Netflix becomes the world’s most desirable employers, followed by Github and Google, reveals a new report by Hired. How can companies focus on building their brand and attract top talent in the industry?
Employer brand is the only long-term competitive advantage that organizations have when it comes to talent acquisition and retention. Companies try to match or even exceed the compensation packages provided by their competitors. But this is not sustainable. It is only a sense of belonging and value alignment that keeps individuals with their firms.
Hired has released the findings of its new survey, 2020 Hired Employer Brand HealthOpens a new window . It surveyed more than 4,100 tech professionals to understand which companies they would want to work in. The survey findings reveal Netflix tops the list, followed by GitHub and Google. The professionals included were software developers, product managers, designers, and data scientists.
Perceptions related to how an organization and its workplace culture is, determine decisions to a large extent. Individuals today are far more involved and aware, and they conduct extensive research before they join any organization. Therefore, employers need to have strong actions that demonstrate their values and are visible internally as well as externally.
Employer Brand During A Crisis
The report shows poor reputation and negative company culture turns the tech talent away from an opportunity. The benefits and compensation follow next. This information is readily available online through platforms such as Glassdoor. In addition to this, as per the surveyed professionals, transparency is critical for companies to show their commitment towards diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The work that needs to be done on employer branding should not be pushed onto the backburner due to the current pandemic crisis. Emphasis on the brand needs to be higher since how an organization behaves in a crisis will define how it is viewed even later. Instead of reducing budgets in this area, companies need to define this as high priority and create new channels of positioning it.
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What Is the Way Forward?
In these trying times, there are a few ways that organizations can focus on building their brand.
Engagement and Experience
Most organizations tend to associate employer branding with recruitment. Talent acquisition is only one part of it. The engagement of current employees defines the culture and therefore has a significant impact on the brand. In a virtual situation, this has become even tougher. There are some key touch points that organizations need to focus on – such as website and blog, candidate communication and careers page for potential employees, and the intranet or social networking platforms, for existing ones.
Future Trends
The way organizations are discovering and preparing for future trends is what is shaping their brands. As per a report by GartnerOpens a new window , the HR response to the COVID-19 crisis is the defining factor for employer brand – how it created empathetic actions to support employees and their well-being from all perspectives and also balanced the business needs. Revised communication and information sharing are also a huge part of this. The kind of data that companies are sharing with their employees as well as the external audience, about the pandemic, their own steps, and the support towards remote work are all part of the brand.
Brand Ambassadors
The conversations have now shifted to social media and employees also air their views freely. Focusing on making them brand ambassadors who truly believe in the company’s culture is a good step. Employees should be guided on the content that they can share externally if they want to speak about their own experience. Remaining connected with these workers who can truly embody what the company stands for, especially during the current times, is an important exercise.
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Irrespective of the negativity that pervades the environment or news, brands need to emphasize the positive aspects and remain realistic. Remaining silent at this stage, especially when the world is shaken by social or racial injustice, deep recession, and a highly concerning virus, might not be the best way to be. Employees are acutely aware of how organizations are trying to overcome these crises. Making those efforts known is what goes a long way in making the brand.