Communicating the value, recognition, and rewards that job seekers gain from working for your company is critical to competing for talent, retaining top performers, and differentiating yourself from your competitors. But it also helps make sure you’re attracting the right fit. Hiring top performers is great, but what do you do if they don’t fit in? Onboarding and training people has a cost, in time, money, and effort. In that sense, an effective value proposition should answer the potential candidate’s questions: “What’s in it for me?” and “Is it for me?”

Being able to give potential candidates tangible answers to these questions ensures that your targeted demographic gets an employee experience like no other. A great place to work delivers on employee aspirations and provides them with benefits and perks they can’t refuse. This can be everything from a cool office space and gym membership to leadership opportunities and meaningful projects.

Your Employer Value Proposition is as a Talent Magnet and a Filter

A value proposition is your promise, as an employer, of what you will give to your employees in return for their time, loyalty, and productivity. It’s often a bold, compelling yet genuine statement that defines you and gets the right people to apply.

Your unique message needs to be real and authentic, and reflect what your organization is living every day. “It’s the guiding force, the soul, and the essence of your employer brand,” says Fanta Selman, senior manager of client service solutions at Monster.

Think of it as an entire candidate journey map—defining the employee experience that is proudly promoted on your company website, internal communications, job descriptions, and in all interaction with potential candidates, from interviewing to onboarding and beyond, Selman says.

Boost Business and the Bottom Line

Gartner research reports that effectively delivering an employee value proposition attracts 20 percent more candidates, can increase new hire commitment by 29 percent, and can reduce annual employee turnover by as much as 69 percent.

“In today’s crowded and noisy new world of work, your candidates are being bombarded with information,” says Jason Kipps, managing director at the global research firm Universum. “You may only have about 15 seconds to cut through the noise and attract them to your open positions. Make sure you are starting that conversation off with what they are most interested in.”

Simply focusing on your culture and internal reality or your reputation and history is not a winning proposition, says Kipps. “While this may be unique and important for your candidates to be aware of, there are likely other aspects of the employment opportunities you offer that are far more important to your candidates.”

Identify Your Unique Attributes

Don’t guess what your most attractive attributes are — get research so you know. “If you were launching a new beverage, your marketing team would have extensive research on your consumers, how to package your product and what color the can should be.” So, why would you assume what your employees like about their job instead of consulting them directly? Start the conversation with your top employees: Why did they join? Why do they stay?

Good recruitment marketers ensure they have research available to inform them on how to package their employment opportunities the same way a marketer would when launching a consumer offering, says Kipps. “Guessing is far more expensive than paying to get it right, and research will produce a much better ROI.”

A powerful employee value proposition is critical to carving out a positive employer brand because it communicates the unique offerings that make you special as an employer. Aligning your employer brand communication and employee experience builds brand consistency and wins talent, Kipps adds.

Set Candidate Expectations

Lynette Estrada, vice president of global talent acquisition and employer branding at UiPath, a global software company, says that their proposition statement allows them to clearly communicate who they are and also helps in setting expectations with candidates. “It’s key to attracting the right candidates to your company, especially from a culture and values fit perspective.”

Estrada says their proposition aims to let job seekers know that “we are a place where curious minds come together to change the future of work. Where we learn from our mistakes. And where new ways of thinking build the path to a better world.”

Be authentic and find a good balance between what is true today and what you aspire to become, Estrada suggests. What you say needs to be consistent with what you do within the company because a lack of consistency will keep candidates from applying, she says.

Understand Your Target Audience

Building or revamping an employee value proposition doesn’t have to be difficult if you take the time to understand who your ideal candidate is and do a deep dive into your core strengths. “The employee voice is the most important thing and that means getting feedback from people already doing the job,” says Selman.

Find out what employees appreciate about working at your company and get input from leaders too. Besides, you need to know what competitors are proposing, she says.

Ask your team members, agrees Estrada. “Make sure that you are living up to your brochure! It won’t suffice to talk about your values just during onboarding, instead find ways to weave your value prop throughout all stages of your employee lifecycle.”

Examples and Components

Using research and data as your foundation, you should clearly communicate what makes your organization an awesome place to work. But always stay authentic. Here are some employer value proposition examples and the key components job seekers like to know about:

• Your compensation package, including financial rewards and benefits
• Clear advancement and professional growth opportunities
• A description of the company culture
• Team relationships and leadership support
• Your vision and strategy when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Promote unique employee experiences

Today’s top talent are looking beyond a company’s corporate social responsibility and history, says Kipps, so – IF they apply to your reality – consider giving voice to current employees, talking about:

• How does your company help them embrace new technologies?
• How is your leadership inspiring them?
• What do they like about your products and services?
• And so forth

Once you’ve defined your employees’ experiences, you can create an EVP statement and ensure it’s being effectively communicated in the hiring process and promoted through the right internal and external channels. You’ll reap the rewards.

