What does your employer brand has to offer for today’s job seekers? More than half (56%) of job seekers across the globe say an employer’s brand/reputation is more important today than it was five years ago. The feeling is even stronger in China (72%) and Mexico (62%). This is according to a global study of job seekers conducted by ManpowerGroup Solutions.

Insights into the importance of employer branding are shared in a new paper titled, “Brand Detectives: The New Generation of Global Candidates.” Millennials are the most brand-driven candidates, ranking company brand in their top three motivators, along with compensation and job responsibilities.

These 25- to 34-year-olds also research companies “the Millennial way.” Social media is the number one way to find information about a company in China; in Mexico, 43% of job seekers use social media for brand research.

“The Google generation does not have to rely on what potential employers tell them about a company; they have instant access to news articles, social networks and employer review sites,” said Kate Donovan, Senior Vice President of ManpowerGroup Solutions and Global RPO President.

“Today’s job seekers recognize they spend a significant amount of their lives at work, and as such, they want to ensure they align themselves with organizations that have great brands and a satisfying culture.”

Here are three ways companies can improve their hiring processes to better attract and retain today’s top talent:

1. “Bar Raisers”: Identify current employees with good leadership principles who can participate in the interview process – to market the company to potential recruits and recognize which candidates have the most potential.
2. The Recruiter Proxy: Companies new to the idea of building their employer brand can utilize recruiters and staffing agencies to represent the company, conveying the brand to candidates.
3. “Company Camp”: Maximize your company’s unique selling points early on in the process. Consider inviting candidates to visit the campus, meet current employees and experience the culture firsthand.

See: Where to Focus Your Employer Branding Efforts in 2016?

Also suggested in the paper are 10 tips for companies to leverage on the current employees to appeal to brand-driven candidates, some of which include:

• Steer the conversation: Smart companies will demonstrate trustworthy behaviour and open, honest communication when potentially negative issues arise.
• Own the content on review websites: Use employer review websites to acknowledge imperfections and talk about the company’s core values. This can reduce long­-term damage to the employer brand.
• Incorporate testimonials: Use photos and videos of employees to animate testimonials, celebrate employees and put a human face on the company.
• Arm every employee with the brand message: Transform employees into a mini­-army of brand ambassadors by making sure they understand the essence of the employer value proposition.

“HR professionals who use current employees to serve as ambassadors for the company—both in real life and on social networking sites—tap into the most credible and influential source of information for potential new hires,” Donovan said. “Those who choose not to utilize these important resources risk being left behind.”

Also read: Does Strong Employer Branding Reflect on the Company’s Financial Performance?

Image credit: employerbrandnews.com