Your employer brand is your reputation as an employer. A brand embodies a unique set of values, and from an employer perspective, it communicates the value your organization offers to its employees. Your brand can play an important role when recruiting candidates: after all, if your organization is known as a great place to work, top job candidates will make you their first-choice employer.
An employer brand is a dynamic and continuously evolving idea that reflects how people perceive your organization. It’s the impression held about your district by current and past employees, other school districts, post-secondary institutions, the unions, and the general public.
Your employer brand is also strongly connected to your employee value proposition, which is a combination of the compensation, benefits, career development, work environment and culture that you offer employees.
Ultimately, your employer brand is made up of two parts: how your organization portrays itself to the public and its employees, and how others perceive your organization.
Your employer brand is shaped every time an individual interacts with your district, whether directly, such as meeting one of your employees in-person, or indirectly, such as reading about your district in the news or on social media. The many ways through which people interact with your organization’s brand are called touch-points.
Why your employer brand matters
Most people will research your district’s reputation before applying for a job. They’ll look you up online on websites such as Glassdoor.com and talk to friends and colleagues. If what they read and hear is positive, they are much more likely to consider applying for – and accepting – a position in your district. Remember, referrals are the top source of hires in most organizations.
Shaping your employer brand is an ongoing process. It’s a matter of understanding your purpose (think of this as your vision, mission and values) and ensuring that the programs and services you have in place for employees support that purpose in the day-to-day experience of being in your classrooms, schools and offices.
You can also influence your employer brand by making sure it lines up with your recruitment marketing strategy. That means that the version of your organization you present in your online ads, e-newsletters and at career fairs corresponds with how current and potential employees perceive your district as a place to work.
Start building your employer brand with these four strategies.