5 inspiring employer brand initiatives for recruiting

"A company’s employer brand is the image it conveys of itself on the market (potential customers, customers, candidates, employees), not only through the products and services it offers, but also through the talented women and men the company attracts, hires, retains, nurtures, and turns into corporate ambassadors." (Unofficial translation of an excerpt from "Entreprises, 7 leviers pour renforcer votre pouvoir d’attraction" - Christel de Foucault & Laurence Tétrel)

In practice, it’s not always easy to know what to do and how to do it. That said, employer branding is a major player in the path to differentiation. We’ve pinpointed 5 initiatives to help you understand how you can leverage employer branding to hire and retain talent.

Attracting the best candidates with unique job vacancies

Your employer brand can turn a perfectly banal job offer into an attractive opportunity. Companies who tie their employer brand into their recruiting are more open to a variety of competencies, attract more young graduates, and therefore perform better economically. But working on your employer brand is also a great way to retain the best talents and bridge the gap between candidate expectations and the actual reality of the job.

Favourite #1: The authenticity of health insurance startup Alan

Alan has added a “Life at alan” section to its website explaining what the company does, how it works, what the team looks like, where its offices are, how teams organise, what benefits working from home entails, and how the company’s recruiting process is structured. Absolutely everything has been carefully thought out.

Recruit motivated talent with Employee Value Propositions (EVP)

EVPs set out a list of offerings such as:

• Salary attractiveness
• Health insurance
• In-kind benefits (child day care for example)
• Flexible hours
• Extent of paid leave
• Work environment (workspace for example)

EVPs describe the advantages of joining your company, from salary arrangements to opportunities for professional development, to company culture. The aim is both to provide candidates with an accurate picture of your company, but also to structure your employer brand and stand out among your competition.

This EVP needs to be visible in your career site, social media, etc.

Favourite #2: The transparency of online banking startup Shine

Job vacancies published by Shine include (nearly) everything, from expected salary grids and paid leave allowances, to bonuses and company perks

Ensure employee retention with a “culture book”

Culture books offer a visual representation of a company’s culture (values, operation, corporate behaviour, CSR commitments, etc.). They allow new employees to quickly grasp how the company operates, but they’re also an opportunity for more senior employees to see their workplace in a new light. Culture books are a powerful tool to boldly present the company’s raison d’être, the role it plays, how it functions, and how each individual can contribute to growing the company.

Favourite #3: The simplicity of Steeple’s culture book (in French)

To assert its company culture, Steeple released a culture book describing the company’s values, missions, vision, and teams (including management). Opening a culture book is like taking a quick dive into the company and the culture it nurtures.

You can share this kind of document in your career site and to your employees. If you have a employee referral programme, it could be also something nice to share with through your teams' networks.

Help your teams grow with “freelancing days”

Special days off designed to allow employees to spend time on side projects seem to be gaining popularity among companies and staff. “Freelancing days” provide an opportunity for all employees to formally and independently engage in other occupations, including working on projects that have nothing to with their main role.

Favourite #4: Shine and their “freelancing” days off

In addition to the various types of paid leave it provides, online bank Shine grants employees one day of “freelancing” (or volunteering) each month without decreasing staff wages. In order to formalise this initiative, Shine removed its exclusivity clauses in work contracts and learning agreements with employees. To date, nearly half of the company’s employees have taken up this opportunity.

Company alumni networks for staying in touch

Corporate alumni networks are a great solution for staying in touch with former colleagues. They provide a space to discuss societal changes, projects, and offer advice. Alumni networks also increase job application responsiveness and encourage referrals. In short, they help optimise a portion of your recruiting process.

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Former employees are also excellent ambassadors, despite not working for you anymore.

Favourite #5: Adecco’s corporate alumni network

Adecco Group’s alumni network is designed for the company’s former employees who engage on social media. The network allows them to keep ties with the company, stay in the loop on company news, and share knowledge. Special events are also organised specifically for network members.

Building your employer brand is a comprehensive process

Developing your employer brand doesn’t just boil down to the actions above. It’s all part of a more general, long-term effort which requires a 360° approach. There’s no point boasting about offering unlimited time off if you’re not able to optimise your hiring processes, for example.

Plus, in order to introduce these types of initiatives, you need to first of all work a great deal on the foundations of your employer brand, which means digging into your company’s overall brand identity. Why does your company exist? What is its mission? What makes it unique? Why choose you?

It is essential that you ascertain the answers to these questions if you then want to formalise your values and communicate on them to all interested parties, including employees, candidates, and former employees, but also partners and customers. Everyone can be an ambassador to your brand.