By Prasanna SR, Senior Director, Corporate & Services, Bengaluru & Step Up, India

Having the right team can make or break a business. While the statement is true for every size of business, it particularly holds true for startups. People are attracted by the kind of reputation a company builds for itself and being at a nascent stage, startups still have some way to go in building a reputation.

A company’s reputation goes beyond the specific social and intellectual perception of the products/services or leaders. It is also built with the kind of talent you have onboard.

Your employer brand lives and breathes within your present, past, and future employees. Satisfied employees can be the loudest cheerleaders for a startup. Small and simple transformations in your culture can help you create an effective employer branding strategy.

Just including your startup’s vision and mission is not enough, your employer branding strategy should also communicate employee growth stories as well as promises. This will help you amplify your position in the job market.

First Things First – Work on your employer’s value proposition (EVP)

Communicating everything that you can offer should be encompassed in this proposition. This would give prospective employees a powerful reason to work with your startup. Crucial for Communication start-ups as they need skilled talent the most.

Another benefit of EVP is that it not only attracts prospective clients but also helps communicate with the current ones. EVP is favorable in retaining people, transforming a dispassionate workforce, and prioritizing the goals and agendas of the company.

This kind of message should not only be listing the perks of joining the company but growth stories and journeys. This is why EVP is an integral part of your employee brand strategies.

Right talent equals higher growth opportunities

Startups must strive to attract and hire the right talent. And for that, they need to showcase how they are relevant in the career trajectory of the potential hires. They also need to demonstrate the company goals and ethics so that people can see if they align with them. The right talent will always keep up the workplace morale, understand the millennial market, and find complementing communication portals to attract your target group.

Employees suitable for your company will always fit better, come up with practical solutions and unblock creative blockages. As per a latest Hiring Trends Report 2022 by Scaler, 88% of employers across sectors faced a challenge in hiring as well as recruiting employees. The major reason for this was ineffective communication and disrupted working models. Observing the way companies around the globe have coped with the challenging times due to the pandemic, effective communication has proven to be critical.

Differentiate yourself from other employers 

When a company is in the early days of its inception there is not much wiggle room between success and failure. So, it’s important to hire, use, and retain your resources appropriately. Providing a rewarding work environment always helps.

Today’s young professionals are looking for benefits, they are more aware of their work-life balance, willing to upskill themselves, mindful of their finances, and cognizant of the work atmosphere they want to work in.

Considering the new-age perspectives, startups should not only revamp the out-modeled employee policies but also communicate them through employee branding. Some contemporary benefits include vacation time, savings plan, appreciation days, etc. Other aspects that might attract prospective employees are diversity, relevant training seminars, workshops on soft skills, and optimistic work culture.

Correlation between your messaging and employee branding strategy 

It has already been established that an employee branding strategy and communicating it is a part of your growth landscape. Along with this, it is important to choose the correct mediums for communication.

This can involve really simple steps like recognizing the mediums popular among your prospective talent pool and analyzing the type of content they consume. The latest algorithm suggests storytelling, immersive videos, and moment marketing strategies help create conversations or buzz.

Carefully defining and developing your employer brand strategy helps enhance the employer value proposition, and the messaging flows with it, introducing your startup to the talent you would love to join your workforce.

Check out our  more blog: The Art of Storytelling for Startups