What is your talent brand rep? Is it better, worse or equal to your corporate brand? And why is this important?
Your corporate and talent brand reputation are top reasons todays job seekers connect with the desire to work for your company. Not only that, a recent LinkedIn report states “The impact of a strong talent brand is real: a strong talent brand reduces cost per hire by up to 50% and lowers turnover rates by 28%”.
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A corporate brand is the sum total of the marketing, content, social posts, job ads, videos plus all other information emanating from your company. Its customer service rep, environmental concerns and causes it supports are a few more items which add up to create the whole of the public brand. All of which job seekers have access to when searching.
On the other hand, effective talent brands post social conversations geared to developing engagement and loyalty. They regularly provide resources and info job seekers are searching for. All while remaining consistent with their corporate and talent brand.
If those conversations, and content provided, create negative responses or diminishing engagement – added to by current and past disgruntled employee comments questioning your brand’s veracity – problems can begin erupting quickly. And you’ll find yourself in the unenviable position of attempting to control the uncontrollable.
A fall 2014 Corporate Magazine survey, “The Impact of Corporate Reputation on Talent Acquisition in the U.S. and North America”, found the following attitudes existed re a company’s bad or questionable rep or lack of branding:
- 46% of workers interviewed admitted a company’s employment (talent) brand, or lack thereof, plays a large role in their decision to apply.
- Candidates are reluctant to join organizations having a bad rep. Among those willing to, a significant pay increase is required as enticement.
- 75% said even if unemployed they were “not at all likely to take a job at a ‘reputationally challenged’ company.
5 valuable tips to help manage your social and mobile talent brand rep:
- Anonymously survey current employees for feedback to help revamp or streamline your talent brand rep. What encouraged them to apply? Did company culture or benefits factor into it? When hired did the company deliver on those expectations? If not, why not?
- Set up Google Alerts to keep tabs on your rep. Alerts allow you to make necessary posts to deal with comments and/or issues arising.
- Show your talent brand cares and continue to develop the all-important Know, Like and Trust factors. Regularly monitor social comments. Respond to all. Take it offline if necessary. Provide actionable help.
- Have a company social posting policy. This ensures talent brand consistency across all platforms; plus everyone’s on the same page when it comes to what can be posted. Or not.
- Create and regularly distribute positive talent content.
Utilizing social networking and mobile helps create a broader awareness of your talent brand. Consistently used, these allow you to start a conversation with job seekers, engage them. And start building relationships which inspire talent brand loyalty.
Jean L. Serio, CPC, CMA
Jean Serio, CPC, CMC of Get Your Buzz On! is internationally recognized for her LinkedIn expertise. As a social media and content marketing coach and trainer, she delivers workshops, teleseminars and webinars covering everything from the fundamentals to advanced LinkedIn and social media marketing training. She is a trusted advisor to hundreds of clients, and she has worked with thousands of entrepreneurs and business owners, worldwide in the areas of training, consulting and coaching in social content development, planning, strategizing and marketing. Ms. Serios’s work has been featured on Forbes Magazine, Next Avenue (a division of PBS), The Recruitment Lab, All Business Magazine, the LinkedIn World Summit and more. All Business Magazine named her a Top Industry Influencer in 2015, and she has been recognized as a top 200 LinkedIn expert. She is an invited presenter at RecruitCon 2016 where she’ll share valuable strategies on Mobile Recruiting Essentials: 5 Ways to Enhance Your Strategy to Attract the Next-Gen Candidate and Dos and Don’ts For Cultivating an Online Community that Supports the Underlying Recruiting Strategy.