Strong EVPs not only promote employee engagement, advocacy, and retention, says Kipps, but impact business results by linking talent attraction, engagement, and performance. “They reduce time to hire, turnover, cost per hire, and increase brand confidence and engagement, and the ability to solve important business challenges with the right high-performing talent in the right positions.”

Build Your Employer Brand Today

In the race to attract great employees, taking control of your employer value proposition is crucial. Want to learn more? Contact one of our employer brand specialists at Monster Strategic Talent Solutions to see how we can help establish your value proposition, audit your career site, and more.

The post What is an Employer Value Proposition and Why Do You Need One? appeared first on Monster.com.

If that wasn’t enough incentive to make diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) a top priority in your company’s recruitment practices, consider the most recent data from Monster:

• 86 percent of job seekers say they factor an employer’s reputation on DEI in their job search.
• 70 percent of employees expect their company to be transparent about DEI initiatives and results.
• 62 percent of job applicants say they would turn down an offer from a company that did not support DEI.

Without effective messaging on diversity efforts, employers will increasingly be out of the running when it comes to hiring top talent. More than ever, effective hiring strategies depend on focused recruitment efforts and employer branding that conveys a clear and consistent commitment to DEI values.

What is DEI?

Each element of DEI needs to be addressed to create a meaningful diversity hiring and employer branding strategy. These definitions are a good starting point:

• Diversity: Within the workplace, “diversity” refers to the representation of employees across different demographic categories, such as age, gender and gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, and disability.
• Equity: In this context, “equity” is the fair treatment of all employees, regardless of gender, race, and other diversity categories. Effective equity policies aim to identify, address, and eliminate barriers and past inequities in areas such as hiring, compensation, and promotion.
• Inclusion: To be “inclusive” is to ensure that everyone is heard, seen, and considered across the range of human differences. In inclusive workplaces, all employees enjoy a sense of belonging and feel encouraged to be their authentic selves, without pressure to compromise, so they may participate as full and valued members of the community.

Why Employer Branding and Diversity Recruitment Matter

It may be tempting to draft a supportive statement when DEI issues emerge in the news, and then return your gaze to your core business functions. However, it’s important to realize that DEI values and initiatives need to become part of your core business goals. Recruitment, retention, and profitability are all riding on your ability to do so.

The Bottom Line

Data affirms that the most profitable companies are those with the greatest workforce diversity, including diverse leadership teams. As the marketplace and consumer awareness continue to shift, companies that are not focused on recruiting diverse staff will likely be left behind in the marketplace.

Employee Retention

More than half of current employees—54 percent—don’t believe their company is successfully incorporating DEI into their HR practices. If you want to retain the trust of your current employees, your employer branding needs to be backed up with easy-to-find data on hiring goals and how far your company needs to go to reach those goals.

Effective Recruitment

An overwhelming majority of job seekers say that a focus on diversity recruitment is important when choosing a new employer. In contrast, just 54 percent of employers reported that they were working to make recruitment practices more inclusive. With 62 percent of applicants saying they would turn down an offer from an employer that is not committed to DEI, this disconnect will cost employers who fail to adapt.

Effective Employer Branding Goes Beyond Messaging

Your DEI-focused employer branding needs to be consistent across all levels of your organization. This means the language contained in your recruitment efforts needs to mirror the policies outlined in your employee handbook. The following guidelines can help you convey your company’s DEI commitment to employees, job seekers, and the public.

Reach Out to Current Employees

Make sure your employees can easily access resources and policies that address DEI issues. Innovative policy implementation can range from hiring practices that encourage neurodiversity hiring, to offering a broad range of childcare benefits or implementing thoughtful gender transition policies.

Don’t just list policies in your employee handbook. Make them easy to find on employee-facing intranets and your public-facing websites, while highlighting them on social media.

Appeal to Job Seekers

Diversity recruiting and employer branding efforts also should extend to your job postings. Avoid gender-coded language (“aggressive”), or language that can be read as ageist (“recent graduate,” “digital native”), or ableist (“able to lift 50 pounds”).

