16 Employer branding stats to get executive buy-in
Executive buy-in. How do you get it so you can move forward with your employer brand projects? And how do you keep it going once you have it?
As talent acquisition pros, we have witnessed firsthand the impact a solid employer brand and recruitment marketing strategy can have on a company’s ability to attract and retain talent. But how do you showcase this to leadership and justify the investment — especially when there are so many competing areas that may get priority over your budget requests?
One thing to remember is that the executive team may not be as familiar with the most recent recruitment and talent management trends as you and your team are! As a result, we often advise our clients to start this conversation with the executive team by creating a deck or one-pager that showcases what employer branding is all about. We suggest including industry statistics in this document to help justify why an investment in employer branding is worthwhile.
To help you develop your own buy-in deck, we’ve compiled a few talking points you can lean on, backed by some solid employer branding stats.
And if you need help defining what employer branding is all about, we recommend listening to season one of The Employer Brand Shop Talk Podcast for insights and definitions.
Without further ado, here are eight reasons why an effective employer brand is crucial for your organization (and the stats to back it up):
Reduce turnover
According to Gartner, having a strong employee value proposition (EVP) can lower your turnover by 69%. Retaining high performing employees can mean the difference between a company's success and failure, especially since labour can account for up to 70% of total business costs, according to Paycor.
Let’s unpack these numbers a bit more. Losing an effective employee can be incredibly costly due to the many investments companies make in their staff over time. This can include employee training and development, onboarding of their replacement, and the fact that long-tenured employees become more valuable to the organization the longer they stay. Keeping that kind of talent can be paramount to a business's productivity and bottom line — which is why so many Fortune 500 companies make significant investments in retaining their top talent.
So how can employer branding help you increase employee retention? Well, an employee value proposition (EVP) concisely describes why someone would want to work at your company. When an EVP is activated effectively, it not only decreases your talent turnover by just under 70%, but it also increases new employees' commitment by 30%. An effective employer brand ensures that the company communicates its EVP consistently and efficiently while delivering on all of its promises to its employees.
Decrease cost per hire
According to a report by LinkedIn, a strong employer brand can help decrease your cost per hire by 43%. That’s because there are many hidden recruitment costs that can add up over time. When you consider how much it costs to hire a single new employee, don’t forget that it’s not just the price of job boards and background checks. You also need to think about the time recruiters spend on sourcing, interviewing, and negotiating compensation packages.
Having a strong employer brand can help decrease your cost per hire because candidates will become more familiar with your organization and become more proactive toward applying (which also means building a strong talent pool!).
Attracting more qualified candidates organically means fewer failed interviews, a better candidate experience, and less budget spent on job board fees, social media ads, and sourcing — not to mention the cost that your company incurs by having an unfilled vacancy on a number of your teams for an extended period!
Attract more qualified talent
To attract the best talent, a company needs to position itself as the first-choice employer in its field. A strong employer brand is how you showcase your unique work environment and stand out as an industry leader.
According to CareerArc, 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job. And the best candidates are spending their time looking for cues about your work experience and brand. An article by Glassdoor shares that candidates interact with an average of 12-18 touchpoints like your career site and career social media profiles before choosing whether to apply or accept an offer.
While you may consider yourself a top employer, it’s important to regularly think about your overall candidate experience. Are you providing the right information at each of these touchpoints to encourage people to move forward in your process? Are you communicating that message effectively and consistently across these touchpoints? With a solid EVP and employer brand strategy, you’ll provide qualified candidates with the information they need to make an informed choice.
Improve employee engagement
An authentic EVP can help you hire more engaged candidates who are committed to your mission, vision, and values. According to Gallup, an employee's alignment to their company's core values directly affects their engagement, so it’s important to communicate this well and often both internally and externally.
However, many companies are missing the mark here — in another study by Gallup, only 41% of workers feel they understand what exactly their employer stands for or how their company's employer brand is different or unique from the competition. So if you want to improve employee engagement, then you need a strong employer brand and EVP that effectively communicates your “why” to your employees.
Avoid overpaying for talent
Let’s be honest, you’re probably not the only employer vying for your top-choice candidate, and the last thing you want is to have to make concessions to convince them to accept your job offer. You want them to be more excited and eager to receive an offer letter from your company than from anyone else.
However, a study from Harvard Business Review (HBR) suggests that some organizations might need to increase pay by a minimum of 10% to compensate for a poorly performing reputation. Investing in an intentional and strategic employer brand often means minimal to no convincing or even financially incentivizing candidates to take the job.
On the other side of the spectrum, with a strong employer brand, potential employees are also more likely to consider a lower salary. According to a survey by Ladders, 67% of workers stated the mission of an organization was more significant to them than how much it could pay. The takeaway? Communicating your mission, vision, and benefits of working at your organization can significantly reduce the likelihood of overpaying for hires.
Increase your talent pool
Everyone wants to find a unicorn candidate for the job, but what if that candidate actually found you first? Well, in order to apply, they first have to like what they see.
84% of candidates list company reputation as an important factor in their decision to apply to a position, according to recent Glassdoor Harris Polls. Not only that, but research by Gartner has found that organizations with well-managed employer brands can source from more than 60% of the labour market, compared to only 40% for those who do not manage their employer brand.
Hire one to two times faster
A lengthy recruitment process can not only be frustrating but also costly. Even once a candidate is hired it takes a significant amount of time to onboard the new employee. This is all the more reason to strive for a more effective and faster recruitment process. In fact, your employer brand can help you hire one to two times faster, according to LinkedIn.
With an attractive employer brand, candidates are more likely to reach out to you first, reducing the sourcing time for your recruiters and speeding up your entire process. In addition, the more knowledge candidates have about your organization, the more likely they’ll be able to make an informed assessment on whether your environment is a good fit — ultimately encouraging unqualified candidates to self-select out, and reducing the amount of time your recruiters need to spend on qualifying candidates.
Improve your bottom line
According to research from CareerArc, 96% of companies think that employer branding and reputation can positively or negatively impact revenue streams. This is because, in our hyperconnected world, the lines between candidates and consumers can, and often do blur.
As an example, a case study on Virgin Mobile showed that a negative candidate experience had a significant impact on a company’s revenue. After surveying their rejected job applicants, Virgin Media discovered that 18% of them were customers. Their poor candidate experience resulted in a loss of 6% (or 7,500) of their customer base to a competitor.
While 6% might not sound like much at a first glance, when you take a step back, it’s a lot bigger than you think! In fact, the total revenue loss for Virgin Media amounted to £4.4 million!
Building a solid employer brand strategy, starting with an authentic and appealing EVP, can help you improve your brand image with candidates and consumers alike. And when you consider all of the cost-savings from a hiring and employee retention standpoint, investing in employer branding means saving your organization big bucks (and many headaches!) in the future.
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About The Employer Brand Shop
The Employer Brand Shop is a boutique recruitment marketing and employer brand agency located in Kitchener, Canada. Our team helps organizations around the world attract and engage talent using creative marketing strategies