The model for employer branding has been evolving since the concept emerged in the 1990s as a powerful new weapon in McKinsey’s ‘war for talent’, and, as the latest surveys from CIPD shows, the battle for specialist skills continues to intensify. A new working paper from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation provides a different edge to this thinking, outlining an innovative way that employers can enhance their Employee Value Proposition, to deliver competitive advantage.

1. Use recruiter insight to amplify your brand
Recruitment intermediaries are uniquely positioned to provide insightful consultancy support to help employers create a proposition to candidates that differentiates them in the jobs market place. Partnering with recruitment firms to jointly promote and explain the employer brand narrative will boost its impact.

2. Ensure you access the full range of talent and skills
More and more ‘Millenials’ and ‘Gen Y-ers’ are rejecting traditional 9 to 5 working modes of working and employment contracts. To ensure that employers don’t miss out on this age group known for their creativity and radical thinking, they should forge a strategic partnership with their recruiters to ensure they access the full range of talent available.

3. Listen and learn from the feedback
There are several ways in which employers can leverage consultancy value from their recruitment partners. The REC’s review found that many employer brands are still bland, unrealistic and lacking traction with candidates. A strong, long-term relationship with external recruitment consultants will produce robust expert feedback during the development process, ensuring a more compelling and authentic employer brand.

4. Know your candidates
Research also shows that consumers are now more likely to believe the word of a friend or trusted impartial adviser than the word of a large corporate organisation. This is extended to the jobs market, therefore it’s vital that recruitment partners act as means of connecting with candidates in a positive way that strengthen your company’s brand.

5. Measure your performance
Many commentators believe that the ‘war for talent’ will be won (or lost) over data. Measuring performance is a key part of this as recruitment analytics will become increasingly important and sophisticated in the next five years. Recruitment firms are strongly placed to help employers capture the key metrics which will enable them to assess the performance of their employer brand.

6. Build on the experience
According to the REC’s monthly JobsOutlook survey of employers, 93 per cent are currently ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the service they have received from their recruitment partners over the past two years. Developing a range of ‘added value services, such as brand enhancement, will enable both employers and recruitment firms to build on this relationship and take it to a new level of partnership and trust.

Key points:
• Engage with recruitment partners over adding value to employer branding and positioning of Employee Value Proposition
• Empower them as expert independent consultants in providing feedback for the creation of “signature” experience
• Involve them with developing of a compelling narrative around your employer brand and agree a process for sharing this across talent pool
• Re-contract them, adding incentives to help build a talent pipeline, rather than just delivering a “cold headcount”.
• Agree robust metrics to measure the performance of your employer brand – and work with your recruitment partners to help collect and assess this information