I hope and trust that 2017 has started smashingly.

For you, and for your business!

As we enter into a new year, we have the chance to relook at things – our processes, our goals, and our brand.

We have the opportunity to redefine and sharpen who we are and what we do.

That’s why I want to start 2017 with a focus on employer branding. This is what January will be all about.

What is employer branding?

In a Harvard Business Review article by Richard Mosley, employer branding is defined as, “an organisation’s reputation as an employer, as opposed to its more general corporate brand reputation.”

In other words, it describes who you are as an employer.

What does an employer brand do for your business?

Your employer brand impacts things like employee engagement, retention, recruitment – and of course, your bottom line.

It lets employees and prospective employees know what you stand for.

As Josh Tolan writes in Business Insider, giving your company a strong employer brand, “is a way to get the best ROI from your hires. It will tell you where to allocate your precious resources to make sure you’re attracting the right kind of job seeker to grow your business.”

Before a job candidate applies for an open position, they will likely check out your employer brand.

How do you develop a strong employer brand?

The very first step is to understand why your business exists.

This is the foundation of creating an employer brand – by defining exactly what you do and why.

Giving it purpose

To narrow down why your business exists, focus on the purpose behind what you do.

Rather than simply stating the products or services you provide, show the motivation behind the work.

For example, Google is regarded as one of the best companies to work for. Their strong employee brand doesn’t just come from being one of the biggest search engines and tech companies.

Their employer brand comes from their known dedication to innovation and caring for their employees.

They provide a healthy and vibrant environment for employees to be innovative, because Google believes in innovation: that’s the purpose behind what they do.

Quick ways to define your business’ purpose

Answering the following questions will help you brainstorm and develop your employer brand. They’ll lead you to the core of why your business exists.

1. What do we do? (i.e. the main services, products)
2. Why do we do it?
3. How do we do it differently than others?
4. What is the overarching goal of our business?

Once you have the answers to these questions, bring together your responses to define why your business exists (this is the beginning of your employer brand).

Use what resonates with you and tells your business story the best – to current and future employees.

Need more help?

To define your business’ purpose even further, I’ve put together this month’s free offer, the ‘Define Your Employer Brand Worksheet’.

The Worksheet walks you through all of the steps to building your employer brand, which will lead you closer to the recruitment, retention, and bottom line results you’re looking for.

Any questions?

If you have questions on this topic or any others, feel free to reach me by email or set up a free one-on-one consultation session, or drop me a comment below.

Thank you!