The world of hiring and seeking employment is full of challenges. For job seekers, competition is tough because the number of available vacancies is considerably less than the number of thoe who apply for them. But competition, for employers like yourself, can be tough as well. Today, we’ll be specifically discussing how employers, who are categorized as small and medium enterprises (SMEs), may have a hard time finding qualified talent for their vacancies and how they can overcome that through employer branding.
SMEs are independent firms who usually employ no more than one hundred employees. However, this number may vary from country to another. So, if you consider your company to be a small or medium-sized independent firm, then this is what you need to hear about today.
As an SME, you may or may not have a dedicated recruiter for your organization. If you don’t have one, then you’ll learn one of the most influential steps you can take in order to attract the right talent to your organization. And, if you have a recruiter at your business, then this is a chance to further improve your hiring process and quite possibly reduce your overall hiring costs.
One of the most influential steps to improving your recruitment is employer branding. Employer brand is commonly used to describe an organization's reputation as an employer and its value proposition to its employees, as opposed to its more general corporate brand reputation and value proposition to customers. Nowadays, professionals seek employment at organizations that provide a healthy work environment, a thriving organizational culture, and a rewards and recognition program. It’s no longer just about the salary. When a job seeker considers working somewhere, the factors mentioned above and several others are heavily taken into account.
In order to have a winning employer brand as a small or medium sized-enterprise, you need to cater to what professionals expect. So, here are four things you can implement starting today in order to improve your employer brand for 2018.
1. Re-evaluate Your Brand Identity
The oldest trick in the book is one of the most important; brand association. In order to create a brand that people associate positive things to, there are many items that you should take into consideration such as detailed and exciting descriptions of your job postings, the celebratory presentation of your staff on your website and social media, and the harmonized vision, mission, values, and culture that are well-articulated and supportive of your employer brand. One of the best ways you can do this is by signing up for a Bayt.com Premium Company Profile, which helps thousands of companies create a brand that stands out and attracts the right type of talent.
2. Attract Employees with Unconventional Perks
Millennials will soon constitute the majority of the global workforce. Their fresh perspectives and unprecedented technology savviness bring something new to the table. Even their priorities and expectations do not conform to yesterday’s methodologies. For instance, good work-life balance and training opportunities top the list of loyalty factors according to Bayt.com Millennials in the Middle East and North Africa Survey. Many of them are even willing to sacrifice more hours from their personal life to go up their career ladder.
This is why companies, including SMEs, should keep up with such values and expectations when structuring their employer brand. While salary is very important, professionals are also looking for other perks, such as training opportunities, wellness programs (such as gym subscriptions and nutrition counselling), entertainment at the office, flexible work schedules, and so on. Such perks help create the environment sought after and will make your company more desirable to work for.
3. Humanize Your Presence Online
It’s no secret that we live in the digital era. A single bad tweet can make or break your employer brand. Among the best ways to let people know about your work environment is by being active online and engaging with your audience. Humanizing the digital approach is essential to make potential employees relate to your company. People actually want to reach out to you and be heard. According to the Bayt.com Social Recruiting in the Middle East and North Africa poll, 55% of the respondents feel that they are more likely to get hired if they engage with the company online.
Instead of utilizing your online presence only to pitch at your audience and market a product or a service, engage and spark conversations. Let your employees talk to your audience. It will bring back positive feedback to your employer brand.
4. Employ Brand Ambassadors
We’re not talking about hiring people and paying them to represent your employer brand. This approach lacks genuine fondness of your brand and only works at face value.Instead, focus on creating a great working environment, plan an engaging and strong marketing plan, run your social media channels in a humanized manner, and watch your loyalty and positive reputation grow. By implementing these techniques, the satisfaction and loyalty of your employees will increase and your employees will voluntarily spread a good word about the company. Hence, your employees become the best brand ambassadors, as they speak about your company out of good experience. Even your customers, partners, suppliers, and all stakeholders can potentially become your brand ambassadors if you adopt these strategies.
There is no doubt that companies need to keep up with evolving times. And not just in the technological sense, but also in their employee growth and retention efforts. To excel in this matter, building your employer brand and making it attractive to qualified and talented job seekers is just the beginning. But right now, you should take the first step. Start building your employer brand here.
