5 Reasons to Brand Your Healthcare Employer Identity
Branding is one of the best ways to create a positive impression in the eyes of potential hires. The need for healthcare organizations to establish a strong brand identity is driven by the challenge of increased employee choice – a scenario which many healthcare organizations haven’t typically been accustomed.
With U.S. unemployment rates below 5%, competition for talent is high in general before considering how difficult it is to hire the best candidates for your open positions. Today, effectively recruiting candidates that will fit well requires you to consider building an authentic, compelling employer brand.
How is Effective Branding Achieved?
Employer branding shapes how your healthcare organization is perceived. Candidates want to work for companies that are seen as trusted, consistent, responsive, and supportive. Branding can achieve that through an employer value proposition that showcases how your organization meets that expectation.
Effective branding should express a set of values, preferences, policies, and commonly held organizational beliefs. Employer branding distinguishes your organization through tangible means, such as an attractive logo, and intangible means, such as reinforcing a team-first attitude. To really resonate with potential employees, your healthcare company’s brand should evoke a positive feeling from these elements.
Ultimately, your branding should permeate your marketing, recruitment, operations, really every facet of the employee experience.
Reasons to Brand Your Employer Identity
Hospitals and health systems have recognized the need for better branding and have been updating their employee brand awareness campaigns. Here are five reasons it makes sense to join them.
- Decrease time-to-fill while improving candidate fit. With an appealing brand, you should attract candidates who are eager to become part of your system and have the qualities you’re looking for.
- Reduce turnover by attracting the right talent. You are less likely to experience heavy churn if your branding matches the expectations of your candidates and reflects the daily experiences they have while working there.
- Be a consistent “beacon” in the information overload era. In today’s employee-driven atmosphere filled with information and marketing messages, a strong and consistent branding campaign helps establish your organization as a trusted, loyalty-inspiring workplace.
- Differentiate your organization from the competition. While many healthcare systems are perceived as “commodities”, a strong branding effort reveals how your workplace is different and distinguishes how you value your employees.
- Build a workplace community around core values. By branding a core set of values within your recruiting campaigns, you show that your community of employees evoke a specific, common ethos that permeates daily activities throughout the organization.
If your recruiting efforts are falling short and you are not attracting high-quality candidates who will commit to stay, review how your current branding meets expectations and whether it positions your healthcare organization as a remarkable place to work.