In today’s hiring environment in the U.S. in which unemployment is low, companies need to do everything it takes to attract strong candidates and showcase the organization as a place people want to work. To that effect, it’s crucial that employer branding and visibility are top of mind, especially digitally.

“Today’s competitive talent market requires businesses to up their game to become and stay an employer of choice. Unemployment is under 4%, so competition for the best talent is at an all-time high. It is especially difficult for organizations with hard-to-hire roles and talent-tapped geographic locations,” according to Forbes.

To help achieve a strong employee brand, here are some tips you can follow:

First, you need to understand your competition. This is critical because you need to see what other companies are doing in order to woo top talent (and then do everything better). “If you desire to be a place where people long to work, you need to master the perfect blend of employer branding and technology. You may have the fun company culture that top talent craves, but you also need to align your channels to show it off to the world,” according to Forbes.

So, how do you achieve this? You can conduct competitive analyses by studying their online offerings, hiring consultants to get information on the other companies and then creating a strong user experience on your company’s website and social media channels.

Second, you can make your job descriptions more creative and the hiring section of your website a powerful, visual destination that entices prospective candidates. “Take a minute to think about your current job postings. If they are chock-full of long paragraphs with company jargon, you can do better. To exemplify what your company has to offer, use videos and photos to upgrade your job posts,” according to Forbes.

This is especially important because the internet is “saturated with content,” according to the news publication. This can be done through creating videos, using images and graphics to really tell a more complete and visually interesting story. As a result, you’ll attract job candidates who are enthusiastic about your organization, which will show in the interviews you conduct.

Finally, it’s essential that the employer brand you put out there caters to Millennials and even Gen Z. After all, those two generations will soon make up the majority of workers globally. “Millennials and Gen Z are more interested in transparency in their company culture and require a different form of communication style to be fully engaged. They care about being given autonomy on how they can work, recognition and reward for their contribution and the opportunity to have a social impact on their community,” according to Forbes.

As a result, it’s paramount that you express this information on your company’s website and in any promotion materials for job seekers to finds (and appreciate).

In sum, a strong employer brand is essential to hiring top talent during a time of historically low unemployment in the U.S. By understanding your competition, making job descriptions and the hiring section of your website visually appealing and doing outreach to younger generations, your organization will be set up for success for years to come.

Influencer Spotlight: Transforming your organization by expanding globally with Sandy Ng

When companies want to reposition themselves in the marketplace or cultivate new markets, they often discover that large, transformational changes are necessary for their organizations. They may have to revise their business strategy, modify their company structure or initiate changes to their management practices. This is particularly true when they decide to expand into global markets. Factors such as language and cultural differences, attitudes toward employment and differing processes, and regulations governing hiring come into play - all of which have the potential to make or break growth efforts.

We recently spoke with Sandy Ng, an APAC talent acquisition consultant, who was a presenter at our MRINetwork Regional Meeting in Bangkok. She provided a wealth of insight on how companies can best succeed when they plan to initiate or expand their transformation globally.

MRINetwork: What challenges do U.S. companies face in terms of hiring locals to staff their overseas operations?

Sandy Ng: That varies significantly from country to country, and the same methods that work in the U.S. often fail in the Asia Pacific region. In Japan, for example, candidates are far more reserved and less mobile. They stay in an existing role longer, most for ten years or more. This cultural difference makes luring them away difficult, especially among the executive ranks. In countries such as China, Singapore and India, on the other hand, candidates are more opportunistic, but that brings other concerns. They come to an interview with multiple offers and are less committed and quick to move on if things don't happen rapidly.

MRINetwork: In the U.S., companies are dealing with low unemployment, resulting in a candidate-driven market. Is this true in AMEA and APAC?

Sandy: Unemployment rates in Asia Pacific are also low and the market is candidate-driven. Candidates have many choices and companies have to move fast. In the Middle East & Africa this is less true, and the pace of hiring is slower. I am not as familiar with trends in Europe, but my feeling is that companies in this region are struggling more with retention as talent moves away, because businesses there are not in growth mode, as they are in East Africa and Asia Pacific.

MRINetwork: Companies in the U.S. are increasingly looking to contract staffing options to help them execute on mission-critical strategies. Do you see this happening in other countries as well?

Sandy: This approach has not taken off in Asia Pacific and it is hard to keep contractors to their contractual period. You often find contractors in IT, telecommunications and consulting, but it's not as common in other industries. China enforces a two- or three-year limit on contractors, which creates a continuity problem with long-range projects. The contractors are often on the look-out for permanent positions while under contract.

