UK 
United States
A growing number of HR professionals are recognising the importance of their company’s employer brand.
In fact, 64% of UK businesses are prioritising investment in their employer brand, according to the 2016 LinkedIn UK Recruiting Trends Report.
This isn’t surprising; your reputation as an employer can be the difference between your ideal candidate submitting an application or choosing not to apply. And, a huge 69% of candidates wouldn’t accept a job with a company that had a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed, according to 50 HR and Recruitment Stats That Make You Think from Glassdoor.
As such, businesses are being forced to explore new avenues to promote their reputation as an employer. And, as HR and recruitment processes slowly become less paper-based and more technology-driven, the question should be asked:
How can recruitment software help your employer branding efforts?
Luckily, if you’re currently using an applicant tracking system, there are a number of ways in which it can give your employer brand a boost. Webrecruit has compiled a list of our top four ways to utilise your recruitment software’s features to help promote your employer brand:
1. It can keep your candidates engaged
A good candidate experience is vital to the success of any company’s employer brand. The application process will likely be the first time someone has interacted with your business and making a positive impression is important.
The way in which you treat candidates can also be viewed as a sign of how your business treats its existing employees. Therefore it’s vital to value your candidates in the same way that you value your team.
One of the simplest ways of providing a great candidate experience is simply keeping applicants informed and updated on the progress of their application. However, many companies neglect candidate communications, not out of choice but due to a lack of time.
Luckily, recruitment software can help you when it comes to communicating with your candidates. Applicant tracking systems, such as Webrecruit’s Fusion, allow you to create email templates that you can personalise and bulk send to candidates with the click of a button.
This saves you having to email each candidate individually to acknowledge their application and provide feedback, while still ensuring that applicants are kept engaged and informed.
You can even get creative with your emails – why not include links to your ‘Work For Us’ page or your Glassdoor company page so they can read reviews from your existing employees.
2. It helps you recognise what your candidates want
One of the biggest advantages of using recruitment software is that you can track your candidates and gain valuable insight into their behaviour.
Use your reporting functionality to find out:
- Which advertising sources candidates are applying through
- The type of devices they are using to apply (mobile, desktop etc.)
- Which day of the week is the most popular for new applications
- The time of day that the most candidates are applying
Analysing this information allows you to see exactly what you should be doing when advertising a new role.
For example, if the majority of your applications are being submitted via mobile devices, you need to make sure that your application process is fully mobile optimised. You should also aim to minimise the number of application questions and consider making your job adverts shorter, so they’re easier to digest for jobseekers on the move.
Additionally, if you notice that the majority of your applications are being submitted at a particular time of day, it’s worth scheduling posts on your social media accounts to share your vacancies around this time.
3. It allows you to share your existing employees’ thoughts
A careers site isn’t just the functional front end to your applicant tracking system – it’s an area of your website that you can really utilise to explain why people should want to work for your company. As such, it’s a great place to really shout about your employer brand.
Try to be as creative as possible; you can include employee testimonials, photos of your offices and videos to introduce your team. This will add a much more personal touch to your hiring process and will provide candidates with insight into what it’s like to work for your business.
4. It allows you to reach more candidates, faster
Recruitment software can help you to boost the presence of your employer brand with minimal effort.
Many types of software include automated job posting features and social sharing options. For example, Webrecruit’s Fusion allows you to post to free aggregators, such as Indeed, Jooble and Trovit, by simply checking a box and clicking a button. Additionally, you’re able to quickly share your roles on social media, all controlled through your applicant tracking system (no more pestering your Marketing Team!)
This increased reach will allow you to target a wider range of candidates and maximise your exposure.
-----
To learn more about recruitment software and how it can help your employer brand, request more information from Webrecruit. Alternatively, check out some of our other top reads about the subject:
