Finding High-Quality Talent in a Competitive Market Is All About Branding. Here's Why. Competition is fierce for those still in the job market, so companies need to think about ways to differentiate themselves from other prospective employers.
By Cara Sloman
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Across many industries, employers are having a hard time filling their open positions. For instance, Cyberseek found that there are about 480,000 unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. at present. Leisure and hospitality continue to struggle with staying fully staffed; almost 1 million employees quit in September 2021 alone. The manufacturing sector has also been hit especially hard, with quit rates up 78% year-over-year.
Competition is fierce for those still in the job market, so companies need to think about ways to differentiate themselves from other prospective employers. In an environment where there are far fewer qualified candidates than there are jobs, what can organizations do to stand out to candidates? And how can organizations use PR to help differentiate themselves to candidates?
Let's explore how the right PR program can help attract and land top talent.
Related: How to Create a Marketing Strategy Using Key Differentiators
Your employer brand
Your employer brand impacts how job seekers perceive your organization and comprises your reputation, staff retention and corporate culture. Your employer brand is influenced by whether employees experience satisfaction working for you and how long they stay with you. Employer brand is akin to the overall reputation of your organization, but it's geared for job seekers.
Companies that have a great employer brand always stand out in the job market. Developing your brand allows you to highlight all the reasons why your organization is a great place to work. The concept is so important that there are even regional and national awards dedicated to it. This is the opportunity to share employee testimonials, tell your company's unique story, and celebrate your management team.
You may expect to attract, hire and retain the top individuals for your available roles by strengthening your employer brand.
Related: Key Strategies for Marketing New Versus Existing Products
Attracting talent
A Willis Towers Watson survey found that 73% of U.S. employers were having difficulty attracting employees in 2021, and 70% expected that trend to persist into 2022 — and it has. Since hiring is such a massive challenge for companies now, organizations need to showcase the reasons an individual would want to work for them. It's about demonstrating credibility and momentum and showcasing your culture to appeal to prospective employees as part of a wider reputation or brand strategy.
Ways to attract talent include:
Land feature stories on company culture as a great place to work.
Win "best place to work" awards.
Do Q&As on executive leadership philosophy and company culture.
Find opportunities for executives to comment on trends in their industry and profession.
Participate in panels at tradeshows and virtual events.
Contribute content to trade media or your company blog.
Showcase company culture through social media and podcasts.
Build an internal communications campaign for positive Glassdoor ratings.
Related: 3 Things Marketers Can Learn From the Media
Partnering with PR
As with any PR effort, you need to know your audience, have a compelling and relevant message and be in the right channels. By understanding what kind of candidate you're looking to attract and where they consume information, you can tailor the message and strategy accordingly. For instance, 68% of respondents to a recent FlexJobs survey said they'd rather change careers to have a better work-life balance than to get paid more. If your company offers this balance, highlight it.
Put together a comprehensive strategy through paid, earned and owned media. For earned, include business and trade press, social media platforms, newsletters and lifestyle press. Build a compelling employee narrative — the story you want to tell candidates that will inspire them to join you, including your company vision.
Highlight the steps you've taken to make sure your employees thrive and make sure to mirror in your communications the things that the candidates you're hoping to attract care about. For instance, potential employees want to see people like them, with similar skillsets, thriving at your company. If you're looking to hire developers, showcase your top developer. Make sure that people speaking for your company reflect the diversity of your employee base and of the candidates you hope to attract.
Work with your HR department to understand the specific initiatives and programs that enable employees to succeed at your company. This may include training and mentoring opportunities, diverse perspectives, career paths and leadership's approach to feedback. Also consider other elements such as remote and hybrid work options, work-life balance, benefits, autonomy, transparency, community and social impact initiatives — then work with your PR team to find ways to effectively showcase these elements.
Fill the gap
Some industries, such as cybersecurity, have had trouble finding enough qualified candidates for years. Today, the talent shortage has spread across all industries. With many open positions and a shrinking talent pool, it's never been more important than now to cultivate and demonstrate a strong employer brand.
Understand who you're trying to attract, work with your HR department to determine your differentiators, and then team up with PR professionals to get that message out to the right channels. Everything else being equal, your reputation as a great place to work can turn the hiring tide.
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