The value of Employer Branding

The buzz word “Employer Branding” is back after some difficult years with the financial crises. The word “Employer branding” sound nice but what is the value? For the last two years I have heard many times: “We only focus on short term recruitment and don’t have the time or resources for employer branding.”

But investing in long term employer branding is investing in short term recruitment. Unfortunately the opposite is not true - investing in short term recruitment is NOT investing in long term employer branding. In fact, prioritizing employer branding gives a better return on your recruiting investment in terms of both money and quality. The British Lloyds TSB knows this first hand, just to take an example. Their Dark Horse campaign in 2006 during the good times (featured in the first issue of Universum Quarterly 2006), cut the company’s graduate recruitment cost by half, to an average of GBP 3,500. Studies show that recruitment, including senior executives, can cost up to $70,000. How much money would you save? Even more important to the cost savings is that the quality of the candidates will improve. This means shorter recruitment periods and better-quality employees in the empty seats.

Another misconception about employer branding is that it is only warranted when a company is actively recruiting. The financial crisis has showed that many seem to think employer branding can take a hiatus in times of non-recruitment. But, as the best in the business know, beginning to build an employer brand when recruitment picks up again is way too late.

So to all companies out there – those who recruit and those who currently don’t – enjoy this blog and use it for a better Employer Branding future :)!