Best Employer Brands of 2022: What Your Small Business Can Learn

Dubbed the “Great Resignation,” the trend of people leaving their jobs en masse is showing no signs of slowing down. Many employees who are leaving their jobs are simply looking to find more satisfaction and fulfillment in their work. They want recognition of a proper work-life balance.

This shift is a major change in the way potential candidates are evaluating their job opportunities. It also presents small businesses with an opportunity to attract top candidates by flexing their strong employer brand. If employers can demonstrate that they will provide meaningful work and create an environment that respects employee’s personal lives, they could come out ahead.

Here at Zenefits, we define your employer brand as the identity through which “your employees and the public perceive your company values, business goals, and the personality of your workplace.”

What makes a strong employer brand?

A corporate brand tells customers a story about the company, the product, and how it adds value to their lives. An employer brand, on the other hand, tells potential candidates all about the ways your company stands out as a great place to work.

Do you offer great benefits? A laid-back atmosphere? Is your working environment stimulating and supportive? How about the quality of your team? Big or small, these elements contribute to your employer’s brand. A good employer brand should:

Be forward thinking

A great employer brand campaign isn’t just about the short-term benefits of hiring additional staff. Managing the employee experience should be a part of your long-term strategy for growing your organization. While insights like sales numbers or industry growth can say a lot about a company’s future, monitoring employee engagement and satisfaction is imperative in creating a successful workforce.

Reach its audience

A younger workforce might require a more active social media strategy, while more experienced workers may benefit more from referrals. A great employer brand should market to its current employee demographic. It should also evolve with the company.

Add value

A strong employer brand should include its mission, vision, and what it offers its employees. Sharing the things you do differently to add value to your employee’s lives creates the backbone of the best employer brands.

According to one report by Ceridian:

• 86% of workers and candidates research companies’ reviews and ratings to help them determine where to apply for a job
• 75% of active job seekers are more inclined to apply to a role if the employer actively manages its employer brand

If you’re not actively thinking about your employer brand, it may be time to start! Your potential candidates are checking you out and seeing what others have to say before deciding to join.

75% of active job seekers are more inclined to apply to a role if the employer actively manages its employer brand.

Best employer brands of 2022

No matter what size your business is, you can always learn and take influence from other companies. Learning more about how successful brands build a reputation with their potential hires is a great way to evolve your own strategy. Here are 5 employer brands that stand out in 2022.

SAP

Back in 2015, SAP was competing for talent with big-name firms like Facebook, Apple, and Google. Since the company wasn’t well known among millennials for the product, SAP needed to focus on building up its employer brand. They revamped their career page to be more functional for mobile, and started sharing employee stories and experiences with the company across social media, using the hashtag #LifeAtSAP!

SAP also merged their employee brand department with their recruitment team, creating a smooth pipeline for new talent to join the firm.

Another notable employee selling point is their wellness and mindfulness programs, which have received global recognition and inspired many other organizations to follow suit.

By 2019, SAP was winning awards for their employer brand, and at the end of 2021 SAP was an employer of choice worldwide.

Hubspot

Hubspot sells customer relations management (CRM) software. To reach a broader audience, they created an outbound approach for their potential candidates. Running their recruitment campaigns in a similar fashion as their marketing, they have been able to show potential new hires what it would be like to work there. They create content their potential hires would use and find valuable in making their decision on whether or not to join.

They are known for being mission-driven, having a strong focus on inclusion, and offering wellness-driven employee perks.

The result of all these efforts? Hubspot is now near the top of global culture lists worldwide.

Chegg

Chegg is an educational technology company offering services such as textbook rentals, tutoring, and exam prep to students. 93% of Chegg’s employees are happy with their employer, including the company’s leadership, culture, and avenues for promotion. How did Chegg build such a loyal following? Chegg invested in its talent pipeline, created plenty of opportunities to learn and grow, and created a positive working environment overall — adding value to its staff, who spread the word around.

From a diversity perspective, it’s easy to see what the company is doing to promote equality, and you can easily review their diversity reports.

Adobe

Although Adobe is a large player in the technology sector, its employer brand isn’t built on name alone. After CEO Cory Edwards realized social media efforts from one employee were driving more revenue than traditional channels, he recruited employees to be “brand ambassadors” across social media. Through the Adobe Life blog, the #adobelife hashtag, and by recognizing employees who choose to take part, Adobe puts its employer brand in its employee’s hands.

When it comes to management style, Adobe employees are empowered to:

• Be autonomous, creative, and innovative
• Experiment while approaching challenges

IBM

Despite the fact that IBM is a century-old tech company,  it has managed to keep its recruitment offerings fresh. Instead of focusing on what the company has done in the past, its hiring team draws in potential talent by offering them the chance to shape the future. By being on the leading edge of AI and new technology, IBM’s employees don’t just feel like they’re improving life for customers. They can also innovate, create new solutions, and improve the world.

Once hired, employees are empowered to solve challenges and develop new ideas. Transparency, equitable leadership, and fair pay drive employee satisfaction with the firm.

What employers can learn

Whether it’s setting your sights on the future of technology, connecting with top talent, or adding value to your employees’ lives, there’s plenty to learn from the recruitment strategies of large organizations.

While salary is often a factor in hiring top talent, an employer brand also plays an important and competitive role. Layoffs are happening across the major technology organizations and the Great Resignation is in full swing. This means, small businesses have a great opportunity to jump in and compete for talent.