MRINetwork: Are companies focusing on employer branding?

Sandy: That has a lot to do with the sector. In the hospitality industry, for example, there's been a big push to attract candidates by presenting a strong employer value proposition. An example of this is a company I used to work for. They are appealing to candidates to bring their personal passion to work. Their marketing includes presenting employees featured in their hobbies such as tennis or golf attire, encouraging employees to bring their passion to the job. For many companies, however, executing and carrying out an effective employee value proposition is difficult because they have grown through acquisitions and have lost track of developing one culture. More companies, especially start-ups, are now offering the option to work from home, driving work-life integration which has significant appeal.

MRINetwork: What's the most important piece of advice you would offer a company about to embark on major global expansion?

Sandy: The best counsel I can offer is to see the region personally. Don't rely on what you read or hear to formulate your plans. Take the opportunity to meet and interview candidates and it's a great way to gain valuable insights. Most importantly, appreciate the differences between your world and theirs. Respect those differences and embrace them because your success depends on it.

When your company is undergoing major change, it can be a tough transition for everyone, especially your organization's employees. After all, they may be wondering how the company's transformations will affect them, their roles, responsibilities, co-workers, leadership and other aspects of their lives in the coming months.

To help dispel any rumors and to ensure everyone is on the same page about your company's upcoming progress, it's crucial that you craft a compelling and honest narrative with your leadership team. As a result, you'll be in a strong position to address any employee issues or disagreements, while at the same time heightening your company's success for the upcoming months.

Marquis Parker, vice president of business services for MRINetwork, says it's important to always consider your employees first. "Change is never easy. Make sure you're making staff a top priority as you put together your change narrative," he says. "It's very likely their day-to-day work will be directly impacted by the business transformation, so you want to do everything possible to make the process as painless as possible."

What does a strong strategic narrative entail? According to Forbes contributor Chris Cancialosi, it involves several things. "A strategic narrative centers on a leader's ability to articulate a clear and compelling vision and strategy for the future of the organization," he writes. One can also be useful because it:

-Illustrates the change in a positive fashion

-Creates an environment for employees to give feedback

-Shows that a company values its key stakeholders

Here are three tips to guide you in crafting your own successful strategic narrative:

1. Gather input from the most important individuals at your company

To successfully craft a compelling and trustworthy change narrative for your company, the first thing you want to do is to collect as much information as possible, including input from "key stakeholders," according to Cancialosi. Patti Sanchez, who wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review and is the Chief Strategy Office of Duarte, agrees. "A transformation won't succeed without broad involvement," she writes.

To do this effectively, you'll need to tap your trusted advisors and members of your company's leadership team, to discuss and weigh the story in a truthful and supportive manner. "Try and get as much feedback as you can during this pivotal step in the process," says Parker. "It will help you craft an even stronger transformation narrative."

The result of brainstorming the narrative with the individuals who know your business best is that you will be able to present something that will ultimately benefit the transformation you're aiming to enact over the coming year.

2. Work closely with your team to draft a narrative that exudes empathy

After gathering this crucial input from the stakeholders, it's time to craft a narrative that speaks to the transformation your company is about to undergo and also illustrates empathy. In her HBR article, for example, Sanchez showcases just how important this quality is when presenting organizational change. "If you want to lead a successful transformation, communicating empathetically is critical," she writes.

However, this won't be easy. In fact, it's likely to be a time-intensive process because it also requires a strong vision of the different avenues though which you want to share your transformation. Some options include sending emails to employees, holding meetings to fill people in on the upcoming changes, working with public relations and media teams to share the information publicly, and other strategies.

Once you've figured out how to strategically share your change narrative in an empathetic way, you can meet with your leadership team (1) to discuss what must be included in the outline and (2) to ultimately agree upon what channels will serve as the foundation of your transformation communications.

3. Share the narrative with your employees in a confident, composed manner

You've spent weeks brainstorming and building out your strategic plan of action for sharing this change narrative, and now it's time to put the final touches on the communication plan. Once it's been edited and approved by key members of your team internally, it's finally time to share this information with your employees as well as any external partners.

During this period, it important that those on your leadership team act confidently when discussing information with others. For instance, a recently published article on Fast Company's websites states, "Change can breed unexpected developments, and leaders need to show composure to the team looking to them for guidance." As a result, you'll help others feel more comfortable about the upcoming transformations.

