What do Microsoft Canada, CAE Inc. and Pratt & Whitney Canada have in common? All three companies were recently named among the best employer brands based on their rankings in the Randstad Employer Brand Research survey. Here are the benefits you can obtain by borrowing from their best practices to build your employer brand strategy.

Your employer brand is one of the more important factors for your SME when it comes to attracting and retaining your industry’s top performers. An employer brand can support your desired positioning in the job market. It is a tool that will enable you to positively influence job candidates’ perception of your company and remind your employees of the positive experience you hope to offer them.

But what differentiates one employer brand from another? Brands have many facets, and workers make reference to them when it comes time to evaluate how much they appreciate the company. For example, no one wants to have a job where there is no work-life balance. There are other elements that contribute to tipping the scale in either direction:

• Base salary, annual bonus and performance award
• Group insurance programs (health care, dental care…)
• Pension plan (predetermined contribution or entitlements, group REER or TFSA…)
• Cutting-edge facilities
• Attractive geographical location
• Satisfaction of contributing to the company’s mission
• Quality of the work teams and hiring process
• Company reputation
• Job security and possibility of promotion

To stand out from the crowd, you need to develop tools that will suitably reflect your values and image and the promise you intend to uphold to your employees. A modern website, robust activity on social networks, pertinent content for your targeted audience and a space dedicated to employee testimonials are just a few examples. The goal is to clearly communicate what your employees need to know in order to confirm that your company meets their needs.

A well-defined employer brand strategy is therefore an answer to the labour shortage and a solution for competitive companies looking to hire the best talent in their industries. Here are just a few benefits brought by employer brands.

1. More effective recruiting

A powerful employer brand is an unrivalled tool when it comes to attracting the best talent around. By increasing the number of high-quality candidates, you will have an embarrassment of riches to choose from to find that rare pearl. But watch out! The goal is not just to recruit the best workers available, but to also keep those already working for you…

2. Reducing your turnover rate

The companies mentioned at the start of the article—Microsoft Canada, CAE Inc. and Pratt & Whitney Canada—receive resumés from thousands of candidates every year. For certain positions, you need to get in line if you want to work there! And it’s likely that workers who are already there want to stay!

The days when employees spent their entire career with the same employer are gone. But remember that an elevated turnover rate is usually a symptom of underlying problems. On the other hand, an employer brand that takes employee expectations into account will boost employee retention.

3. Improved engagement amongst employees

Motivated employees are more likely to contribute toward achieving your objectives. Ask them periodically what makes them happy. What are they looking for exactly? If you promote yourself as a flexible employer, prove it. The promises you made during the hiring process—regarding continued training and improvement, for example—must be kept no matter what. You never know, maybe that promise was what decided a given candidate to accept a position at your firm.

4. Money in the bank

Having a solid employer brand can turn out to be a very good financial investment. Since it facilitates recruiting and contributes to reducing the number of voluntary departures from your SME, it produces a net gain in efficiency. Consider also that an expert that is hired more quickly can put their expertise to work for your company earlier than anticipated, which could allow you to fulfill a major contract. And don’t forget all the expenses you will no longer have to take on—such as posting job vacancies, advertising locally and paying for travel expenses—in order to fill the position.