How well does your business appeal to employees, both existing and potential? While you may be focused on delivering great customer experience, it’s important to remember that your employer brand is crucial to your business success too.

While people may be attracted to working for you by the role and salary, your business reputation also plays a significant part in attracting top quality talent.

The process of recruiting, hiring and onboarding new employees offers a great opportunity for businesses to establish an employer brand. Set the tone right at the start and you can look forward to welcoming an engaged, effective and loyal member of your team.

How well does your business appeal to a potential employee?

Put yourself in the shoes of a well-qualified and talented candidate. How do you choose which companies to apply to? Which companies make you think ‘I’d love to work there?’ and which would you never even consider?

Candidates have a perception of what it’s like to work for your company, in the same way that your customers have a perception of what it’s like to buy from you.

What do you want the perfect candidate to think when they come into contact with your business? Does your recruitment, hiring and onboarding process reflect the values and culture of your business? Or is there a disconnect between them?

Treat your employees like customers

Employee experience should be given the same level of attention as customer experience. It’s all very well planning to impress new employees with a desk full of goodies on day one, but it’s important to present a consistent and quality experience to ensure that they walk through your door in the first place.

Good employees are hard won. If they are talented, experienced and a good fit for your business, chances are they will also be attractive to your competitors. During the recruitment, and onboarding process, candidates are deciding if your company will be a good place to invest their time, skills and experience, and whether or not they value what you can offer in return.

A poor experience, lack of communication or delays in appointing new employees to a role can mean your ideal candidate chooses to go elsewhere.

Make sure that you’re clear about why you want people to join your business and what benefits you offer. The more clearly you communicate your proposition and brand values, the more likely people are to engage and value what you do, both as customers and employees.

How experience shapes your employer brand

As consumers, we’re used to sharing our experiences, both positive and negative, about companies we do business with. The same is true for candidates and employers.

Word of mouth is a powerful and trusted source of information. It can both help and hinder your recruitment process.

Social media makes it very easy for people to connect with your employees and get the low down on your employer brand. Sites like glassdoor.com give candidates an idea of the questions they may be asked at interview, and also offer an insider’s view of what it’s really like to work for your company.

Why does employer branding matter?

Your reputation as an employer will be influenced by what people see and hear about you from friends and family, and in the press and media. If you want to attract talented and effective employees who will help build your brand, recruitment begins long before you advertise the role.

Technology provides many tools to help you run your business and manage your employees effectively. For a fast and simple onboarding solution, take a look at webonboarding. com. For a simple online tool to manage your expenses, check out webexpenses.com.