Does your employer brand really matter when it comes to tech hiring? According to industry research and surveys, your employer brand can make a bigger impact than you might think on your hiring efforts. As the war for tech talent continues to heat up, the best talent often has many options. We’re seeing an up rise in candidates receiving multiple offers, which means that candidates are reviewing the entire opportunity, including salary, benefits, growth potential, company leadership and employer brand.
One might assume that if you want to attract the best talent, it is simply a matter of making the best monetary offer. However, this is not always the case, with the best talent often not wholly motivated by compensation. Work-Life balance related perks/benefits for example are becoming increasingly important for candidates weighing employment offers. Want evidence? See the recent PROTECH Workforce Survey results.
Offering a high salary is a great way to attract a financially motivated hire – unfortunately, they present a flight risk since they’ll likely be out the door as soon as a better offer comes in (there’s always an employer out there willing to pay a little more). So, having a positive employer brand can not only help attract, but also retain key team members. Although having a competitive salary and benefits package is critical, candidates are also placing a higher level of importance on the employer brand and reputation when considering an offer.
There are a lot of benefits to having a positive employer brand starting with the ability to more easily attract and retain the best talent. According to a study by Corporate Responsibility Magazine (CR), 92% of workers across industries would consider leaving their current job if offered a role with a company that has a better reputation, even if the pay was only marginally better.
What are the worst things a company can do to negatively affect their brand? CR Magazine reports the worst offenses as being public exposure of criminal acts; failure to recall defective products; public disclosure of workplace discrimination; and public disclosure of an environmental scandal. Other factors? Online presence on social media and job sites such as LinkedIn or Glassdoor.
Today’s job seeker is very savvy – using a variety of sources including Google, Glassdoor, social media and word of mouth to find out if they should consider a job with a specific employer. Having negative online reviews, although it might harm recruiting efforts, is not enough to completely scare away good talent. In fact, job seekers reading negative reviews are looking to see whether an organization is responsive and working toward improvement.
For example, 62% of Glassdoor users’ reported their perception of a negative review was improved when they saw the company take the time to respond and address the concern appropriately. Since the average job seeker reads 6 reviews before deciding on whether to pursue employment at an organization, it is more important than ever to consider the impact that dissatisfied employees have on your current recruiting effort by taking the time to understand and resolve the reported issues and taking the right steps to improve your organization.
Job seekers are also looking for transparency. According to a Glassdoor survey, they want to easily be able to find out information on compensation including bonus structure, overall benefits package including things such as 401K/stock matching, basic company information including location and any office amenities, specific details on why the company is a great place to work, and lastly, details on the company’s mission, vision and values.
In today’s competitive tech industry, having an excellent employer brand is just part of the equation. Tech workers are so in-demand they can afford to be choosy on what types of projects and roles they want to be involved with. If you’re not innovating and using interesting/exciting technology, it will be tough to attract the talent you want. Getting a candidate excited during the interview process is critical in securing a key hire. What types of interesting/exciting projects will the candidate be involved with if hired? Do you have any exciting technology flavors that will allow them to build their skills? Are you willing to send them to any training/certification classes or sponsor them to attend exciting technology events? What tools do you provide your team to perform at their top potential?
Lastly, be cognizant of how your interview process is affecting your reputation and hiring results. Long interview processes and not making decisions based on an individual candidate’s merits often results in the best talent being hired away before you can make a decision. Remember that your interview process is reflective of your brand and culture – an outdated, undecisive and lengthy interview process might be indicative of an outdated employer brand.
What are your thoughts?
