The job market has undergone a profound transformation in recent years, with the massive advent of remote working and greater staff mobility. Suddenly, companies in one region are no longer competing only with other companies in the region, but with companies all over the world.
In such a context, it has become vital for every company, from the smallest to the largest, to ensure increased visibility and an attractive public image. You can have the best working conditions in the world, but if it doesn’t look that way from the outside, people won’t be interested in your company.
While many companies are doing an exceptional job of creating an impeccable brand image for their customers, they often neglect the image they project as an employer, which is equally important. After all, it’s quite difficult to market a product, no matter how excellent, if no one wants to work for you.
An employer brand is the public image of a company on the job market, and its purpose is very specific: to attract the best talent in the industry!
What is an employer brand?
The concept, while gaining considerable popularity recently, dates back to the early 1990s. At the time, the web sector was developing at a phenomenal pace, and start-ups were scrambling to attract IT talent—who were in short supply at the time—with particularly tempting benefits that went far beyond mere remuneration.
We’re experiencing a similar situation at the moment, with an overabundance of positions to fill and relatively few candidates. This time, however, the situation applies to the entire job market.
To stand out in such a competitive environment, companies are starting to focus much more on corporate culture, values, work environment, and all those things that are part of what we refer to as the “employer offer”, but which are not necessarily part of the employment contract and cannot be measured solely in monetary terms.
An employer brand is a kind of sales strategy in which the product is the company itself, and the clientele is made up of all the people who work there or could potentially work there. It is made up of all the perceptions that the job market has of a company, that is, its reputation as an employer.
Are employees treated well? Is compensation fair and equitable? Are benefits attractive? Is the work environment pleasant? Does it offer exciting professional challenges? Is there a good work-life balance?
An employer brand is built through a conscious and purposeful combination of human resources and communications initiatives. Essentially, the company must adopt the best possible HR practices and communicate this both within and outside the organization.
The importance of nurturing an employer brand
The purpose of employer branding is to attract attention and stand out from what is often fierce competition in the job market. The ultimate goal of a strong, attractive employer brand is to attract the best talent and, more importantly, to retain them with the company over the long term.
The vast majority of job seekers, whether consciously or not, take employer branding into account even before applying for a job. In fact, they’re more likely to choose an employer whose values they like, even if the global compensation is sometimes slightly lower. More than a third of people will consider resigning if they strongly disagree with the company’s orientation, or if they lose confidence in management.
If you are still skeptical about the benefits of employer branding, here are a few key reasons why.
Making recruitment easier
Creating a strong, competitive employer brand makes it easier to attract potential jobseekers’ attention. If your company is recognized for its good HR practices and the quality of life it offers, people will be more inclined to apply for a job than if they have no idea who you are. In the long run, this means more applications for the same job, which has the dual advantage of helping to fill it faster and giving you more choice in selecting THE best person for the job.
Fostering loyalty and retention
Employer branding isn’t just about attracting people from outside the company! There’s nothing more disappointing than being offered an amazing experience on paper… only to realize that it’s completely different on the field. Offering extraordinary work experience is one of the most effective ways of standing out from the competition and preventing our hard-earned talent from leaving for other employers.
Stimulate commitment, innovation and creativity
All the strategies put in place as part of a positive employer brand naturally translate into a work environment that encourages innovation and creativity. Happy employees generally experience increased productivity, a stronger sense of community and are much more likely to find creative and innovative solutions to business challenges. Engaged employees easily become ambassadors, spreading the company’s awesome employer brand through their social networks!
Increase your company’s reputation
Developing an attractive employer brand also positively affects a company’s brand image, and can even encourage the acquisition of potential customers. This is especially true in the field of marketing. Customers don’t just buy a product; they partner with the company in a business arrangement that can potentially impact their respective reputations.
How do you build your employer brand?
There’s no easy path to building an employer brand: it takes time, effort and the involvement of each and every person in a leadership position within the company. It also requires a coherent message reflecting reality, so involving communications specialists is a good idea.
A variety of elements contribute to a good employer brand!
A strong corporate culture
The company’s mission, values and objectives must be clearly communicated in order to appeal to people and make them feel involved. Corporate culture is probably the most decisive factor in employer branding.
Competitive benefits and compensation
Employees’ compensation for their services and loyalty must be perceived as fair, equitable, and generous. In addition to a competitive base salary, you need to offer a package of benefits that will genuinely promote employee well-being.
A positive, active online presence
Most job hunting happens on the Internet, and your online presence is crucial to boosting your visibility. Build a coherent image between your website and social networks, allowing your employer brand to shine through. Don’t hesitate to liven up your social networks by showcasing daily life at your company and sharing news about your employees and their achievements!
