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June 10, 2020 
3 min read
Nothing says “reality check” to your brand identity more than a global lockdown. Many companies have been forced to halt production, sales, hiring, etc. and have felt like they are at a standstill. Yet, they don’t need to – and never should – halt their recruitment marketing and employer branding activities.
We know how important it is to differentiate your employer brand to attract top talent (We won Talent Board’s “CandE” award, twice, for our own). That’s why this year we were excited to partner up with Rally Recruitment Marketing again for their RallyFwd virtual event focused on how to “Lead with Employer Brand.” (Click here to check out the keynotes and speakers from the event.)
But to truly help this year’s attendees who are living through a global pandemic that has so greatly impacted the talent industry, we knew we could share inspirational, as well as practical, experience from our customers.
Enter Chantell Cooper, Director of Talent Acquisition at Arbonne International. Chantell has 15+ years of experience in TA and currently leads recruiting and branding efforts for a leader in the beauty and wellness industry. (An industry I personally am missing as we approach 12+ weeks in quarantine.)
Chantell’s job at Arbonne is to sell her employer brand, not the products. Arbonne is the first company, in their brand family, to obtain “B Corporation” status for their commitment to corporate responsibility and social impact. They care about producing products that are good for the user and the environment. Arbonne is also looking for employees with the same values. This allows them to compete for staff in areas like finance, IT, customer service, operations, manufacturing, etc. that are not related at all to beauty and wellness industry experience – and, therefore, rise to the top of “employer of choice” for candidates with similar ethical standards.
To highlight Arbonne’s status and purpose, they redesigned their career pages to match their refreshed employer brand strategy. A strategy focused on balancing profit with purpose.
You too can differentiate your employer brand by showcasing your corporate values in the following key ways:
Be an employer of choice. Your company is more than just a product. Your brand encompasses your core competencies and values that are held to a higher standard in the eyes of candidates. In Chantell’s Rally presentation, she shares how studies show that millennials care about job purpose, but that is not an exclusively millennial value. In the age of social media, most people care, to some degree, about corporate social responsibility. So, if your company does any volunteering, donating, or activities that reflect your values, put them on blast. Share what you’re doing on social, but also reflect those actions on your career pages as video testimonials, quotes, and real-life pictures. (We say, ‘Eeeew’ to stock imagery on career sites.) When hiring sparks back up, be an employer of choice by displaying how your company walks the walk.
Encourage employees to be brand ambassadors. While it’s paramount to highlight all that you and your employees have done to incorporate your values, you can’t stop there. Every day is a new opportunity to highlight your employer brand. This should be evolving and fluid. Entice your employees to share what makes them proud to work for your company – whether it be team activities, work-life balance perks, Zoom meeting themes that connect to core competencies, etc. All of these individual activities represent an individual team member who in turn represents a part of the larger brand. Each person is important, so find ways to let that message shine.
Overall, Chantell and I agree with Forbes when they say, “The employee value equation is shifting, and HR is in the best position to ensure robust employer branding [is] creating a compelling case to attract talent.” (Click here to read the full Forbes article).
Interested in learning more about recruitment marketing strategies and how to implement them to gain more profit? Check out The Definitive Guide to Recruitment Marketing ROI here.