Another key part of the process: make sure that you allow those affected by these changes and transformations to share their feedback at this juncture (whether it's positive or negative). Parker agrees that you should keep open lines of communication with employees. "Always be accessible to your workers during these uncertain times," he says. "They'll thank you for your honesty and value transparency from the organization." You'll help keep your employees motivated, happy and excited to continue working for you, while also investing in the continued success of your company.

Ultimately, gathering input, crafting a narrative that illustrates continued commitment to employees and sharing information in a thoughtful manner will help your transformation process attain its goals.

Companies tend to relegate marketing to the realm of customers, focusing on how they can influence more people to buy what they are selling. Another market that is just as important, however, is the company's employees & the people who present the brand to customers. Yet companies very often ignore this critical constituency.

Internal marketing and communications are important because they're the best ways to help employees make a personal connection to the products and services you sell. Without that connection, they may feel they are working on seemingly unrelated projects across the company, with the expectations set by external marketing efforts. However, when people care about and believe in the brand, they're motivated to work harder, their loyalty to the company increases, and they share a common sense of purpose and identity.

Applying some of the principles of consumer advertising to internal communications can guide employees to a better understanding of the brand vision. When employees embrace that vision in their day-to-day activities, customers are much more likely to experience the company in a way that's consistent with the external promises of the brand. Here are a few things companies can do to make sure they are sending the right messages to your team:

Review your communication practices. If attempted at all, internal communications are often poorly executed in many companies, from the standpoint of engaging and creating buy-in with employees. Management knows they have to keep people informed about the company's strategy and direction, but few recognize that they have to convince employees of their individual and collective impact on brand strength. Too often, information is passed on to employees in the form of memos or newsletters, with the intent of telling people what the company is doing, not to make staff feel a sense of ownership or excitement towards business initiatives. If, for example, you intend to increase sales by 10 percent by the end of the year, communicate this company-wide and track progress, so everyone is aware of how close the organization is to meeting this goal. Ensure the goals are attainable and publicly reward employees when they are met. Making changes to the frequency and the ways you communicate with employees are the first steps in selling your brand internally.

Do your homework. Market research is a must for any consumer marketing campaign, but companies don't typically conduct meaningful research when their employees are the audience. You can use many of the same tools for your internal marketing that you use for consumers and clients: focus groups, in-depth interviews and surveys. This will allow you to analyze your findings to create a comprehensive overview of your culture that shows how information flows through the organization and how people feel about it. Once you know what's on their minds, you can tailor your internal campaign to hit the right targets. Align internal and external communications. Employees need to hear the same messages that you distribute to the marketplace. If they are told one thing by management but observe that a different message is being communicated to the public, they will develop a negative perception of the company's integrity. Matching external and internal messages strengthens both sides and helps achieve your company's goals. Internal communications become stronger because they are based on the same ideas that are leveraged in your marketing and PR efforts. Consumer marketing and PR are strengthened because core messages are based on employee behavior and attitudes, as well as on the company's capabilities. By including employees in the marketing and communications equation, you can avoid creating a message that does not resonate with your people.

Trader Joe's is a good example of a business that has aligned its internal and external messaging. From its fun, informative Fearless Flyer mailer to its family-friendly, in-store experience and cheerful crew, every step matches the brand's personality.

Make brand messages part of the day-to-day work experience. Once you are confident that you have your internal and external marketing aligned, you are ready to develop or refine materials that you can communicate to your team. Many companies approach this task in a way that is removed from the reality of how the business operates; companies that understand the importance of employee buy-in communicate their confidence in their team. At Zappos, for example, staff members are encouraged to speak on behalf of the brand to vendors and customers and at various industry events, promoting a strong, transparent culture that leads to happier employees and superior customer service. When you trust employees to be the voice of your brand, they'll feel more invested in your message.

Otherwise employees can become cynical about messages from management and easily dismiss them. Ensure that your communication materials ring true for employees, reflecting and reinforcing what people care about and what makes them want to come to work every day.

Solicit feedback and participation. Your company intranet or internal social media channels like Yammer can be effective facilitators of communication and interaction, especially if your organization is large and geographically diverse. Often when companies do not use their own internal channels for candid dialogue, employees seek out sites like Glassdoor to voice their complaints. Some forward-thinking organizations launch interactive intranets or functionality to the communications, to allow people to ask questions and view the replies to questions others have posted. The CEO of Accenture, for example, even includes a feedback button on every internal message that goes out to employees and personally responds to every question or suggestion.

