Employer Brand Strength Now Drives Accepted Job Offers

According to the Study, 69 percent of candidates say employer brand strength is important or very important when they're evaluating a job offer. Sixty-four percent of job seekers also feel the interview process conveys a fair amount to a lot about the company culture. "Although some companies may not consider their employer brand is being observed during the interview process, the details of the interview coordination and process reveal volumes about operating priorities and corporate values," said an applicant responding to the survey. A positive interview experience, which includes components such as ease of interview scheduling, relevant interview questions and interviewers that are knowledgeable and prepared, has the ability to provide companies with a competitive edge in recruitment.

Creating a positive interview experience also means selling candidates on the values and attributes that make the organization great. "This is a very important piece of the selection process, so much that we've recently hired an HR manager to fully focus our hiring processes," said an employer survey participant. The MRINetwork Study revealed favorable factors impacting employer brand include competitive compensation packages (68 percent), work-life balance (47 percent) and advancement opportunities (40 percent), which are prioritized by applicants. Negative factors such as poor work-life balance (63 percent), excessive turnover across the company (60 percent) and excessive management turnover (51 percent) were listed as being most detrimental to employer brand.

Job seekers note common behaviors that are a big turnoff during the interview process.  Lack of feedback following interviews (62 percent), lack of communication throughout the interview process (47 percent) and discrepancies among interviewers about job duties (36 percent) were listed as the biggest turnoffs. Just as there is potential for candidates to communicate positive experiences about prospective employers, there is the same possibility of negative experiences being communicated and damaging the employer brand.

Other top methods for evaluating employer brand are employee referrals (59 percent), company website (56 percent), Glassdoor or similar review sites (38 percent) and employee testimonials (28 percent). Candidates are focused on identifying alignment between how an organization presents itself to the outside world and how its employees view the company.

While recognition of a company's external, commercial brand may occur pre-interview, employer brand, which includes the organization's culture and values, is what applicants notice during the interview.  The overall impression that candidates take away from the interview process has the most influence on their perception of the organization, making it critically important that the interviewing team is not only on the same page, but fully focused on telling a compelling brand story.

About the 2018 MRINetwork Reputation Management Study: The 2018 MRINetwork Reputation Management Study is based on a web-based survey conducted in partnership with Haley Marketing Group. The survey includes a total of 400 candidates and nearly 200 employers responding across the U.S. Parties interested in viewing the most recent report can download the Study at MRINetwork.com/Reputation-Management-Study.

About MRINetwork®:
Management Recruiters International, Inc., branded as MRINetwork®, is one of the largest executive search and recruitment organizations in the world. A subsidiary of CDI Corporation, a leading provider of engineering and information technology outsourcing solutions and professional staffing, MRINetwork has approximately 400 offices spanning four continents. Visit MRINetwork at www.mrinetwork.com.  For franchising opportunities, visit http://www.mrinetwork.com/franchising/franchising-info/.

SOURCE MRINetwork

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