Employer Brand Audit: an EBDialogue community event

June 30th, 2023

In the last EBDialogue session: “How to audit your Employer Brand – Tips on what to measure and tools to use”, on the 15^th of June, we discussed ways in which you can efficiently create an employer brand audit. EBDial0gue brings the HR professionals and enthusiasts the opportunity to learn and connect through different subjects related to employer branding. The community is part of a wider initiative powered by Catalyst Solutions and Hipo.ro, the Employer Branding Learning Hub.

Together with Dragos Gheban, Managing Partner at Catalyst Solutions, Madalina Boicu, Employer Branding PM at Catalyst Solutions, and our special guest, Maria Georgiana Olaru, Employer Branding Specialist at BCR, we provided tips on what to measure and the tools you can use so that you can be on top of the game! Whether we’re talking about competitors, priorities for communicating your EVP or candidate experience, you can use a different type of data to make the right decisions for your own brand.

We touched some of these main points during the session:

• identifying where and how you should be allocating your resources
• differentiating yourself from your competitors, by analyzing what they are doing, what messages they want to showcase and in which way they attract candidates
• refining your overall employer brand image for an efficient talent acquisition strategy
• developing a roadmap for how to fix any issues in your hiring process
• prioritizing the activities that need more attention and eliminate the ones you should stop doing.

What can be measured in an EB audit and how often?

Within an EB audit, you can measure three main variables:

• the perception of your brand, depending on the different target audiences
• the type of communication you use with your target audience
• the candidate experience you are offering throughout the hiring process

What is the perception of your brand among each target group?

Brand perception represents the accumulation of thoughts and feelings associated with a company. Perception is the one that impacts why your candidates may choose your competitor and not you when applying for a job, or, in the best case scenario, why they choose you when many companies might offer the same benefits and experience as you. It is very true that, once candidates adopt an attitude about a brand, it’s tough to change. That’s why companies work hard to create positive associations in candidates’ minds, rather than negative or neutral perceptions. You can shape your reputation and develop brand equity by measuring and tracking candidate sentiment over time.

When analyzing brand perception as a variable of an efficient EB audit, you need to ask yourself the following questions, in relation to your company:

1. What is my Awareness level?​

2. Am I on candidates’ Consideration list? ​

3. Who are my true talent competitors?​

4. Do I have a place on my candidates’ short-list (Desire)?

5. What % of candidates applied / intend apply to my jobs?​

6. What am I associated with  (attributes & EVP)? ​

7. What are my competitors associated with?​

What does my brand communicate to my targeted candidates?

A successful brand communication strategy is essential for any business looking to engage effectively with its target audience. It’s important to understand how different marketing channels and tactics work together to create a cohesive message that resonates with your ideal candidates. Job portals, career pages, social media, events, media, recruitment team, are all great settings for you to showcase the available job positions in your company. 

When analyzing brand communication as a variable of an efficient EB audit, you need to ask yourself the following questions, in relation to your company:

1. Are our messages aligned with our EVP?​

2. Am I present on the channels candidates spend time on?​

3. Am I using the type of content candidates prefer?​

4. What are people saying about us? ​

What kind of candidate experience am I able to deliver?

Candidate experience refers to the way talent feels about your company throughout the hiring process. Every interaction you have leaves a lasting impression. A positive one can lead to engaged applicants, beneficial word of mouth, and a higher offer acceptance rate, while a negative one can push great talent away.

When analyzing candidate experience as a variable of an efficient EB audit, you need to ask yourself the following questions, in relation to your company:

1. How easy is it to find information about me as an employer?​

2. Does the global career site make this task easy? ​

3. What is the average time needed for a candidate to apply (seconds, minutes, hours)?​

4. How long is the selection process (time/steps)?

Creating an Employer Brand audit might just be what you need to attract the right candidates for you. But it is only one step in developing a strong employer branding strategy for the long-term.

We take this privilege to invite you in joining us every other month for our EBDialogue sessions to learn and connect!

Here you can find out more about EBcon, EBDialogue and our Keynote Library! Inspire yourself from the journey of employer branding successful stories and insights we prepared!

Gain access to valuable insights as well as quality interactions with employer branding professionals on September 14th, at our next employer branding meetup – EBDialogue!

We challenge your perspectives on the following pages:

• Why is your company’s presence in events so essential to strengthen your employer brand?
• What results do events bring in terms of conversion mechanisms?
• How can you maximize leads through quality interaction with the audience?
• What activations can you use during events to best highlight your company’s values?

For additional information about our projects & services, drop us a line at angajatori@catalyst.ro.