Instead, let applicants know you are an “equal opportunity employer,” and that “all qualified applicants are welcome without regard to gender, gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or cultural identity, national origin, religion, age, veteran status, genetics, or disability,” and that “women, minorities, LGBTQ, veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.”

Resonate With Consumers and the Broader Community

Diversity branding is meaningless and likely to draw backlash, if you fail to be upfront about your diversity hiring efforts, including your failures. Maintain transparent, detailed numbers on diversity hiring and distribution across all levels of employment. If DEI efforts experience a dip, acknowledge it.

DEI commitment isn’t confined to just hiring. It is also conveyed in how your employees treat clients and customers. Let your customers know about anti-bias training and give them an avenue to communicate complaints and feedback.

The Dangers of ‘Woke Washing’ and ‘Diversity Washing’

It’s easy to respond to the latest social movements with a public show of support for diversity recruitment in the form of a press release or statement from a top executive, or the quick implementation of a public-facing policy with little long-term impact. But such actions, when not accompanied by a demonstrable commitment to meaningful DEI values and policies, risk accusations of “woke washing” and “diversity washing.”

What Is Woke Washing?

Also referred to as “statement fatigue,” woke washing focuses on the appearance of solidarity with issues of social justice without doing the hard work of addressing systemic barriers to employment and promotion faced by underrepresented applicants and employees within your own corporate culture. An example would be focusing on crafting a public response to a topical social issue like Black Lives Matter while simultaneously ignoring the voices of your employees of color.

What Is Diversity Washing?

Some companies, when they are criticized for a poor track record on diversity recruiting, respond by making a single high-level diversity hire, or creating short-term internship or fellowship programs aimed at traditionally underrepresented groups. But, without a pathway to meaningful career development, hiring an equal opportunity officer, only to sideline them, or assembling a diversity committee with no real power to assess current efforts can backfire.

The most successful diversity hiring and branding practices highlight HR policies designed to address historical barriers and present the results so employees, applicants, consumers, and community members can gauge inclusivity initiatives from entry-level to C-suite.

Now that You Know the Basics of Diversity Recruitment, Make the Most of Your Messaging

From conveying your company’s commitment to diversity hiring and DEI values to perfecting your messaging on sustainability and work-life balance, Monster’s Employer Branding Guide can answer all your questions about how to devise a branding strategy for today’s job market.

The post How Diversity Recruitment Will Improve Your Employer Branding appeared first on Monster.com.

Monster’s Employer Branding Guide can help you evaluate your brand as it’s perceived by potential new hires. In our guide, you’ll learn:

1. The key components of a strong brand.
2. How to conduct a brand audit.
3. The three things Gen Z candidates say they want companies to communicate through their brand.

What is Employer Branding?

Your company branding conveys your company’s values, what’s rewarded, what’s discussed, and the success metrics. It’s closely related to, and conveys aspects of, your company culture. When it’s successfully cultivated and put out into the world, you’re better able to attract, hire, and retain the types of employees who will feel comfortable in your company and do their best work. Just like consumer brands, it won’t (and shouldn’t) resonate with everyone.

This type of branding goes beyond your career site, job postings, and all the other elements of your marketing collateral. It’s also not your “pillars” or your list of “values.” And it’s not your corporate brand. It’s all of the above and more. This is why it can’t simply be a message—it needs to be something that is felt and lived.

Why is it so Important?

Prior to the digital age, companies spent a lot of time, energy, and money closing the curtain and making sure candidates knew nothing about what really went on inside the company. But now, in addition to creating customer-focused branding, it’s important also “sell” yourself as a preferred employer as you seek out and retain top talent.

The thing that really forced companies to pull back that curtain and focus on employer branding is the use of social media in recruiting. Some of it was unavoidable, since job seekers are able to see who works where on professional networking sites. It’s also not that difficult to connect the dots with comments and status updates by those sample people (and their connections) on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms.

Since it’s not realistic to stop the flow of information about you as an employer on social media, and candidates have more tools than ever to help them learn about a potential employer (warts and all), it’s even more critical for companies to help steer the narrative in a positive direction.

Top Talent Will Vet You

If you look to media headlines as inspiration, you’ll have an idea of what can go wrong with employer branding. Celebrities and other public figures typically work hard to maintain a certain image, especially if their personal brand is inextricably linked to their success.

On an incredibly simplified level, think of how Ellen DeGeneres went from being the darling of daytime TV to being known as a terrible employer in a matter of weeks. All it took was a few former employees to come out with stories of how they were mistreated, and then many more followed, shredding her affable image quickly.

