Recruitment branding: an introduction What is recruitment branding? What is it for? How do you begin to create a recruitment brand? And how important is it in your recruitment advertising campaign?

What is recruitment branding?

Recruitment branding is simply the communication of your company's recruitment values. Your “recruitment values” are what make working for your company or organization unique, compelling and worthwhile for employees. Your recruitment brand explains your mission, culture, ethics and goals to potential candidates. In other words, your recruitment brand captures "what it's like" to work for your company.

What are the benefits of recruitment branding?

The success of any company is almost entirely down to the people working in it. Recruiting the right person can transform your company and your fortunes. But people choose companies as much as they choose jobs. Having a clear recruitment brand allows people to evaluate whether yours is a company they want to work for. Recruitment branding is another tool to help you recruit the best employees for your company.

Defining your recruitment brand

The most important thing to do when you begin to think about your recruitment brand is to be honest with yourself about your company. To create an accurate image of your company, you have to be honest about what it's like to work in your company.

Take a good look at your company. What are the advantages for employees in working for your company? Are there opportunities for advancement? Can they develop valuable skills? Will they get paid lots of money? Will they work in a fun and vibrant atmosphere? Is there flexible working?

For example, if your company demands hard work and long hours, don't pretend that it doesn't. There are many people who want to work hard —but only if there is something in it for them. What are the benefits of working long and hard with your company? Will employees get a thorough grounding the ins and outs of your business and be able to use that knowledge in the future? Will they earn lots of money?

Talk to your staff. And listen too. Your staff are the ones who know what it's really like to work in your company. Ask them about it. Ask them what attracted them to the company in the first place. What do they like most about working in it? Ask them how they describe it as a place to work to their friends? 

There will be negatives, but listen and embrace criticism. This will help you better clarify what your company is really like rather than what you would like to think your company is like. What's more, an inaccurate employer brand can attract the wrong candidates and you may end up spending hours interviewing the wrong people. And if you do hire them, there is the likelihood that they'll be unhappy because what they thought about your company was wrong.

Implementing your recruitment brand

Once you have established what your recruitment brand is, create a list of messages that encapsulates it. This will be the basis of your recruitment brand communications, the “what-it's-like-to-work-for-your-company” message.

How you communicate this message is up to you. It can take many forms —visual (the look of your job ads), written (how your ads are worded), verbal (how you or your staff talk about your company to others), or any other medium of communication that gets your message across. The important thing is, that your message —“what-it's-like-to-work-for-my-company”— is clear.

To conclude, a recuitment brand is simply a statement of your company's recruitment values and aims to capture what it's like to work for your company. Your recruitment brand allows outsiders to get a feel for your company and whether they want to work in it. As your recruitment brand grows, develops and strengthens you can begin to successfully attract the best and most-talented candidates and become what is often called an “employer of choice.”  Remember if you get the "what it's like to work for my company" message right, you'll get the people who'll be able to answer the "why I'd like to work for your company" question.

Article Updated: October 2007

For more information on topics covered here, please visit the following links:

• Employer Branding, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development

Photo: © Les Cunliffe | Dreamstime.com

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