Employer Branding has changed. Or at least, how organizations will go about shaping their employer brand has. In the wake of a pandemic, employer branding experts believe that companies will have to pay extra close attention to their reputation as employers.
Inevitably, there will be a great degree of uncertainty in the jobs market, and trust among jobseekers toward potential employers will be broken. The vast majority of job seekers will be those who have been let go by organizations who couldn’t reasonably keep them on board in this time of crisis. While in many cases this has been justified, doubt will have been cast in their minds after losing what they assumed was a secure position.
As a result, job seekers will be paying extra close attention to how companies treat their employees, how they showcase company culture, and the reputation they hold as an employer. Perhaps, more importantly, they’ll be asking, if not researching, “what did your company do to protect employees during the pandemic?”
“People will look at how organizations treated their employees who were leaving as a result of this situation,” – Nick Ulycz (COO at Domestic & General) in a recent round table for Blackbridge Communications.
With that said, what are some of the best practices for companies looking to establish, improve, or maintain their reputation as an employer?
Here are some of our top recommendations.
1. Be Authentic, Embrace Transparency, Establish Trust
How you communicate values and company culture is vital to the recruitment process. People like people and people trust other people. Nothing shrouds a brand in mystery like having a reputation as a faceless corporation. For best practice in displaying transparency, we say put people at the front and centre of everything you do.
Giving employees more freedom in the way of communications can seem a daunting process for marketers and human resources, but if you’ve got nothing to worry about, why should it? Whether you like it or not, your employees will be talking about you with their networks, on social media, and on job review sites. Why attempt to control it when you can encourage it?
In a time where social media is prominent as it is, and job review sites like Glassdoor and Fairygodboss exist, it’s near impossible for organizations to keep things behind closed doors.
Few things look worse on a company than refusing to address or acknowledge controversies and wrong-doings. 86% of job seekers say that they wouldn’t consider working for an organization that had a bad reputation with the general public.
Transparency is especially important in times of crisis, as it humanizes a brand when they’re able to acknowledge mistakes or wrongdoings that have gone on under their watch. Often this occurs in situations that are out of a company’s control, but ultimately they’re held to account. Acknowledging this and vowing to make a change reflects well among consumers, staff, and job seekers alike.
2. Ask for Regular Feedback
As an employer, how can you expect to improve your workplace and hiring process if you don’t know how well you’re doing it? Whether through team meetings, one-to-one conversations, or anonymous surveys, acquiring feedback from your employees can help you improve your hiring process and workplace, while also improving retention rates.
Not only is receiving feedback beneficial to you as an organization, but it empowers your employees in giving them a chance to have their say. It will let them know that they’re valued and that you’re always looking for ways to improve employee satisfaction, and not just customer/consumer satisfaction.
However, remember, asking for feedback is one thing, actually following through and taking action on feedback is where your employees will really begin to take notice. Not acting on (potentially) negative feedback can have an adverse effect, and invoke a sense of powerlessness.
Strengthening trust among your staff will be paramount to employer branding in the future.

“People will look at how organizations treated their employees who were leaving as a result of this situation,” Nick Ulycz (COO of Domestic & General)