All that buzz we get excited to listen to these days are of startups and how they are trying to put a ding in the universe with their innovative ideas. For a startup to rise above the noise and to create an identity for itself beyond all the hype is to create a strong employer branding to attract top talents that are ultimately responsible for building a strong culture and to turn a huge opportunity into reality.
For any company that lacks recognition in comparison with well-established ones, it’s very important to innovate and scale on a regular basis to outshine competitors. Three German scientists went on to research over what qualities of a company except monetary benefits appeal to the job applicants to consider a startup. They went on to discover over all the qualities like :
Office location
Company innovations
Investors backing the firm
Employee responsibilities
The most significant were lifestyle perks and the least significant was founder qualifications.
Though lifestyle perks a winner, it is no longer a differentiating factor, since every other startup these days has adopted this as part of the company culture. Having this alone won’t attract the right talent. Without the proper recruitment function in place, here’s how you can avoid the costly mistake of not creating an employer brand, and have the right talent come looking for you.
Branding is beyond hefty pay packages
For your startup to be considered by job seekers, offer them more than hefty paychecks. Assure them of the work life balance, friendly working environment, flexibility in working hours, leap in learning curve, growth in the industry. To achieve this, blog regularly.** **And the blog posts need to come from everyone who’s a part of the organisation to build trust and authenticity.
Public relations
Networking is a key part in building strong public relations. Have a good rapport with the local media, and also choose to participate in the local events, meetups, seminars as a speaker rather than sponsoring the event. As an early stage startup, this will help in people noticing you and your organisation faster than you think.
Show the job seekers the reality
Hustling is what you do in abundance at a startup. Hence, get them to interact with your current employees. Make it a point to mention very clearly to your potential employees to try innovative ideas and fail fast encouraging the entrepreneurial mentality.
Pitch your company to the potential employees like you are pitching it to the investors
Pitch your startup to your potential employees like there is no other opportunity out there. Give them a brief insight of the organisation. Also be prepared to answer any question from the potential employees.
Keep your promise
Lastly, live up to your words. Keep all the promises you have made to your potential employees. After all these employees are your future advocates and play a major role in employer branding.
Co-founder and Chief Customer Officer at DoSelect, my primary focus is on building awareness about DoSelect's dent across the tech recruitment sphere among prospective clients, while also developing and maintaining relationships with current and past customers. Hailing from NIT Jamshedpur, I believe in the philosophy of innovation driven by execution in my work.