An efficient recruitment and integration process
This first contact is the very first impression you will leave on a person. Don’t blow it! An easy-to-navigate and pleasant process will positively affect the recruit’s opinion, making them feel more confident and increasing the chances of a successful integration. Always remember that your employees are your most representative company ambassadors.
Visible community involvement
A company that is positively involved in its community demonstrates exemplary social responsibility, and this contributes to its employer brand. So it’s no coincidence that companies publicly support causes that are important to them.
Honors and awards
A company winning numerous awards and industry recognition sends a strong signal to the job market. Boast on social networks and don’t hesitate to issue press releases about your most important achievements.
Providing opportunities for development
To drive your business forward, you need ambitious people, and to attract them, you need to offer attractive opportunities for professional growth. Implementing continuous training and certification programs is a great way to show your professional development opportunities and offer an attractive competitive edge.
Offering recognition and listening
The well-being of employees must be at the heart of a company’s concerns. To foster this, it’s important to recognize an individual or team’s exceptional work and efforts. At Crakmedia, this is what led to the implementation of the OfficeVibe solution, to continuously monitor well-being levels, and the introduction of the CrakAwards, to recognize extraordinary people who embody the company’s values.
Crakmedia’s employer brand: WYSISWG
As a digital marketing company, Crakmedia works hard to promote its customers’ brand image thanks to an experienced marketing team…and we work just as hard on our employer brand with our human resources and communications specialists! Our employer brand is a reflection of who we are, and as the saying goes, what you see is what you get! You can definitely judge this book by its cover!
While there are many parallels to be drawn with product branding, there are important differences between marketing a web service and convincing someone to give more than a quarter of their life every week to your business. Here are a few ways Crakmedia stands out in the job market!
Its working environment
Well-being at work is a daily concern for Crakmedia’s managers. The spaces available to employees are spacious, pleasant, and comfortable, designed to encourage collaboration. The company also provides all the equipment needed to be just as efficient at home, on remote work days. What’s more, Crakmedia has offices in Quebec City and Montreal, right in the heart of dynamic, accessible neighborhoods.
Social involvement
The company supports a number of causes close to its heart, including the Paksac Foundation, an NPO whose mission is to support the academic success of children from more vulnerable socio-economic backgrounds. A new philanthropic partnership has also been established with Nooé, a platform that facilitates donations and social involvement by employees for the benefit of over 3,000 Quebec organizations.
A dedicated training team
The integration of new recruits and the ongoing training of its veterans are of vital importance to Crakmedia, which has a full-time team dedicated to maintaining and enhancing its Litmos learning management system. All new resources have their own personalized onboarding program and are paired with a colleague for their first few weeks.
Exclusive benefits
Crakmedia’s benefits include a number of things that are out of the ordinary and that you won’t necessarily find everywhere:
- Three weeks of vacation upon hire and one extra week’s paid vacation between Christmas and New Year’s Day
- An employer-paid cell phone plan for everyone, not just management
- Group insurance, telemedicine and employee assistance program, entirely paid by Crakmedia
- A quarterly performance bonus in addition to a competitive base salary
- Group retirement savings plan with employer participation
- 100% paid parking or monthly pass for public transit and bike-sharing services
- Quarterly team-building activities
- $200 annual incentive to pay for sports activities
- Several unique, large-scale company-wide activities
- Free self-service snacks, fruit, coffee and beverages
Unique challenges
Crakmedia is one of the world leaders in digital performance marketing. There’s definitely no shortage of challenges to meet the increasingly fierce international competition. As one of the only companies of its kind in Quebec, we carry out innovative creative and technological projects found nowhere else. Digital marketing relies on rapidly evolving, cutting-edge technologies, and Crakmedia employs over 50 IT, development, machine learning and artificial intelligence pros.
Stand out from the crowd
Ultimately, building your employer brand is a way of standing out from the crowd and attracting the attention of the people with whom your company will potentially have the best affinity. The goals are many, but in particular, we’re looking to increase the number of applications we receive, reduce time-to-hire, improve retention and attract top talent.
At Crakmedia, the implementation since 2019 of structuring strategies that have contributed positively to our employer brand has allowed us to cut our turnover rate and recruitment times by more than half. The company is now even below the average for our industry. People want to work for Crakmedia, and they want to stay!
In today’s hyper-competitive job market, companies must play hardball to attract the best people. Having a strong, recognized employer brand is the best way to rise above the fray and benefit from increased visibility so that our job offers don’t get lost among the 200,000 others currently available on the Quebec job market.
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Want to stay on top of Crakmedia news and job opportunities? You’ll find us on Facebook, Instagram, X (ex-Twitter), LinkedIn and recently on TikTok!
We’re also in the middle of a hiring blitz: crakmedia.com/carreers/
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