Being a remote-friendly business shows your understanding of and support for work flexibility. Given that up to 97% of workers want to do remote work in some capacity, you are in the lead in giving your staff the freedom they want.
Does being remote-friendly guarantee you quality candidates for your open roles? Is it enough to keep the best talent? Or do you need to establish your remote company as a brand?
Well! You need to market your remote employer brand to ensure you're bringing in the best remote talent to your team because many people are looking for remote work, and more businesses are adopting the concept.
What is an employer brand? Why is it important?
An employer brand refers to a company's image and reputation as a workplace. It encompasses all elements of the employee experience, including culture, values, working conditions, compensation, benefits, and career development opportunities. You might consider your brand in terms of your clients and consumers, but that is only your business brand. What people believe it's like working for your organization is reflected in your employer's brand.
Employer branding is essential because it can attract top talent and reduce turnover. It can also increase employee satisfaction and motivation and enhance the company's reputation. A strong employer brand helps to differentiate a company from its competitors. It makes it easier to attract the best candidates and keep top employees.
Difference between ordinary vs remote employer branding
Standard employer branding refers to a company's image and reputation as a workplace. It gets built through various in-person touchpoints such as on-site visits, in-person events, and face-to-face interactions with current employees.
On the other hand, remote employer branding focuses on creating and promoting the company's image as an excellent workplace for remote or remote-friendly employees through digital touchpoints such as the company website, social media, remote-friendly perks and benefits, and virtual employee testimonials.
The main difference is that standard employer branding focuses on building a solid in-person image. In contrast, remote employer branding focuses on building a strong impression as a remote-friendly employer.
How can one build a remote employer brand?
Building a solid remote employer brand can help companies attract and keep top talent in the remote work environment. Here are a few steps remote companies can take to build a robust remote employer brand.
1. Define the company's remote work culture and values
The CEO of GoodHire, Mike Grossman, believes that remote businesses should market themselves in a way that highlights their workplace cultures. Recognize that the vast majority of employees focus on remote working methods, according to Grossman. Remote work culture refers to a remote company's attitudes, practices, and policies. It also refers to its behaviors toward remote work or telecommuting.
- It can include your remote company's communication, collaboration, and technology approach.
- Your remote company's values related to remote work include creating an inclusive, productive, and satisfying remote work experience for employees, regardless of location.
- These values should also focus on employee well-being, transparency, and a sense of community and connection.
An excellent remote employer branding strategy starts with creating a solid remote culture and transparent remote company values.
2. Offer comprehensive support for remote employees
To offer comprehensive support for remote employees, a remote company can take the following steps:
- Provide necessary technology and equipment:
Ensure remote employees can access the tools and technology to do their job. It can include a reliable laptop, high-speed internet, and necessary software.
- Foster clear and consistent communication:
Establish regular virtual check-ins, team meetings, and one-on-one meetings. It can help remote employees stay connected with their colleagues and stay informed about your remote company updates and changes.
- Encourage collaboration:
Use collaboration software, online project management tools, and virtual brainstorming sessions to help remote employees work together.
- Support remote employee well-being:
Offer resources and support to help remote employees maintain their physical and mental health. For example- give them access to virtual health resources or paid time off.
- Provide training and development opportunities:
Offer remote employees the same training and development opportunities as on-site employees. You may include professional development courses, mentorship programs, and leadership training.
- Encourage a positive remote work experience:
Check-in with remote employees to gather feedback. Address any challenges they may face. Provide opportunities for remote employees to socialize and connect.
3. Provide opportunities for remote employee engagement and connection
- Regular virtual team-building activities:
Organize virtual events, such as virtual happy hours, trivia games, or team-building exercises. It can help remote employees connect and socialize with one another.
- Online community forums:
Create online forums or discussion groups where remote employees can connect, share ideas, and collaborate.
- Virtual lunch and learn sessions:
Offer virtual lunch and learn sessions, where employees can take place in learning and development opportunities while socializing and connecting with their colleagues.
- Remote employee recognition programs:
Implement recognition programs to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of remote employees. This will foster a sense of community and connection.
- Remote company events:
Organize company-wide events that remote employees can take part in. For instance, organize virtual holiday parties or remote company-wide training sessions.
With these opportunities, your remote company can help your employees feel connected to the organization. This is what makes it a marvelous employer branding strategy.
4. Offer competitive compensation and benefits packages
- Market-based salaries:
Offer salaries that are in line with industry standards. They should reflect the skills and experience of each employee. This can include regular salary reviews and amendments to ensure that remote employees get compensated fairly.
- Employee benefits:
Offer comprehensive perks and benefits package including health insurance, retirement benefits, paid time off, and other significant employee benefits.
- Flexible work arrangements:
Offer flexible work arrangements, such as flexible scheduling or the ability to work from different locations, to help remote employees balance their work and personal lives.
