The secrets of effective hiring are preparation and attraction. To recruit well, you need to appeal to the best candidates and that begins long before a vacancy arises.

You need to apply the same principles of your brand marketing in consumer or B2B environments to the development of a unique and easily recognisable employer brand. Just as you promote your products or services to customers, so you need to sell yourself as an employer. If you can create a brand that is associated with success, personal growth, reward, satisfaction and an unbeatable work-life balance then, when the time comes to recruit, your story is already known and talented candidates will take very little persuasion to knock on your door.

Employer Branding and Employee Value Proposition is essential, this provides a competitive edge over your rivals in the war for talent. You need to offer not just a satisfying job but also an environment in which ambitious, gifted individuals can grow both personally and professionally. Your company values need to be ones that will make a candidate proud to join the team: diversity, inclusion, environmental responsibility and a commitment to social justice. They need to be genuine and exist at the centre of your business vision.

Employer branding and EVP are part of the same strategy. The elements of your EVP will include specific rewards, which naturally will include salary and bonuses, but these don’t always have to be numerically the best in the industry if other features are attractive enough. You might offer health and life insurance, free travel, gym membership, flexible working conditions, extended holiday – anything that adds real value for individuals. In addition to these specific benefits, the company culture will also be decisive. This is where employer branding merges with EVP. You are creating a comprehensive package, almost a lifestyle, to tempt the most promising talent to apply for your vacancies.

The advantages of employer branding extend beyond recruitment. A culture and an environment that attracts top talent will also be one that retains it. Employees will want to stay, morale will remain high and productivity will rise. You’ll need to exercise sound reputation management to maintain the status you’ve worked so hard for.

Having created this offer, how do you communicate it to the people you want to attract? There’s no instant solution. You have to make use of every platform and channel available, which means networking, speaking at graduate and trade events, using email and other digital marketing tactics, sending regular press releases and newsletters to trade publications, encouraging your existing employees to put the message out through their own personal and professional networks. Plus of course social media.

LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram are excellent forums in which to spread the word. If the demographic fits, you might even consider TikTok. Recent research reveals how LinkedIn’s influence in the area of recruitment continues to grow, with 830 million members, 58 million registered companies, 50 million people searching it for jobs every week and 87% of recruiters regularly using the platform [1].

Put real thought and resources into your social media posts. Eye-catching headlines are all very well, but they won’t tell your story. Make the most of the opportunity to demonstrate that your business genuinely does what it claims. Use videos and images, which are often far more persuasive than words alone. Your social media material should aim to be as powerful as the Hollywood trailers that drive millions into the cinemas. You’re in control of the message so articulate it, loud and clear.

As we said at the start, this is work that needs to be done as early as possible and long before you need to hire. Once you advertise that dream job, your reputation will have preceded you and you can expect an exceptional response. Of course, you can’t take your foot off the accelerator because throughout the recruitment process, you need to maintain the promise which attracted candidates in the first place.

Here at rmg digital, we have a dedicated team of experts who know what our clients are looking for. We can help to prepare candidates and find the most talented cultural matches.. Why not get in touch today, and discover how rmg digital can support to attract vital candidates to your roles?