Important Steps to Get Better Employer Branding with Offboarding
What do you start thinking about when you start talking about branding? Most of all, you think it will be about some marketing materials and activities. About logos, promotional videos, advertising, events, etc. And all these things, above all, should be aimed at consumers and the sale of goods and services. And we agree that it is partly indeed so. But branding is needed not only for the final sale of goods and services.
After all, now it is becoming popular and necessary to create an employer brand. This is because the way companies recruit and retain employees has changed. Much of this is due to technological advances, social media, and career review sites making it easier for job seekers to find information.
It's important to understand that without a strong employer brand, your company is losing top candidates, potentially losing money and negatively impacting other business areas. Therefore, in our new article, we will consider how and why it is important to build an employer brand and what impact does offboarding have?
What is Employer Branding?
An employer brand is a company's reputation as an employer and the value that the company offers to employees. A well-built and positive employer brand helps attract and retain quality employees who are critical to business success and growth Previously, companies did not pay as much attention and investment to building an employer brand. But now a lot has changed. After all, it will depend on how strong your employer's brand is, what level of specialists will want to work with you and how easy it will be to attract talent, for whom the reputation of the company in which they will work is very important.
The main reason employer branding is so important is your company's business identity. This makes your company a quality employer and stands out to job seekers. Of course, it also helps your recruiting team attract and improve candidate quality. By not working on the employer's brand or taking actions that lead to a bad reputation, you can risk making it much more difficult to hire specialists in your company.
The importance of building an employer brand is best illustrated by the results of certain studies. You can find a lot of statistics on the Internet now. We will share some of them with you.
- When deciding where to get a job, 84% of job seekers believe that a company's reputation as an employer is important.
- 9 out of 10 candidates will apply for a job if it is from an employer brand that is actively supported and has some popularity.
- 50% of candidates say that they would not work for a company with a bad reputation even if they received a significant salary increase.
Therefore, it is possible to draw a conclusion here. By the way, the employer's brand is also influenced by information about what technological solutions they work with and whether or not the company is modern. This is especially important for the young generation. Therefore, if work in your HR department is still taking place on paper, it can make sad it for future specialists in the work with personnel. And on the contrary, if future candidates see that you are using innovative solutions that help to grow your business and simplify a lot of mechanical work - it will significantly increase sympathy for your company.
Register today and get a tool to help you build a good reputation. You will get absolutely free access for 1 month to the demo version of Brainy HR.
How does the offboarding process affect the formation of the Employer Brand?
Offboarding is the stage of an employee's communication with the company that can bring the most negativity if you don't know how to finish cooperation correctly.
After all, it often happens that HR specialists put the most effort into building good relationships between them and future employees. But they do not know how to properly fired employees, often destroying all the good things that happened during the cooperation.
Poor quality offboarding can create a bad reputation for the company in the future, so you need to pay the most attention to it.
Here are just some of the negative impressions shared by fired employees on social media.
- Steve's salary was cut by 25% and his workload was doubled to force him and others to quit, and the company was stripped of unemployment insurance.
- Gabriela was on honeymoon when she got the call that she wouldn't have a job when she return.
And believe us, there are many other stories.
There are a number of different reasons why an employer might behave in this way—intentionally or unintentionally—when terminating an employee. But in any case, this way of firing employees affects the reputation of the employer in the future.
Important Steps to Get Better Employer Branding with Offboarding
As we have already mentioned above, the offboarding process is extremely important for the formation of the employer's reputation. Depending on how this stage takes place in the company, it will become clear whether the company takes actions to build a good reputation or, on the contrary, destroy it.
If you want to build a good employer brand and it's important to you what feedback your former employees will leave about you, keep our list of important steps.
- Exit - Interview
We advise you to have a conversation with the employee who is leaving. You can do this in the format of a live meeting or online. Frankly ask ex-employee about the experience gained in your company. What were the positive sides and what were the negative sides, what did the employee learn, were there pleasant corporate moments,etc. Firstly, this will increase your rating in the eyes of the ex-employee, because the specialist will understand that the team really treats him with respect and that the company cares about his decision to leave. Employees will always remember such a company with warmth and they become brand advocates, even if someone says some unpleasant things about this company.
Secondly, based on the answers received, you will understand what can be improved in your company. This will drive change that will increase the engagement of current and future employees.
- Communicate with ex-employees
Ask your ex-employees about their professional life after working for your company. This is a non-standard approach because few people act this way. This will make a very positive impression on employees. This will show the care of the company and that he was a really valuable employee. And his previous choice of the company was not a mistake, but a positive experience.
- Remember and appreciate the contributions of your ex-employees
Be interested in ensuring that the employee's life cycle in the company does not end on a bad note. Say goodbye sincerely and with understanding. Organize a warm farewell with delicious food and drinks and ask current employees to join. This is how you show the departing employee that he or she is appreciated. In addition, it helps to preserve warm corporate memories.
- Create communities with your ex-employees
Your ex-employees are your brand ambassadors. After all, they only physically left your company, but morally, with memories and impressions, they remain with your company. Establishing the right offboarding process at your company is important so that you have another source of good reviews and referrals. At the very least, you'll have a chance that former employees will recommend you as a great employer or defend your reputation in a certain discussion. Ex-employee communities are an offer to people who know your brand. They can connect you with the right candidates or you can help each other when needed.
Another reason to maintain an employer's brand after firing certain employees is that it increases the chances of boomerangs. We are talking about employees who return to the company after a period spent in another company. Such employees are valuable because they can share positive and negative experiences.
Based on their experience, you can have conclusions and make improvements to your company.
Summary
Building an employer brand is extremely important in today's world. After all, it is very easy to spoil your reputation in the era of social networks. Especially if you behave unfairly with at least 1 of your ex-employees.
Properly organized Offboarding is your chance to make a positive impression and build a good reputation. This is an opportunity to demonstrate the organization's great strengths and correct any mistakes. The desired result is that your ex-employees remember all the good moments in your company and appreciate their own experience of working in your company. After all, this is the only way they are more likely to say positive things about the organization. After all, this is your investment in the branding and marketing of your company.
Take care of your employees. Allow them to work comfortably and in a technologically advanced environment.
HRIS is also one of the investments that will greatly simplify the work of your HR department and make a positive impression on employees. Sign up today and get a free 1 month trial of Brainy HR.