The Antidote to the Great Resignation: A Better Employer Brand?

By Jennifer R. Henley, Chief Client Officer

You may have welcomed in the new year, but is your organization’s career site also ready for 2022? The importance of your employment brand cannot be underestimated. It is your handshake moment to stand out from your competitors and attract top talent, who are savvier and more discerning about their job searches than ever before. Your resolution for 2022 should be to make acquiring the talent you need a priority regardless of the market situation.

But let’s first take a brief look back at the employment landscape of 2021:

• Unemployment reached a 52-year low.
• 4 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021, which affected over 4,000 U.S. companies in a variety of industries (Human Resource Director)
• Of those, mid-career (ages 30-45) had the highest resignation rates – an increase of 20% from 2020 to 2021.
• The highest hit industries were technology (4.5% more quit) and healthcare (3.6% more quit). (Harvard Business News)

How did this happen?

The sad truth is that many of these employees reached a breaking point due to the pandemic, forced teleworking, homeschooling their children and additional pressures at work. However, you can retain your employees for 2022 by focusing on your brand and offering some solid value propositions. Consider that:

• 30% of job seekers leave a job within the first 90 days of starting due to their employer’s false representation on their brand.
• A strong employer brand can reduce the cost per hire by as much as 50%.
• 75% of job seekers are more likely to apply to a job if the employer actively manages its brand (Public Insights)

What to expect in 2022:

First, you need to recognize that job candidates are interested in:

1. Flexibility – which comes in many forms
2. Remote work opportunities (The U.S. will lead the world in remote workers in 2022) (Gartner)
3. The values of an organization to see if they align with their own values
4. An organization’s diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives

Next, note that 90% of job seekers start on Google and 50% of their clicks are the top 3 results, so think mobile first. Bottom line: keep it simple, keep it engaging, focus on key words (SEO) and streamline the recruiting process across various types of social media.

Why is a great career site essential?

No matter what recruitment strategy you deploy, an engaging and compelling landing page is essential to attracting both active and passive job seekers. Assess your landing page:

• What story does your career site tell?
• Does it offer video clips, testimonials and cool sound bites?
• Can you measure its effectiveness with quantifiable metrics related to: Reach, Awareness, Affinity, Understanding and Preference?
• What key words and SEO are applied?

And don’t stay static!

Today’s job seekers don’t want to see just a list of jobs; they want details about the careers you’re offering. Therefore, show them examples of career paths – how they can grow their careers and advance in your organization. Most importantly, be realistic, not idealistic.

Achieving an authentic employment brand:

You need to control your organization’s narrative in the market; if not, someone else will. Tell the story you want to tell and deliver a consistent theme and message that will resonate with candidates by following these guidelines:

1. Differentiate – What is different about your organization that could prompt candidates to apply? What separates you from your competitors? Here, you can highlight, for example, your organization’s community efforts, work culture, team leaders, company stability or compensation models.
2. Be authentic – Provide an accurate and current image of your organization, especially regarding diversity, which is a priority consideration for most candidates today. How do you welcome new employees and make them part of the team? Candidates want to know how they will fit in, so the images on your career site should be of actual employees. Also provide information about any employee resource groups you offer and your community sponsorships.
3. Build your brand for flexibility – Here, you should remain prepared to target specific job families in the organization – nurses or physicians, for example. If your need is in management, focus on leadership stories and career pathing. For hourly roles, focus on team building, friendships and camaraderie.
4. Motivate candidates – You can accomplish this with news that promotes your brand. Key items here could be a sign-on bonus, special perks or rewarding work.

NAS can help. We have the resources and staff to help you better position yourself in getting the talent you need. We regularly contribute to the talent acquisition community by offering many free resources that include infographics, podcasts, blogs and other resources.

Sources: John Corrigan, Human Resource Director, 4 Jan 2022

Public Insight, “Employer Branding Metrics,” 2022

Ian Cook, Harvard Business News, 15 Sept 2021

Gartner Inc., 2022

• Engaging and Retargeting the Distracted Candidate
• The power of Digital Marketing – Top Trends for your 2022 Recruitment Toolkit