3-minute read
People pay attention to brands in their work-life, not just as consumers. To attract the best talent, your brand story (powered by modern social media) can equip you with everything you need to work.
Your brand is your best weapon to source talent
The brand reputation of a firm is defined by what it does, more than what it says. In this battle for credentials, what people say to each other about the organization in person, on social media, via WhatsApp and so on, well… it really matters.
Get it right, and you could equip your business with the very best weapon to source the talent you need. Thanks to modern social media channels, like Facebook and LinkedIn, it’s never been easier to reach out to your potential audience and recruit individuals directly via an online job page.
The role of brand in the broadening scope of recruitment
Just a few short years ago, when someone said ‘recruitment’ the assumption was they were talking about full-time employment. That’s different today. With most organizations operating large numbers of contingent workers, in some cases making up over 35% of the total workforce, the scope of hiring can include gig workers tasked to fulfil a single task, to contractors employed for large periods of time.
Average tenures of contingent workers have risen from weeks, to months and now years in some organizations. That said, the overall average tenure continues to be in the order of 10 weeks across the board.
An influential brand-like Apple, Canon, Rolex, Google, Coca-Cola, Disney, Virgin Atlantic, Prada, etc. can change the dynamic of hiring in favour of the hirer. Prospective candidates are often prepared to work for less or forego other perks if it means they can get into a firm who brand they cherish. And this brand reach extends across all forms of worker and contract relationship.
Leveraging your brand story to attract talent
Modern social media amplifies brand credentials when they have worth. Not every firm has that ‘X-factor’ at their disposal. But even smaller companies can lever value from their brand to attract talent if they do it right. Smaller companies can use modern communications tools like Instagram and video stories to humanize brands and expose prospective hires to the desirability of working for a company based on the positive endorsements of the current workforce.
LinkedIn now has over 30 million companies on LinkedIn with 20 million open job listings and over 100 million job applications published on the platform every month.
It’s a door that swings both ways
It might offer a pull-factor to candidates that’s hard to ignore if you get your brand messaging right, but get it wrong and it’s another story. Increasingly, candidates will use social media to check out how credible your brand story is.
Sites like Glassdoor make it easy for candidates to evaluate companies, getting the full back-story from previously employed people on what work conditions are like. Firms that promise one thing and deliver another are at risk of falling foul of negative feedback that’s extremely difficult to correct.
Authenticity—the secret of using brand to win over the best talent
In an era characterized by individuals wanting to do something positive in their work lives, there’s never been a more important time for firms to get their brand right. And it’s not about trying to be something you’re not. For most, authenticity is the absolute start and end of making your brand work. People want to know what you say on your website, or the pitch you put into your job descriptions, paints a realistic picture of what it’s like to work in your business.
Do that right—and amplify your messages well on social media—and you have all of the necessary ingredients to attract the best-fit talent for your enterprise.
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