The employer brand: Your company’s most underrated asset
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In today’s competitive job market, recruiting isn’t just about posting a job and hoping the right candidate applies. It’s about building a brand that makes talent come to you.
At DirectEmployers, we’ve seen firsthand how employer branding has evolved from a “nice-to-have” to a business-critical strategy for attracting, recruiting, and retaining top talent, in a world where job seekers research companies as thoroughly as consumers research products, your reputation, market position, and ability to showcase your unique qualities feed your recruitment engine.
According to a 2023 Glassdoor study, 86% of job seekers research company reviews and ratings before deciding where to apply for a job. They’re not just looking at the job description. They’re evaluating leadership, values, workplace culture, and social impact. Your employer brand is no longer separate from your business brand. It’s the story you tell about what it’s like to work for your company, and whether or not it aligns with candidates’ values, career goals, and workplace expectations.
Recruitment used to be transactional: post a job, collect resumes, and hire. Today, it must be transformational. Candidates want to be part of a story that reflects purpose, authenticity, and a commitment to employee growth and well-being. They’re asking: Do I see myself here? Do I see myself growing here? Does the company align with who I see myself as a person?
Companies that embrace this shift are building holistic talent strategies rooted in storytelling, culture, transparency, and, for many, brand champions or advocates. For example, Indiana-based firms like Eli Lilly and Elevance Health have invested heavily in career sites to feature not only tailored content that shares purpose and employee benefits, but also showcases employee videos, testimonials, and content geared toward specific audiences ranging from veterans to students as part of their employer brand. These efforts don’t just help with hiring; they also improve employee engagement and retention.
Talent may be local, but your employer brand is global, instantly accessible with a single click.
Although Indiana companies may focus on local or regional hires, candidates are increasingly digitally native. They’re engaging with your brand on LinkedIn, G2, Glassdoor, Indeed, Instagram, and your career site–reading everything they can about your brand from both the consumer and employee perspectives. According to LinkedIn, 88% of job seekers consider employer brand and reputation before applying for a job. And yet, only 55% of employers have a proactive employer brand strategy.
This is a missed opportunity, given that a strong employer brand has been proven to lessen cost-per-hire. By leveraging digital storytelling, such as behind-the-scenes reels of your workplace, employee testimonials, employee resource group contributions and engagement, and leadership blogs, companies can effectively highlight their culture and stand out from the noise. Through DirectEmployers’ and its family of brands, we collaborate with hundreds of employers nationwide to optimize these digital touchpoints, ensuring candidates encounter a consistent and compelling brand message at every stage of their journey, and support the effort further to encourage local and community outreach for enhanced brand visibility and awareness. Whether a Fortune 500 company or a growing startup, your employer brand matters.
Here are three actions Indiana businesses can take now:
- Audit your candidate experience.
Start with your career page. Is it mobile-friendly? Does it reflect your values? Include current employees in this review and consider surveying recent candidates’ impressions during the hiring process.
While focusing on the information, design, and content, accessibility should also be a top priority to ensure you include all talent. Evaluate whether your career site is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Can it be easily navigated using a screen reader? Are images tagged with descriptive alt text? Are there proper color contrasts and font sizes? Removing these obstacles will help you broaden your talent pool and demonstrate your commitment to belonging.
- Leverage your employees as storytellers.
People trust people. Use video or written testimonials from employees across departments and levels to showcase authentic voices. Highlight diverse career paths, team culture, awards and accolades, and work-life balance to paint a clear picture of what working for your business is like.
- Invest in a long-term brand strategy.
Treat employer branding like a marketing campaign. Align your HR and marketing teams to build a content calendar, track engagement metrics, and evolve your messaging over time. Branding is not a one-time project—it’s an ongoing promise. Then, put that brand to work! Contact veteran-serving organizations and disability partners locally to tap into talent that reflects your communities.
As we look to the future of work in Indiana, the companies that win won’t just offer great jobs–they’ll provide great stories and employee experiences. Stories of purpose, growth, equality, and impact. Employer branding isn’t a trend. It’s a business strategy. And now, more than ever, it’s your most potent recruitment and retention tool.
Jaime Costilow is the Vice President of Marketing at DirectEmployers Association, a nonprofit member-based organization focused on advancing talent acquisition and compliance through technology, partnerships, and industry leadership.