Promoting Company Branding with Recruits & New Hires

Tying your company brand to the recruiting process will help strengthen the onboarding experience and increase employee engagement. Here are 3 ways to get started:

1. Define Your Brand

Your brand says something about your organization. It’s what you believe, what you stand for, and how you want others to perceive you. It’s your best face to the world and is most recognizable when you are fully behind the brand, working hard to promote the logo, educating consumers and engaging with your audience.

The brand you stand behind reflects the kind of company you are—it tells the story about where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you hope to be. If done right, it can be the most powerful tool you’ve got to not only increase market share and drive revenue, but form the best team that will take you to the top spot in your industry.

In a tight job market, the only thing that differentiates your company from that of your competitors is your brand. For example, the Washington DC region is overflowing with consulting companies trying to hire the same candidates from a shallow talent pool. Most companies are offering similar salaries, similar benefits, and similar roles and opportunities.

Your brand is what distinguishes your company from the rest. 

Tweet: Your brand is what distinguishes you from the rest. @HRCloud

A number of your candidates will be current customers. Many will be watching how you engage online. Furthermore, candidate will be listening to the “word on the street,” gauging and how your brand will affect their career and future job aspirations. The decision to join your company will be based on how well your brand is perceived—how the story is told and how the candidate envisions his or her role and contributions to that “story.”

Define your brand and then incorporate it into your recruiting strategy.

2. Recruitment + Onboarding = Candidate Experience

Your brand is a reflection of your organization, so incorporate it into everything you do, including recruiting. When brand is tied into recruitment and onboarding, you’ll have a pretty terrific candidate experience that will further enhance your brand and what you stand for.

As an HR professional, you are on the front lines of staffing, telling the story and selling the opportunities. The sell can be made easier when the brand messaging is consistent across the business—from sales to recruiting to customer service. Build your recruiting strategy around the core competencies and values of the organization. This means asking the following:

• Does your story match the perception of both current employees and potential candidates? If negative sentiments exist, clean it up.
• Does each department support the brand or do they go against the grain? It’s important that everyone is on the same page, especially when it comes to interviewing candidates. Make sure the brand messaging is consistent throughout the company. This can be difficult if you have several business lines or have offices in different geographical locations. Be unified.
• What happens after the recruiting process is over? From “day one” to “day 90” what steps have you taken to build loyalty and engagement with your new hire? Do they feel inspired to perform, and do they have the tools to be successful? Sometimes we have a great recruiting strategy, but we don’t follow it up with a great onboarding plan.

Seamlessly transition from recruiting to orientation with an effective HR software onboarding tool that will introduce your new hire to the organization and carry them through the first 90 days. In fact, your onboarding tool can go beyond the “new hire” phase and lead into training and development. Onboarding tools can be designed to fit your needs with everything from day one paperwork to adjusting performance goals to signing up for certification courses.

When the organizational brand is incorporated into recruiting and onboarding, it reminds employees why they chose to accept your offer in the first place. From branding to recruiting to onboarding, each step confirms your desire to be the best and hire the best. Step by step, you strengthen your commitment to providing the most value for your consumers, candidates and employees.

3. Reinforce the Brand

Your recruiting and onboarding process has an effect on your company’s brand. It can build, strengthen, and support it by reinforcing consistent messaging across the organization, both internally and externally.

For example, hiring great people directly influences the way teams work, products are created, and revenue is earned. Hiring reflects your brand and becomes the face of your organization.

At Tops Friendly Markets, they reinforce their brand image of “being friendly” by hiring those that will reflect the same culture and values. HR has implemented a strong recruiting and onboarding process that maintains brand integrity.

Jennifer Payne, Manager, Management Development, Training & Employment at Tops Markets, said:

“At Tops, part of our mission is to be "Your Friendly Neighborhood Store," so we are always striving to ensure our stores are reflective of, and support the individual communities, in which we operate. When recruiting new associates, it's all about finding candidates who want to join our "Neighborhood Team" …people who want to be a part of that neighborhood and serve the folks in those communities. Customer service is a priority, so we look for candidates who exhibit the ability to provide excellent customer service (the "friendly" part of the mission) by utilizing an assessment that measures customer service as part of our application process. In attracting candidates, we also like to talk about the opportunities to be involved in the community through the various organizations and events we support. So it's not just a job, it's the opportunity to be a part of the Tops family and a truly neighborhood focused team!”

The benefits of tying brand to recruiting and onboarding are significant. Start now by defining your brand and carry it through all aspects of the business.