Maybe you are developing your employer brand or putting together a proposal for a new careers website. Chances are, someone has asked you for some hard facts. Don’t they always. Some good old ‘employer branding statistics’ that will back up your case. Well, you’ve come to the right place.

We love a good stat. They often cut through to the crux of an issue and tell it how it is in black and white. People tend to take notice too, especially when they come from sources like LinkedIn and Glassdoor. We’ve listed stats that show what matters to candidates and therefore recruiters. We then explain what you need to do to make sure you’ve got these issues covered. And rest assured, these are not just the same stats that you’ve seen rolled out for the past three years. These are new ones. Good ones. Valuable ones. Ones that you’ll be using for the next 12 months.

75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job

Source: LinkedIn

The importance of a positive employer brand seems to be held in equal measure by candidates and recruiters alike. A report in HR News found that 72% of recruiting leaders worldwide agree that the employer brand significantly impacts hiring. We believe that all organisations have an employer brand, whether they like it or not. You can’t choose whether or not people have a perception of you as an employer, but you can decide to project that perception in a positive light. And that’s why your careers website is so influential in the recruitment process.

So, what does this mean for your careers site?

It’s effectively the home of your employer brand, certainly to any candidate searching for more information. All the good things about working for you need to be there; your values as an organisation, your Employer Value Proposition (EVP), what your people say about working for you, a smooth and fast application process and not forgetting job adverts that excite and inspire. Fail on any of these and you may lose good candidates before they even apply.

60% of the public will choose a place to work based on their beliefs and values

Source: Edelman Trust, 2022

Many people re-evaluated their lives during the pandemic, and this included the nature of their work. While salary remains important, and this may well increase in the current cost of living crisis, people want to feel a connection with the work they do, and a sense of pride. That’s not possible if they don’t share the same values as their employer.

So, what does this mean for your careers site?

Employees aren’t only interested in what you do, they really want to know why you do it. The more you can communicate about your values, the better they’ll be able to identify if you are a good cultural fit. While you can talk about your statements and policies on sustainability and how you give something back, the most relatable content for candidates are employee stories of how their actual work helps with this.

The number one obstacle in the application process is not knowing what it’s like to work at an organisation

Source: LinkedIn

We’re not surprised to see this statistic. After all, joining an organisation is a big step at any stage of a career. This also explains the popularity of sites like Glassdoor and is the recruitment equivalent of why we all look at reviews on TripAdvisor, Amazon and Google. We all want to find out as much as we can before we buy. And candidates are customers of the recruitment process.

So, what does this mean for your careers site?

It needs to be transparent about what it feels like to work for you. And this is best achieved when you put your own people in the spotlight. Candidates most relate to people like them, doing the roles they are interested in. They want to hear from people they can see on your careers site and look up on LinkedIn. The use of video and a blog are both powerful platforms to share a window into your organisation.

76% of jobseekers report that a diverse workforce is an important factor when evaluating employers

Source: Glassdoor Diversity Hiring Survey

There is a powerful business case for a more diverse and inclusive workforce. It creates more innovative thinking and research from McKinsey found that ethnically diverse and gender-diverse companies were more profitable. However, we think that it’s also because people want to feel like their potential employer looks like the right place to work. This means seeing evidence of people who look like them.

So, what does this mean for your careers site?

It needs to help you attract diverse talent. On a visual and content level, your site needs relatable and authentic photography reflecting your diversity and culture, especially with under represented groups. What’s more, job seekers trust employees the most when it comes to understanding what diversity & inclusion (DEI) really looks like. So, content made by different ethnic groups could be highly influential. Take a look at the diversity and inclusion page we built as part of the careers site for Derbyshire Constabulary. It creates an authentic view of a diverse organisation, covering their plans for cultural change and how they plan to build a positive and supportive workforce.

40% of job applicants will lose interest if they don’t hear back from employers within 48 hours of applying

Source: Talos360, 2022

We posted this statistic on LinkedIn a couple of months back and we quickly heard from recruiters who agreed. Candidates are increasingly expecting a well run recruitment process and time is an important factor. If they have 2-3 other applications in the pipeline, and these are progressing, it’s no surprise when the slowest recruiter off the blocks loses out.

So, what does this mean for your careers site?

This is where your ATS really can make a difference. The very best candidate experience comes when they enter the application stage. Your site has done the hard work of attracting and engaging your candidate, they’ve been inspired to apply. So far so good. You need to make sure the application process from here on is well timed and enhances your employer brand. There are all sorts of ways your ATS can help with this. Recruiters need to ensure that they are using technology to create automated responses starting with acknowledgement.

Almost one-quarter (23%) say they’d be put off applying by a boring job advert

Source: Talos360, 2022

Don’t let a poorly written job advert ruin your otherwise excellent employer branding efforts. The problem often lies in the job advert itself. The worst offenders are those ‘cut and paste’ nightmares with sections lifted from the job description, bullet points and absolutely nothing about why they might want to apply.

So, what does this mean for your careers site?

Give your job ads the attention they deserve and need. It’s the last thing a candidate will read before they apply – or decide to go elsewhere. Not only do they need to be written well, they also need to be set up so your candidates can find them in job searches – a whole topic in itself and covered in more depth in our article ‘How to improve the SEO of your careers website’. And, for tips on improving those ads from the get go, read our  ‘A little guide to writing a successful job advert’.

In conclusion

There are many statistics on the employer brand and candidate experience. They’ll tell you a lot about what jobseekers are looking for, motivated by and what downright annoys them. But these stats are only worth knowing if you make sure that your careers site has those issues covered. We hope these stats have been helpful in shaping your view on what makes a good careers website.

If you’d like to read more, why not take a look at our recent article ‘Five ‘must have’ features for careers website best practice’ and the many other articles on the TLA blog.

If you feel that you’d like some help, support or even a little chat around building your employer brand and next careers website or any aspect of your talent attraction strategy just drop us a line. After all, much of our best work has started with a cup of tea and a Zoom call.