1. Employer branding: What is it anyway and why is it so important?
“It used to be the battle of talent — today it is the battle for talent” (DAHMEN Personalservice GmbH 2018)
The shortage of skilled workers is a reality for the large number of companies today: For example, every second company reports difficulties in filling vacancies (DIHK 2019). And this has consequences — not least for communication with potential applicants. Because more and more companies are looking for top-class talent (so-called High Potentials) and must get them excited about their company. In this context, people often speak of a shift from an “employer market” (number of vacancies < number of suitable talents) to a”Workers market” (number of vacancies > number of suitable talents). But what happens in a world in which the number of vacancies exceeds the number of suitable talents? That's right: High potentials can choose their employer. As a result, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to position themselves as an attractive employer and have a strong Employer brand (in German: employer brand).
Definition of employer branding:
Employer branding describes all measures that a company can take to present itself to potential applicants as a suitable and attractive employer.
2. What is part of a strong employer brand?
Building a strong employer brand naturally includes professional communication from the company, which focuses on the benefits that the company offers its employees (also as Benefits referred to). The company's presence on its own website, in evaluation forums and, increasingly, on social media plays a major role here. However, the employer's presence does not end with an attractively designed website, but continues, for example, with the online application, the subsequent selection process and communication of the hiring decision (Kanning 2009).
However, if you look at the recruitment process in many large and medium-sized companies, you find that this fact is not sufficiently taken into account in practice. This is how many companies make a typical mistake: They look at the recruitment process purely from their own perspective. The focus is solely on the question: The sole focus is on the question: How do we achieve our goal of selecting the applicants who best suit the advertised position? Yet another, no less important question often remains unanswered: What does the recruitment process look like from the applicants' point of view?
Companies with strong employer brands — what are they doing differently? Companies that continuously attract high potential stand out in particular because they understand, design and optimize the process from the applicants' point of view and thus consistently focus on applicants (also as Candidate Centricity referred to). Similar to a sales process, applicants are understood as customers who are to be advertised for a specific product (the job) — from the initial contact to the actual purchase or decision for the job.
Accordingly, the concept of the customer journey known from marketing, which describes a customer's journey across various points of contact through to the purchase of the product, can also be transferred to the HR sector — this is also referred to as Candidate Journey.
3. The Candidate Journey - Why you should understand applicants as customers
The candidate journey comprises all stages that applicants go through on their way to potential employment in a company — from the initial perception of a company (e.g. presence on social media) to the final hiring decision (e.g. communication of approvals and rejections). There are various touchpoints, i.e. points where applicants get in touch with the company.
The candidate journey can be divided into five central phases (see Figure 1): the attention phase, the consideration phase, the application phase, the selection process and the final recruitment.
How the individual touchpoints with the company are designed in the individual phases is decisive for whether applicants actually opt for the job offer. However, a positive candidate journey also has positive effects beyond hiring success, for example because applicants speak positively about the company in public, remain customers of the company or consider applying again at a later date. Figure 1 summarizes the most important key questions that you should ask yourself when designing the individual touchpoints and gives practical tips on how you can successfully design a positive and holistic candidate journey.
4. Why the selection process reveals so much about your company!
One of the most important and at the same time most frequently underestimated points of contact with your company is the selection process itself. Of course, a selection process is particularly concerned with examining the suitability of applicants and their competencies and potentials With the in requirement profile to reconcile defined requirements. However, the way in which this is done is already an important part of advertising for the employer and should make applicants want to continue the journey “with the company. For example, a study by TU Brandenburg (Schenk et al. 2021) shows that a selection process enriched by gamification only leads to a more positive experience of the process. At the same time, the playfully designed selection process also leads to a more positive assessment of the employer and a more realistic perception of the requirements associated with the position. Used correctly, the selection process is therefore not only a tool for companies to find out more about applicants, but also an important opportunity for applicants to get to know the company better and thus make their own fit with the company (see also Cultural Fit) to assess better.
If, on the other hand, the applicant's “journey” through the selection process leaves negative impressions, this has negative effects — and these usually go beyond simply rejecting a job offer. For example, applicants who feel they have been treated unfairly during the selection process tend to dissuade friends from the company or rate it negatively in evaluation forums. We have summarized the top reasons for a negative perception of the selection process for you in Table 1.
Top reasons for a negative perception of the selection process.
- (Perceived) lack of scientific basis for testing procedures
- (Perceived) lack of connection between test procedures and job requirements
- Inadequate or delayed feedback on test results
- Lack of flexibility in terms of location and time when carrying out test procedures
- Severe fatigue due to lengthy testing procedures that are not suitable for the target group
As much as you can't. But what should you do as a HR manager to make the selection process more attractive and thus contribute to a positive candidate's experience? We have summarized the success factors for sustainably strengthening your employer brand through the selection process in a checklist (see table 2).
Top reasons for a positive perception of the selection process.
- “Validity First”: The scientific basis of the selection processes is paramount. Die DIN 33430 provides an important frame of reference for valid psychometric, Aptitude diagnostic procedures to distinguish from those of dubious providers.
- “Usability”: Make sure that your processes are very user-friendly, for example by integrating mobile-optimized services.
- “Zero-footprint measurement”: Minimize any burden on applicants and ensure maximum flexibility by allowing tests to be carried out anywhere and anytime. This is achieved, for example, with Online assessments.
- “Instant feedback”: Give applicants quick, direct feedback after completing individual test procedures. The selection process should not be a black box for applicants.
- “Fun Factor”: Last but not least, the fun factor should not be neglected. After all, who wants to click through lengthy test procedures for hours on end? The good thing about it: Science and fun are by no means mutually exclusive and can be achieved, for example, by using more playfully prepared test methods (so-called Game-based assessments) combine.
- “Always Learning”: View your selection process in terms of continuous improvement process and continuously develop this based on feedback and applicants' experiences.
Candidate journey with Aivy:
The aim of Aivy is to give each individual weaver a positive feeling on their individual journey. This is achieved through a combination of self-experience, which reveals one's own interests and abilities, and performance tests, which are convincing due to their scientific yet playful character. Applicants are always at the center of the journey — user-friendliness is paramount in mobile-optimized services, feedback is provided transparently and individually, directly via push notification on the smartphone if desired. Contact us if you'd like to know more about your potential trip with Aivy.
Sources
- German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK, 2019). Labour market report 2019. Shortages of skilled workers major — despite a weaker economy. Available at: https://www.dihk.de/de/themen-und-positionen/fachkraefte/beschaeftigung/fachkraefteengpaesse - Great-defiant-weaker economic-5906
- Dahmen Personnel Services (2018). From employer market to applicant market — The consequences for employees and companies. Available at: https://dahmen-personal.de/vom - Employer-market-to-applicant market/
- Kanning (2017). Personnel marketing, employer branding and employee retention — research findings and practical tips from personnel psychology. Jumper.
- Schenk, N., Rissmann, S., Gutowski, M., Kaphengst, S., (2021). In the context of employer branding and recruitment, are there differences in the assessment of a company as a potential employer for university graduates, depending on whether information about the company is provided during an online assessment center? , unpublished. Seminar paper as part of the service marketing course WS 20/21 of the Department of Economics at the Brandenburg University of Technology
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