Will employer brand exist after Covid-19? How does employer brand survive a crisis? When should we update our brand? If you are asking questions like this – don’t worry, so is everyone else!
Many companies are starting to plan and strategize on how to effectively and safely reopen their businesses. This includes re-hiring employees they might have had to let go at the start of the pandemic. Throughout these discussions, leaders should be considering how their employer brand is going to be negatively or positively affected and what they need to do about it. How businesses adjust and move forward in times of uncertainty can say a lot about your values and mission as a company. Thinking about your employer brand now, will help your company smoothly transition back to “normal” through the eyes of your valued audiences.
A podcast worth a listen:
Helping us understand what this transition might look like is James Ellis, a self-proclaimed employer brand nerd, along with Chad Sowash. In a recent podcast, the pair discussed how the Covid-19 pandemic will change current and future employer brands. One of the questions they pose is, has your culture changed since Covid-19? Mostly likely, the answer is yes.
For your company, the only change might have been the switch from an office environment to working remotely. However, that small change will have a big impact on your audiences which means your employer brand has changed as well. How you meet, how you market and sell, how you brainstorm, how you conduct kick off meetings with new clients - essentially how you communicate with your clients and your team has drastically shifted. Therefore, your brand has shifted as well, and hopefully in a positive direction.
“If everybody knows why they work somewhere, it changes retention, it changes morale. I think that if you really embrace what employer brand can do, you don't see it as a recruiting function, you see it as a corporate function.”
Our key takeaways:
- Employer brand is still king, especially with the increase in competition for talent.
- Talent is out there, but they are applying for any job they can find. Creating a positive, candidate experience WILL make a difference.
- Employer brand is used for more than just recruiting, it’s a great tool to engage and retain current employees as well.
Do you need help developing or polishing your employer brand? Let's talk about what that looks like for your organization.