The present day job market is largely candidate driven, which means that employers don’t get to pick and choose their employees anymore, but the candidates decide whether they would be happy and willing to work at a particular place. Today, before accepting an offer, job seekers try to figure out if they can trust a company to add value to their professional growth by helping them achieve their respective career goals. In simple words, job seekers look at a company’s culture and corporate values to gauge whether they would fit in the organization. This has made it extremely crucial for companies to form an outstanding Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to attract the best talent in the market.
According to recent trends, there is a talent shortage in the Indian job market and companies need to up their employer branding game to attract the best talent. A war for talent is looming and personalizing employee value proposition (EVP) is the only way to go. These days, candidates prefer to research far and wide about a company’s culture, its best practices, policies, etc, instead of relying on word-of-mouth information. What with the easy access to social media, open employee forums, and other forms of digital platforms, corporate world and company culture have reached a high rate of transparency. This makes it easier for any candidate to research about a company and decide if they would be satisfied working there – leaving all companies with an important task of crafting an employer brand strategy that would be appealing to talented individuals.
So what really does it take to craft an effective employer branding strategy that attracts the right talent? A good EVP must consist of the benefits, rewards or ‘job perks’ that a company offers its employees either as part of their employment contract or in addition to the same. Companies must concentrate on making positive changes in the work environment, company culture, leadership culture, defined job roles, and promote general development and work-life balance.
You might also be interested to read: Top Reasons Why Employees Leave Their Jobs
Successful talent value proposition is required for employers to understand the nature of the average job-seeker. A company’s marketing team is highly capable and well equipped to come up with a good EVP strategy, but to attract the right candidates, they need to understand the job market. The Human Resources team, on the other hand, on the other hand, is well acquainted with the job seeker audience’s mindset. If the capabilities of both these teams are combined, a company can successfully craft the best employer branding to attract the best talent. A certain global conglomerate group has set a great example of this approach by having their marketing and HR teams sit and work closely together the results of which are here for all to see.
Apart from those mentioned above, two key elements that should be focussed on when curating your employer brand are Purpose and Originality. In a survey conducted on over 500 job seekers, the majority of them said that a company’s mission and purpose is what resonates with them. A company that is successful in achieving its purpose and making an impact in the market is more attractive to job seekers, and they choose to work there. Secondly, candidates appreciate when they are shown the real picture. If a particular job requires them to work long hours or if their job-role is front line or back office, they want to be in the know to be comfortable with the work arrangement.
With social media sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and digital platforms like Glassdoor, where employees can easily review or share their experience working at a company, employers cannot control what information their potential candidates are getting. The only way to fix that is by making sure the content that does end up at public websites is in their favor. So having a digital media presence is imperative. Employers and organizations need to identify with social and digital platforms and use them to enhance their brand.
You might also be interested to read: What Is Employer Branding And Why Is It Important For The Success Of Your Organization
Finally, no employer brand can be successful or even half as effective if the employees are not the main drivers behind it. Interacting with employees, engaging with them on a regular basis and trying to understand their mentality can give the employer an upper hand at better planning the next stage. Employer branding is an ongoing process and the only way to attract the best talent is by prioritizing culture practice and employee satisfaction. A goodwill will not only help companies in winning the impending war for talent but also help in retaining and continuously motivating their employees.
References:
- “Crafting an employer brand that attracts talent”, Drishti Pant, (peoplematters.in)
- “Creating an employee value proposition to win the war for talent,” Tynan Barton, 31st March 2014
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