to use with no strings attached.
- They let happy and satisfied members of their talent community show their demonstrated commitment to all-around awesomeness as an employer.
Does Your Employer Brand Live Up to the Hype it Deserves?
Your firm puts in the work every day to provide the best possible support for employers and jobseekers. But does your employer brand do a good job of reflecting that out to your target audiences and show people everything you do to deliver amazing experiences?
If you’re ready to elevate your employer brand to a level that will make you the obvious choice for both clients and candidates alike, click below to start a conversation.