It's very easy to relegate internal communications to the back burner in order to focus on areas like developing new products and services and tending to the bottom line, but it can be self-defeating to overlook this important need. There is no substitute for personal contact from an organization's highest levels that cascade across the entire company & failure to communicate at a personal level can undermine even the best of internal marketing campaigns. Just remember that if employees do not care about their company, they will not be genuinely engaged in securing its future. It's up to you to give them a reason to care.

With the national unemployment rate hovering at just 3.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it's safe to say a version of the following phrase has been uttered with a tremendous amount of frequency lately: "You're hired."

When candidates are formally given an offer to join your company, it's not necessarily an indication that they'll take it. After all, a job offer is just that - a proposal to a candidate, typically with terms attached, that they're free to accept or turn down. In other words, the evaluation period of a hiring company's employer brand doesn't stop when the interview ends. It continues all the way through the offer stage.

3 in 4 take employer brand strength into account after job offer

According to figures from the 2018 MRINetwork Reputation Management Study, 69 percent of candidates point to employer brand strength as a key component of the process when evaluating a job offer and their decisions regarding whether to accept it. There are many avenues through which company culture manifests itself, and chief among them are the people who already work there. Indeed, when respondents in the Reputation Management Study were asked about the methods they use to gauge a potential workplace's brand, referrals from current employees was referenced as the most important one.

Thanks to online search engines, "about us" and "what we do" sections on company websites and word of mouth, there's no denying candidates have plenty of means by which to evaluate employer brand strength, but the results of the MRINetwork Study demonstrate that employee referrals serve as an effective, traditional method for recruiting highly skilled workers. Top talent - especially those in the managerial and professional labor market - are harder to come by, given the jobless rate in this workforce group has been around 2 percent for some time.

Employer brand familiarity can make recruitment easier

Once a job offer has been presented, how the candidates evaluates the employer brand, at least in part, may influence the assumptions he or she made prior to the interview. Brand awareness can help in this regard, something that a majority of hiring managers struggle with. A recent Glassdoor poll found 60 percent of HR departments describe company brand awareness as a challenge to both attracting and hiring individuals to fill open positions. Yet when candidates recognize brands or are familiar with what a company stands for prior to applying, 75 percent of respondents said that this made the recruitment process simpler.

However, what the candidate takes away from the interview ultimately has the most influential effect, which is why it's so important for current staff members to bring their "A" game. Recognition of the company's brand may happen pre-interview, but company brand - your workplace's day-in, day-out culture and values – is what’s noticed during the interview itself.

This can start with demonstrating the type of reputation your company's seeks to epitomize, like upward mobility.

Julie Coucoules, head of talent acquisition at Glassdoor, noted the importance of building and nurturing a good reputation, given the mixed messages with which candidates are often bombarded.

"Job seekers today are more informed than ever, researching the ins and outs of specific jobs and companies, so employers should take advantage of this by engaging with prospective talent and showcasing what they have to offer," Coucoules explained. "With one-third of hiring managers reporting that employer brand is one of the factors that influences people most when weighing a job offer, it is worth getting right."

Employer brand strength may be furthered when candidates are comfortable with the terms of the job offer. Both employers and candidates polled in the MRINetwork Study said competitive compensation packages affected employer branding positively, as did opportunities for advancement within the company. Conversely, respondents pointed to high turnover rates and off-kilter work-life balances as negative brand influencers.

An employer brand during the interview process that projects a good work-life balance can be the difference between a candidate accepting or turning down a job offer. In a Gallup poll of Millennials, 57 percent said work-life balance was very important to them, meaning they wanted jobs that promoted their well- being.

The company brand and its employer brand must work together - they are like muscles that are both connected and reliant on each other. When each are exercised on a regular basis they grow stronger, both individually and collectively. Make sure to keep this in mind in your recruitment and interview process, to more effectively attract and retain the best workers.

In today's competitive hiring landscape, companies need a cohesive and well-defined brand to help them stand out from other businesses that are also hoping to attract top talent.

Many companies spend considerable resources developing their corporate website and social media presence to reflect their brand. However, what some organizations don't realize is that a company's brand can be observed as early as the interview process. If your interview process reflects and strengthens your company's brand - instead of detracting from it - you can gain a competitive edge in recruitment.

