Few things affect recruitment as much as employment branding. Generally, branding is associated with marketing, but HR departments can utilize the same techniques to help recruit and retain today’s top talent. As Recruiting.com puts it, a company’s employment brand is most easily defined as the outward appearance of what it’s like working for a company. Put simply, it’s how a company’s culture and work environment are perceived by potential candidates. And as competition for top talent continues, developing a positive employment brand can be a major differentiator and strategic advantage for employers.

Developing a positive employment brand can be an overwhelming concept for companies to approach, and many may struggle to identify where to start the process. To help, below are three key steps to developing an employment brand.

Align With What Current Employees Think

Current employees are a valuable resource for companies wishing to differentiate themselves to candidates. Getting a ground-level perspective of their organization can help employers identify the strengths and address the weaknesses of their company culture and workplace environment. As a result, business leaders gain the insight to develop and optimize their employer brand based on the way their company is — not the way they think it is or want it to be. This leads to more authentic, human-oriented employer branding.

Provide Compelling Reasons

Competition for top talent is stiff. There are more available jobs than skilled workers people looking to get hired. This means it’s crucial for talent-hungry companies to stand out to the limited number of candidates on the market. In order for this to happen, companies need to differentiate themselves.

Before employers can differentiate themselves in the eyes of job-seekers, they need to identify what makes their company unique. Asking a few simple questions can be a great way for employers to better understand how they differ from competitors: “Why would any candidate choose my business over dozens of others?” “Do we provide professional development?” “Do we let employees bring their dogs into work?” These are exactly the type of questions employers should be asking their employees. Ultimately, employers need to communicate why a candidate should consider joining their team.

Create a Sense of Excitement

An effective employment brand conveys a sense of excitement. During recruiting, companies can accomplish this by directly setting deadlines and reminding candidates — in a fun way — of the high volume of applicants they’re receiving. Maybe recruiting teams can put prospective hires in an automated email campaign that gives them a friendly “countdown” email every week. Not only does this add a personal touch to recruiting, it also helps illustrate the company is “in demand” by top talent.

With more candidates than open positions, it’s critical to establish a winning employment brand that will attract and retain top performers. Utilizing the insight of existing employees, providing specific differentiators and creating a sense of excitement are three ways employers can jumpstart their employer brand and drive better recruiting.

Want to explore further recruiting tips in detail? Read out recent blog post highlighting the top four tips for successful recruitment.