Employer vs. employee branding: what’s the difference?

Employer and employee branding both involve presenting your company in the best possible light, and are effective ways of attracting top-notch candidates.

But, with such similar names and a degree of crossover, you could be forgiven for getting confused when trying to embed these two concepts into your recruiting practices.

Here’s our take on the differences between employer and employee branding, and how they can be used to enhance your recruitment process: 

Employer branding

Employer branding is how businesses promote their credentials as a welcoming, engaging and dynamic workplace for employees. 

By showing potential candidates how well you treat current employees, and giving them the same star treatment throughout the recruitment and on-boarding processes, you can make most skilled applicants sit up and take notice.

So, how can you start making real steps towards enhancing your employer brand?

Start by thinking about the factors unique to your company that will attract new staff, including your business’:

• Values
• Personality
• Culture
• Industry standing

This should give you an idea of the proposition you’re spelling out to candidates, and highlight any areas that might need developing.

Then, think about populating your job ads and company website with points relating to:

• Your company culture and rewards system
• The potential for career development within your company
• The awards and accreditations your company has received
• Your CSR credentials
• Your current employees and their impressions of your company

The final piece of the puzzle comes with candidate communications. Regardless of a candidate’s suitability for your business, their opinion of your company is important.

That’s why it pays to make sure that all candidate communications are polite, timely, branded and show respect for the time invested in submitting an application.

Employee branding

Employee branding is the new kid on the block when it comes to recruitment practices.

It’s about turning your employees into brand ambassadors; encouraging them to behave in a way that enhances your brand and giving them a positive professional experience that they’ll tell friends and colleagues about.

Although distinct from employer branding, employee branding feeds back into how your business is perceived by people who might apply to work at your company.

It also helps to guide the recruitment process itself. When you decide what type of candidate is the right fit for your company, you can use this model as a template for finding better applicants in future.

These are some of the traits that tell you which candidates might fit like a glove:

• They know their role inside-out
• They’ll go above and beyond for customers
• They’re communicative
• They give their all
• They treat all employees the same, regardless of rank
• They’re a relaxed and engaging colleague

Now that you can spot the difference between employer and employee branding, make sure you set aside time to really get to grips with what your company is and what you want it to become.

By aligning your employer and employee brands, and promoting them on the job market, you can make your company an obvious choice for the best candidates in the sector.