How to Use HR Data to Create a Stronger Employer Brand

Employer branding is essential for securing top talent

When deciding on where to apply for a job, 84% of job seekers say the reputation of a company as an employer is important.

Employee retention and talent acquisition are more important than ever during times of market uncertainty. Businesses need to make sure they have the skills, quality and talent they need to stay competitive.

HR data is essential for creating an employer brand strategy that is an honest reflection of your business. Once you have defined your employer branding goals, HR data provides you with the insight you need to:

• Develop candidate personas
• Define employee value propositions
• Measure the success of your branding

Candidate personas define recruitment approaches

Without knowing who your perfect candidate is, you won't be able to know how best to find and engage them.  60% of recruiters believe culture fit is of the highest importance when deciding whether to hire or not. You need to make sure you approach the right people.

Who are the right people? The answer will be in your candidate persona.

A candidate persona includes personal attributes as well as more esoteric issues like motivations and candidate influencers. HR data can help you identify the…

• Age
• Position
• Title
• Salary
• Location
• Training

… of your current workforce. You can use this data to understand the makeup of your existing team and highlight any gaps you need to fill. If you want a diverse workforce of young and old people, your HR data will tell you which group you need.

Value propositions help you retain your talent

Your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) defines why people like working for you. An EVP includes things like compensation, benefits, growth opportunities, work culture and environment. Doing a deep dive into your HR data can ensure that your EVP continues to be fit for purpose.

Because people's needs change over time. That free gym membership was great when your employees had time to use it. But now they've started families and they're busy looking after their kids. Maybe flexi-time or day-care support would be better moving forward.

This is just a simple example, but it's important. The benefits you offer your employees when you hire them must continue to deliver value throughout their time with you.

Businesses that cultivate their EVP are attractive to job applicants. 9 out of 10 candidates would apply for a job when it’s from an employer brand that’s actively maintained.

Learn more: 6 EVP Strategies to Win the Talent War

Measure branding success with HR data

96% of companies believe employer brand and reputation can positively or negatively impact revenue. Yet less than half monitor that impact.

Having tools to monitor the success of your employer branding is the only way to improve your approach. The success of your employer branding can be measured in retention rates, or by rolling out an employee satisfaction survey.

But inviting and asking for feedback is just the first step in the process. You need to follow up on comments and suggestions with honesty and transparency. As the trust between your people and leaders strengthen, so too will the honesty of the feedback you’ll receive – allowing you to further improve your employer brand and working culture.

Organizations that build a strong, positive brand receive more applications from better quality candidates than those with poor brand reputations. It’s important to ensure that your efforts buy your business that advantage. Data-driven decision making gives you a roadmap for ensuring an effective employer branding strategy. This will lead to higher employee retention, happiness and productivity.