Much has been said about the impact that online reviews can have on attracting and retaining customers. However, what is often overlooked is the effect that online reputation can have on employer branding. 

Can the same strategy use to enhance sales be equally effective in attracting new employees? Would star ratings and reviews make a difference in an employee’s decision?

 

Definitely yes. 

 

What is employer branding?

 

Employer branding is a process of making your company desirable to job seekers. If you’re trying to promote your product or service and position it as an established brand, then why wouldn’t you do the same with the job opportunities? 

 

It’s usually said that employer branding consists of 3 main components: reputation, employee value proposition, and employee experience.

 

Reputation

 

Broadly speaking, reputation refers to what the public thinks of your company. However, in the context of employer branding, the focus is on how potential future employees perceive your company. Does your reputation make the company a desirable work environment?

 

Employee value proposition (EVP)

 

The relationship between employers and employees is a two-way street. Employers have certain expectations and requirements for employees, while they in return expect different rewards and benefits. Rewards are not only connected to salary, but also to professional opportunities as well as a pleasant work environment. A company might be checking all these boxes, but if that’s not communicated properly, there’s no way that employees could be aware of that. 

 

Employee experience

 

Everything mentioned above contributes to the overall employee experience. If there is a match between requirements and rewards, employees will have a positive experience of working in your company. With that, they will spread their positive impressions further, and there is no better marketing than word-of-mouth.

 

Why companies can’t neglect employer branding?

 

Maybe you didn’t know, but in 2019 Glassdoor conducted research that showed that 86% of job seekers are likely to research a company’s online reviews before applying for a job. Moreover, 55% of them wouldn’t continue the application process if the company reviews are negative! 

 

So, it’s clear as a day that reputable companies are more successful in attracting and retaining candidates. 

Besides improving your chances of getting the best candidates, employer branding can help your company with the following:

 

• Satisfied employees are the best ambassadors: the more positive feedback from the current employees, the more attractive the company will be in the eyes of job seekers. 

 

• Reducing recruitment costs: When you have a positive reputation, good candidates approach you on their own. You will still be running the applications, but the whole process will take much less time and you won’t have to worry about fishing for the best candidates online.

 

Okay, by now you completely understood the importance of employer branding. 

 

But, how can you further boost your reputation? 

 

The answer lies in online reviews. 

 

The importance of online reviews in building a positive brand image

 

We’ve already talked about the importance of online reputation management in general. Companies usually shed away from negative reviews, but the truth is that those reviews greatly contribute to brand authenticity. Moreover, they can be a beneficial learning process. 

Let’s see how:

 

• Developing feedback culture: make leaving feedback a habit. Employees must feel that the culture of the company is such that it values ​​everyone's opinion, even if it is not always positive.

 

• Making necessary changes: praises, but also ideas for improvement, do not always have to come from employees. It’s also very important how the selection process is evaluated by the candidates who passed it (successfully or not). Platforms like Glassdoor allow you to leave reviews about various aspects of the work and selection process. There will always be candidates who leave negative reviews upset that they didn't get the job, and that's okay. However, pay attention to every comment that offers constructive criticism because it can help you further improve. 

 

• Review monitoring: Keeping an eye on your reviews and ratings can be demanding, especially if you are trying to do it by yourself. Therefore, it could be useful to turn to the help of online review aggregators. These online tools will enable you to do this process completely automatically, and inform you about what’s being said about you on different platforms. 

 

• Improve review responses: As we mentioned, companies usually respond to positive reviews, but they are not so agile when it comes to negative ones. They decide to either ignore them or even worse, delete them. Not being active in online reputation management is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make. 

 

Conclusion

 

Online reviews can greatly impact employer branding. Everyone wants to work in a trusted company with a stimulating work environment. Therefore, online reviews help a lot in building a positive reputation and recognizing the company as a desirable employer.

 

Do you also monitor comments about your company? What employer branding activities do you undertake?

 

We would like to hear more about it! Please share it with our readers in the comments section.