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In such a talent-driven job market, IT candidates have more options than ever before. Establishing, maintaining and nurturing a strong employer brand is one the most effective ways to attract quality candidates. However, with so many organisations in the race for top IT talent (and those working on Business Transformation projects), how do you go about enhancing your employer brand to stand out from the rest? Working with both employers and candidates in the IT space has given us a great perspective of employer brand – here are our top tips for boosting yours.

Cultivate your Culture

The way a company is perceived from the outside is critical to attracting top IT talent, and culture is one of the biggest factors that job seekers use in their decision making. With so much choice available, candidates are only going to pursue roles with organisations that cultivate a positive company culture.

It’s not just about extrinsic rewards, though – culture is showcased through everything from dress code and office layout, to management styles and work-life balance. Benefits such as casual Fridays, flexible hours, rewards systems and staff events can go a long way towards building a culture that job seekers will yearn to be a part of.

One of the best sources of feedback in this area is current employees, as they are the ones that are most in tune to customer responses, office dynamics and how the company operates. They build the foundation of the internal culture and can be a wealth of information when it comes to improvement. It’s important to give your existing team the platform to discuss any ideas and problems they may have, enabling you to enhance your culture and attract skilled IT talent.

Focus on Candidate Experience

Another key factor in employer brand is the candidate experience. Your hiring process can affect the number and quality of candidates that apply for any given vacancy, so it’s vital to get it right. In the fast-paced digital age, job seekers want the IT recruitment process to be simple and convenient, and may be put off by drawn out, redundant steps.

Try to ensure the candidate experience is as smooth and efficient as possible and keep the screening process transparent by communicating with applicants every step of the way. It’s not necessary to make them jump through hoops by putting them through lengthy interviews, labour intensive work samples, or rigorous testing, unless there is a distinct benefit to doing so. Too many of these requests can easily deter candidates, so make sure you are respecting their time as well.

Foster Brand Ambassadors

One of the biggest obstacles for job seekers is not knowing what it’s really like to work somewhere. After all, nobody wants to risk committing to an organisation that turns out to be a poor fit. The best recommendations for any employer brand come from those already on the team, so a great way to draw the interest of top talent is to encourage current employees to become brand ambassadors. Identifying those employees who believe in the company’s journey, it’s purpose and values, will help in attracting others like them. You’ll need to find people who will shout about your business on channels such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor, as these are often the first places a potential applicant will look when researching an organisation.

Respect Those that Don’t Make the Cut

Whilst you can’t hire everyone, it’s important to at least give candidates a positive experience to come away with. Just like current employees, applicants can spread the word, and an employer brand can be tarnished by the criticisms of those who felt slighted.

Be sure to treat every candidate with the utmost curtesy and respect, regardless of their suitability for the role. After all, they’ve expressed an interest in working for you, and even if they’re not qualified today, you don’t want them avoiding you as a result of a negative experience, or worse – cautioning others about applying. You never know when you’ll need to use the same talent pool again, so you want to encourage them to reapply in the future. In the end, maintaining a professional and courteous interaction takes little effort and can only serve to increase your candidate pool in the future.

Embrace Technology

As technology continues to drive workplace transformation, candidates tend to be attracted to tech-savvy companies. They want to be part of organisations that are forward-thinking and actively embrace innovation and digital technology. To communicate an effective employer brand, companies must elevate their online reputation and adapt to the digital business world by putting digital front and centre.

Use technology to your advantage and incorporate it into your talent recruitment strategy to highlight your innovation-focus right from the start. There are many great ways to achieve this, such as enabling candidates to complete job applications on their mobile devices, showcasing the latest software and virtual receptionists.

Summary



Using a combination of the above steps can help you develop a more authentic and effective employer brand that will attract more of the candidates you’re looking for. If you want to discuss employer brand further or are looking for support in your IT Recruitment, get in touch with the Enterprise IT Resources team.