How brand awareness has a direct impact on recruitment

If your employer brand awareness is low, then you are not going to be an automatic choice for top talent on the look for a new job. In fact, candidates are 40% more likely to apply for a job at a company in which they recognise the brand compared to a company they have not heard of.

With one-third of hiring managers reporting that employer brand is one of the factors that influences people most when weighing a job offer, it is worth getting right. By actively managing and promoting your employer brand, it can mean the difference between attracting quality talent or allowing them to pass you by.

Valuable talent

When asked what types of candidates employers value most, hiring decision makers prioritise informed candidates above all other types of candidates, whether active or passive. Glassdoor’s research also reveals that informed candidates have become synonymous with quality: 88% of hiring decision-makers said that an informed candidate is a quality candidate. Informed candidates are viewed as well-researched, engaged and relevant. One in two (48 percent) of hiring decision-makers say that informed candidates are prepared for an interview and ask pertinent questions, while a similar amount (46%) say that candidates such as this are knowledgeable about the job role.

When it comes to reaching passive candidates, 78% of hiring decision makers find it challenging that candidates respond to recruiter emails at a much lower rate than in the past. Three in four (76%) say candidates have grown wary of contact through networking sites (eg LinkedIn) and respond at a much lower rate. Two thirds (67%) of those surveyed say candidates do not like being contacted through social media platforms.

With tactics to recruit passive candidates now less effective than in the past, hiring decision makers prioritise informed candidates above all other types of candidates, whether active or passive.

Build on your employer brand 

The data shows that hiring decision makers are increasing their investment in employer branding to help ensure candidates have pertinent details about their company and culture to attract informed candidates. More than one in three (35%) will increase their investment in employer branding over the next 12 months. These same hiring decision makers are also turning to employees as a valuable channel for sharing information about open jobs and work experiences. Nearly two in five (39%) will increase their investment in employee engagement over the same time period.

Despite brand awareness having such a significant impact on recruiting, survey data also suggests that HR and recruiting teams may want to adopt more data-driven approaches to finding and hiring quality talent. Only one quarter (25 percent) of hiring decision makers report that they track “conversion of job seeker to applicant” as a priority metric. In addition, only 23% of organisations consider the source of job applicants as important, while 21% consider what influences a job applicant’s decision as important.

Recruiting still has room to improve to take on a more data-driven approach, giving recruiters and hiring managers added layers of detail into questions like where candidates are coming from and how candidates are converting into employees.

The very best recruiters today are those who have evolved into part-sourcer, part-marketer and part-technologist who knows how to use data to understand and generate quality leads for open roles.

About the author

Joe Wiggins, Director, Glassdoor