Here are some ways that companies can strengthen their branding through the interview process:

Use technology to make scheduling and follow-up easier

If the interview scheduling process is too complicated or it takes a long time for a hiring manager to contact applicants to set up an interview, candidates can develop a negative perception of your business. To prevent this, some companies are speeding up the process by using technology to make interview scheduling easier.

For example, PricewaterhouseCoopers started using a new online platform that enables candidates to select a time for their interviews, as a LinkedIn Pulse article explained. The platform features a calendar that notes the availability of internal interviewers and then auto-updates after candidates choose their time. Before the process, it took an average of six days to schedule an interview. The online tool, however, has shortened it to just one day.

An efficient, streamlined interview process that engages candidates and keeps them in the loop on the status of their application can help companies create a more positive applicant experience and, in turn, a more positive company brand.

Ask more relevant interview questions

Scrap the cookie-cutter questions during interviews and instead see the conversation as a way to share insight with the candidate on your company's culture. Ask questions that require critical thinking and that relate to your company's mission and values to gain a better sense of whether the candidate is a good fit for the role. For example, you can ask interviewees to describe a time they overcame a work challenge that is relevant to your company's ethics. Or, if collaboration is important to your organization, you can ask them about whether they prefer to solve problems on their own or with the help of others.

Revamp your careers page

Nearly every company has a careers/jobs page on its website, or even a separate careers site, but few take the time to create one that spotlights their brand. Don't miss this important opportunity to reflect your organization's mission and values through the copy, voice and design of the page. This can be further demonstrated by highlighting top performers within the organization, allowing jobs seekers to learn about the featured employees' career growth and overall experience working for the company. Ultimately, every element of the careers page/site and its linked job descriptions should mesh with your company's brand.

Create a positive interview environment

When candidates come into your office for an interview, be sure they're entering an environment that's indicative of a positive work culture. Ensure hiring managers or HR professionals start the interview on time and have already reviewed the candidate's' resume and drafted pertinent questions before the interview begins. Leave ample time for the interview, to avoid a rushed experience, and be sure to promptly follow up with the candidate after their interview is completed.

The interview process is a critical opportunity for companies to present a strong, unified brand identity. The ideas above can help ensure you make a positive impression on prospective hires.

As businesses think more and more about how they can improve employee engagement and compete for top talent, they're taking a closer look at their company culture. The environment employees work in can have an immense impact on productivity and retention rates and attract - or repel - job candidates from joining your organization.

Here are some tips for businesses to create and maintain a positive company culture:

Look to your core values

Your company's mission statement and core values should guide the development of your company culture. Aim to have all aspects of your business reflect these guiding principles, from workflows to company events to performance reviews. Meet with HR professionals and department managers to brainstorm ways by which company practices can more fully represent your organization's goals and values.

You want to start with a well-defined purpose, Entrepreneur magazine advised. A strong purpose and a corresponding corporate culture that supports it can help your business stand out from the competition and rally employees together under a common cause.

Promote compassion and transparency

Your company may have its own set of guiding values, but compassion and transparency should be defining qualities of any corporate culture. These traits promote a "we're in it together" mentality to assure employees that the company and their co-workers will support them and have their best interests at heart. Conversely, leadership or business practices that lack empathy and keep employees in the dark create a negative culture of distrust and fear.

Support your employees' well-being

One key characteristic of a positive company culture is support of employees' well-being. This can be promoted by encouraging employees to have a healthy work-life balance and assessing workloads to ensure that deadlines and expectations are fair and realistic. Employers can also strengthen this aspect of their culture by offering healthy snacks in the office kitchen, ample PTO time and discounts on gym memberships.

Involve employees in the process

Instead of taking a top-down approach to creating a positive culture, adopt a strategy that closely involves employees - to gather their feedback on the type of environment they would like to work in. Employees can then share their ideas through polls, surveys, seminars and workshops, and, ideally, will feel valued that the company is taking their thoughts, concerns and suggestions into account.

Keep culture on everyone's minds

As Michael Kurland, CEO and founder of Branded Group, warned in an article for Forbes, you don't want to come up with exciting ideas for developing your culture and then leave them at just that - ideas. Instead, create a plan to put these defining elements of your company culture into action. This can include assembling internal teams or ambassadors who will promote core messages, hosting fun social events and effectively communicating the central qualities of your work culture.

It takes cultivating your culture on a daily basis to turn it into something that not only lasts, but also improves employee engagement, productivity and retention. The tips above can help you create and maintain a positive work culture at your company.