- Professional development opportunities:
Offer professional development opportunities, such as training programs and conference attendance. It can help remote employees grow and advance in their careers.
- Stock options or profit-sharing:
Offer equity-based compensation, such as stock options or profit-sharing. These can help align the interests of remote employees with those of the remote company.
With these compensation and benefits packages, your remote company can show its commitment to its employees. It can help attract and keep top talent, even in a remote work environment, thereby constructing your remote-first branding.
5. Foster a sense of community among your remote employees
- Regular virtual check-ins:
Schedule regular virtual check-ins, such as virtual coffee breaks or team meetings. This will help remote employees stay connected and maintain a sense of community.
- Social events and activities:
Organize virtual social events and activities like virtual happy hours or game nights. Remote employees feel connected and socialize with one another in such events.
- Group projects:
Assign group projects to remote employees, allowing them to work together and build healthy relationships with one another.
6. Showcase remote work success stories
The next best employer branding strategy is to highlight the successes and experiences of current remote employees and use these stories to attract potential remote employees. To showcase remote work success stories, a remote company can take the following steps:
- Collect and share employee testimonials:
Gather testimonials from remote employees about their experiences of remote working. Then share them on the company's website, social media channels, and internal communications.
- Highlight your remote company and team successes:
Share success stories and milestones achieved by remote teams. Highlight the role that remote work played in their success.
- Share best practices and tips:
Share tips and best techniques for remote work. It may include productivity hacks and tools that have worked well for remote employees.
- Celebrate remote employee achievements:
Celebrate and recognize the achievements of remote employees. For instance, share their promotions or successful projects. You can also highlight their contributions to the company.
- Share remote work statistics and data:
Share statistics and data about the benefits of remote work. Share reports of increased productivity and employee satisfaction. This can help reinforce remote work's value to both employees and the company.
A remote company can create a positive perception of remote work by sharing success stories that show the benefits of remote work. It can help to break any myths or misconceptions about remote work. It is an excellent proposition for building remote-first branding.
7. Be transparent about the challenges of remote work
Be honest about the challenges of remote work. Communicate how your remote company is addressing these challenges. To be transparent about the challenges of remote work, a remote company can take the following steps:
- Discuss the challenges:
Hold regular virtual meetings or town hall events where remote employees can discuss their challenges and share their experiences.
- Encourage employee feedback:
Encourage remote employees to provide feedback on their remote work experiences. It can include any challenges they face. Later, use this feedback to improve the remote work environment.
- Provide resources to overcome challenges:
Offer resources and support to help remote employees overcome common challenges. Give them tips for staying focused, managing distractions, and maintaining work-life balance.
- Offer training and development opportunities:
Provide training and development opportunities to help remote employees develop their skills.
- Address any technology or communication issues:
Address any technology or communication issues affecting remote employees. Make sure you take steps to resolve them.
By being transparent about the challenges of remote work and taking steps to address them, a company can build a strong employer branding strategy. This employer branding strategy can help remote employees feel supported and empowered. It can positively impact employee morale, engagement, and job satisfaction.
8. Include your remote company policy everywhere
Make sure to clarify the nuances and details of your remote work policy in every job advertisement and job description. By mentioning your remote work policy in every job posting, you show that you encourage remote work. You also ensure that applicants for your vacant positions know the types of remote work you provide.
9. A fair and transparent remote hiring system
Even for rejected applicants, your application and recruitment procedure should be professional. A negative hiring experience can affect a job candidate's perception of your business. Implementing fair, dependable, and open hiring practices is the best way to guarantee that your hiring process benefits all applicants.
Create a career page for your organization on your website. It will attract candidates to consider it as a place where their careers can develop as their skills can grow.
10. A meaningful virtual onboarding experience
Establish onboarding practices that inform new hires about your company's basic principles at all levels of the organization. Information that aids new hires in adding to your corporate culture should get provided throughout this transition into your firm. It should also be evident that their time and abilities get valued by the company, not just within their section.
11. Use social media for your remote company brand promotion
Your business should use social media. Use your profile on social channels to promote your business. Emphasize the admirable things you're doing in your neighborhood and industry and customer success stories.
Highlighting employee achievements is a compelling approach to show that your business encourages initiative among employees and rewards them. Engaging in and communicating about any charitable or community projects your business or employees get involved in is another effective method to build your remote company brand.
12. Employee Ambassadors
Candidates do more than visit your official website. They do not merely rely on review sites when looking for more details about your business. Innovative candidates search for your previous and present employees on social media. They try to understand what work life is like at your organization.
Request social media posts about your remote company from staff members (without making it sound like an ultimatum). Ask them to incorporate your company's hashtags if you have any.
These were some of the best examples of employer branding strategies that can help your remote company build a strong brand.