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With Cupid taking center stage this week, we thought we would turn our attention showing some love to your candidates. While operating transparently certainly benefits internal company processes and productivity, it also goes a long way in creating an appealing employer brand that candidates will love. Your employer brand is your organization’s reputation as an employer, and ensuring you have a strong one can be the difference between a flock of talented candidates and an empty inbox.
After all, a recent study by CareerBuilder found two in three employees would accept a lower salary in order to work for a company with a top-notch brand, the strongest and most appealing of which operate transparently.
Transparency helps your whole team understand how their contributions ladder up to company goals, and your organization should make it a vital part of employer branding from the start. By clearly showing that transparency is important to you, you empower candidates to apply knowing your company puts a premium on communication and accountability.
Here are just a few ways incorporating transparency into your employer branding can help you attract and retain the people you need:
Transparent Brands Attract Top Talent By Showing Off Company Culture
When it comes to attracting top talent, nothing reels in the candidates like a clear and honest look at your organization. Job seekers don't just want to know what they'll be doing at your company; they want to know what day-to-day life is like. If your employer brand is transparent, they'll have a better idea what the company is really like before they make any decisions about employment.
For instance, almost half of all job seekers check out potential employers on Glassdoor to find out more about what the company is really like. Take a page out of their book and lift the veil a bit to allow your potential candidates to see that you put a premium on transparency within the workplace.
You may already be recruiting using social media channels; make sure you are also using them to show off your company culture. That way, candidates can have a more casual look into what their 9-5 would be like. But don’t let transparency end where onboarding begins; make sure that your new hires are aligned and understand company goals.
Transparent Brands Communicate Openly
Open communication is vitally important to your employer branding efforts in both attracting the right talent and keeping current employees engaged. In a recent survey by Dale Carnegie and ClearCompany called "How Leaders Grow Today," less than six percent of companies indicated they communicate goals on a daily basis. It seems brands themselves are following suit, with studies showing only 30 percent of all company brands communicate with consumers.
You may need to communicate more clearly, both within your company and with those interested in working for you. To focus your employer branding efforts on bringing in more talented candidates, you need to foster a more transparent culture. This means goals need to remain fixed in view for your team and discussed daily.
Transparent Brands Encourage Employee Referrals
Here's something you might not have considered: being more transparent can actually help foster employee referrals. Your organization is losing out on great potential employees if you're not clearly communicating the importance of referrals. A recent study showed that while only 23 percent of employers said their workers took part in referral programs, 60 percent of employees would actually be willing to refer great people.
When your workers understand exactly what goals need to be accomplished, they can refer better people. If employees can "see" goals and track workflow, they will have a better grasp on the roles their contacts would be filling within the organization, making it easier for them to refer top-notch people with the right skills.
Do you want potential employees and your current team to connect with your employer branding and feel the love? The secret ingredient to creating the perfect candidate love potion may be as easy as opening the doors a bit wider to your candidates.
How do you use transparency to improve your employer branding efforts? Share in the comments!
