Best Employers Eastern Region provides significant opportunities for participating organisations to enhance and evolve their employer brand, helping to attract and retain the talent they need to grow their business.

Here are five ways a strong employer brand can benefit a business and examples of how Best Employers Eastern Region is supporting organisations to achieve these advantages.

1. Attract new top talent

In the current recruitment market, businesses are having to work harder to build and maintain an employer brand which gives them a competitive edge when it comes to recruiting top talent. Research shows that 84% of employees would consider leaving their current role if another organisation had a better reputation. All organisations participating in Best Employers Eastern Region 2018 will automatically be in with a chance of winning a prestigious accolade and being able to highlight a business as a ‘Best Employer’ will inevitably enhance an organisation’s reputation. The winners of the awards will be able to celebrate their Best Employer status through their PR and on their websites, social media channels and job adverts; anywhere potential talent will look to find out more about an organisation before applying for a role.

2. External endorsement and promotion

An organisation’s employer brand can be further enhanced if it is recognised, validated and promoted by external advocates. As well as presenting Best Employer Awards at our event in October, a panel of expert advisors will also endorse Platinum and Gold accreditations to organisations which have submitted further evidence in conjunction with the results of the employee engagement survey. The award winners and accredited organisations will also be featured on our own Best Employers portal, further raising the profile of organisations in our region which have been judged as outstanding examples of workplace culture and employee engagement.

3. High-quality applications and improved cultural fit

Our research shows that organisations which have enhanced their employer brand with these types of employer-focussed accreditations and awards typically receive twice as many applications when recruiting for a role. The applications are also likely to be of a higher quality, as talented employees will want to work within the company culture you have projected. Being able to effectively communicate your employer brand and highlight the reasons your organisation has been awarded or accredited as a Best Employer will also help potential recruits to understand your company culture and to decide if it resonates with them. Cultural fit is extremely important to both businesses and candidates, millennials in particular. For businesses, it helps ensure new recruits will thrive in the organisation and research shows that 88% of millennials believe that being part of the right company culture is very important.

4. Talent retention and increased engagement

Winning Best Employer awards or gaining accreditation recognises the success of everyone in the business. It boosts morale, makes employees proud to work for you and helps to retain talented staff. Past and present employees are also the biggest employer brand ambassadors for any organisation. If they are proud to work for you, they will share these feelings with other people. Employees who work in organisations with strong employer branding are also more likely to be motivated and productive. This is because an employer brand is established through the company culture, values and leadership; all of which influence employee engagement levels.  

5. Evolving your employer brand

However strong your employer brand is, it is still important to check whether it remains attractive as competition for talent increases and new generations enter the workforce. The feedback employers receive through the Best Employers Eastern Region employee survey helps businesses to understand more about what their employees think of the current employer brand. What would they say to a friend about the organisation? What do they think are the best things about working there? What makes your organisation different from other employers in the industry? It provides a great opportunity to review and identify if any positive changes can be made. You can also use the feedback to help develop the messages you are looking to portray when communicating the culture of the company. Your employer brand should accentuate the positives, but it also needs to be realistic and the opinions of your current employees will help to shape this.

Find out more about Best Employers at www.best-employers.co.uk