Millennials in particular are less willing to work for a company that’s associated with bad corporate behavior. For example, the ride share company Uber got a lot of heat for alleged widespread sexism in the boardroom prior to its reshuffling of the executive deck. It’s best to assume that every candidate you bring in for an interview has done their research and has formed a first impression of your brand.

Better Branding Gets You Better Candidate Matches

Students used to all come out of school with the same thinking process, having read the same books, and having learned the same business processes. You could just stick those candidates into various positions around the company and they were virtually interchangeable, and if one was slightly more effective than another, they would get the promotion.

But that’s not how great work gets done anymore. Great workers are adaptive, creative, and sometimes disruptive—they’re not cogs. Effective employer branding in recruitment will help your company reach out and connect with the types of people who can make the right impact on your success.

In other words, your company branding should be able to attract a diverse team that will all pull in the same direction. Your branding and your company’s values and culture can attract those aspirational candidates, while also keeping mismatched candidates from wanting to work with you.

Where Should You Start?

As detailed in Monster’s Employer Branding Guide, a great way to start enhancing your brand right away is to monitor your media mentions. Are you being talked about or featured in the media? If so, what’s being said about you? What about your social media policies? How do people respond to your outreach? Are you met with positivity overall or snark?

If you have the budget, you might consider a focus group to answer some questions in an unbiased way to help you understand if your brand creates the desired impression with your target audience.

Ready to Optimize Your Company Branding Strategy?

As you shape your brand and your branding strategy, you’re going to have some important questions to answer and decisions to make. The good news is that you don’t have to go it alone. Monster’s Employer Branding Guide offers insights culled from the best experts and market data.

The post The Importance of Employer Branding appeared first on Monster.com.

Supporting employees during a crisis isn’t just the right thing to do, it also communicates to your employees that your company’s values have meaning when it counts. This not only fosters brand loyalty among your employees and community, but it also ensures that you have a company to come back to once the crisis has passed.

Here are a few examples of brands that got it right when they faced a major crisis and some ideas for how to support your employees during the next major crisis.

Support Employees by Keeping the Paychecks Going

During any crisis, safety and financial security come to the forefront of everyone’s minds. Employees will be anxious about the possibility of losing pay, or the job entirely, and what that will mean for them and their loved ones. Some may even get desperate and leave a job where their financial stability is uncertain for one that can provide predictable paychecks, even if they’re smaller.

As you support employees during a crisis, an important priority will be to provide as much financial certainty as possible. If you’re able to guarantee pay for a specific period of time, communicate that to your workforce as well as the steps you’re taking to protect their jobs. The more communication on this, the better.

When companies faced closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, many offered an immediate guarantee of pay to their staff. Here are a few examples of companies that acted swiftly to protect employee pay:

• Amazon created an emergency relief fund and committed to two weeks of pay for affected employees.
• Taco Bell amended its policies to continue paying employees for their regularly scheduled hours even though they were required to stay at home or who worked at a location that was closed.
• Best Buy allowed its employees to work on a voluntary basis and offered a temporary pay increase for those who did.
• The CEOs of leading companies like Delta, Marriott, and Texas Roadhouse announced that they would be giving up their salaries for the year to diminish layoffs.
• All 30 Major League Baseball teams pledged $1 million to ballpark employees who were relying on income once the season started.

Find Ways to Help the Community

Companies that truly rise to the occasion during a crisis know that supporting employees also means supporting communities. Giving your workforce purpose during a time of uncertainty helps to keep them focused, especially when they know that their work is making a difference. Here are a few brands that stood out during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• The Four Seasons New York hotel offered free lodging for medical staff working lengthy shifts.
• Fashion designer Christian Siriano shifted from couture clothing to producing personal protective equipment to help address the shortage.
• Various distilleries and breweries shifted operations to make hand sanitizer which was in high demand early in the crisis.

Band Together and Forge Partnerships

Depending on the crisis, there could be a fairly broad impact on the economy and industry as a whole. To support employees during a crisis, you may need to forge partnerships to support industries and the economy as a whole and keep your brand solvent. Here’s a few examples of companies coming together to help employees and each other in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Hilton partnered with other companies to help find temporary jobs for their furloughed employees.
• Bringoz provided its technology platform to retailers for free to help them scale their in-house delivery operations.
• DoorDash joined with United Way to deliver food and supplies to people in need.

Translate Employer Goodwill to New Hires

For the companies that do need to increase staff to meet new demands during a crisis period, giving people a reason to choose their organization (beyond simply needing to find work fast) is more important than ever. Leading with your core values during a crisis shows that your company will support employees when times are good or bad and helps to attract a dedicated workforce.

Applicants may be motivated by the desire to do something essential to support society, but knowing that a prospective company really values their services can go a long way as well. Take it from these three giant corporations who went out of their way to recruit and hire during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• CVS Health not only hired more workers during the pandemic, but it also gave bonuses to employees who worked on-site, which helped to draw in new hires.
• When Walmart announced that it was hiring 150,000 new employees, it also shared that it was paying out $550 million in special and advanced quarterly bonuses to store and supply chain associates.
• When it announced the hiring of 100,000 U.S. employees early in the pandemic, Amazon also raised its starting pay by $2 an hour and provided for double pay instead of time and a half for employees who work overtime.

Showcasing your company’s goodwill during a crisis is one of the best ways to find candidates who will work hard and reward you with their loyalty. It’s essential to support employees every day, but when you do it during the tough times, it becomes personal, in a good way.

Make Supporting Employees Part of Your Brand

No one can be completely prepared for a crisis, but the businesses that tend to weather the storms best are those which support employees. If you want to find ways to strengthen your employer brand and the company culture, Monster has the expert resources you need to get started.

The post How to Support Employees During a Crisis: Examples of Standout Brands appeared first on Monster.com.

But a well-run co-op program can do more than provide you with future hires. It can also improve your employer branding. Here are some strategies for creating a co-op that boosts your employer branding.

What is a Co-Op Program?

Some companies use the terms “co-op” and “internship” interchangeably, but co-ops and internships are not the same thing. A co-op usually refers to a full-time, paid position with a company throughout the course of a semester, and students typically don’t take classes at the same time. An internship often takes place during the summer, or on a part-time basis during the semester, and may be paid or unpaid, depending on the employer.

Provide a Meaningful Experience

The best co-ops don’t just provide value to employers, the students also gain new skills and make valuable connections.

“Our internship program is designed to provide undergraduate and graduate students an opportunity to experience what it’s like to work in professional services by giving them roles similar to those of a full-time campus hire,” says Scott McQuillan, a senior manager and tax recruiting leader at Deloitte. “Not giving interns an experience that gives them an idea of what it’s like to work at the company full-time can damage the overall brand.”

Promote Your Co-Ops on Social Media

Deloitte created a social media platform that interns use during their time at Deloitte University. Interns can then post about their experiences on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Similarly, some colleges have internal boards where students post reviews of their co-op experiences to help other students decide where they want to work. Positive reviews can help build a stronger employer brand, while less than favorable reviews can be damaging. Check in with your college co-op or internship representative to see how your employer brand is faring among their college students. Listen to the feedback and make relevant changes.

Encourage Networking

Make sure your co-ops provide ample opportunities for participants to network with each other and your permanent staffers. Keri Vadala, the college relations manager at Kronos Incorporated, stresses the importance of networking and community service. “We provide our interns and co-op students with opportunities to network, give back to the community, and attend social events so they can get to know one another. They are encouraged to attend all social events that are open to full-time employees.”

Giving students opportunities to network and socialize makes them feel as if they are already permanent employees, improving their overall experience with your company.

Stay Connected With Alumni

Companies are also recognizing the value of staying connected with students throughout the school year and beyond. Some even implement ambassador programs for alumni.

Purdue University students typically complete co-ops with the same employer throughout their three or five co-op sessions. This allows students to take on more responsibility as they move through the co-op experience. It also provides companies with an opportunity to continue to engage the students they may want to hire after graduation.

“During campus visits for recruiting trips, we lean on previous interns for brand building,” says Michael Stoppelman, senior vice president of engineering for Yelp. “We encourage them to host informal events where recruiters aren’t present and they can have even more direct conversations about their time at Yelp. We call these folks Intern Emissaries.” Yelp also hosts intern alumni dinners. “Whether they’re returning to Yelp or pursuing other opportunities, this helps us stay connected and keeps Yelp on their radar screens.”

While you may not be able to convert every co-op student into a full-time hire, even those students who don’t return can help with boosting your brand and recruiting others. Remain available to help former interns as they navigate their careers and ask them for introductions to people they think might be a good fit for your company.

Continue to Strengthen Your Employer Brand

These tips will help you create co-ops that help you improve your employer brand and increase your talent pipeline. Download Monster’s free Employer Branding Guide to learn more ways to boost your employer brand.

The post How Co-Ops Can Boost Your Employer Brand appeared first on Monster.com.