Recruiting when you have a bad reputation5 min read

Nowadays, finding, recruiting and hiring top talent is hard enough. What do you do when your brand reputation itself is pushing the best candidates away?

This article from Jobboard Finder will give you some top tips about running a recruitment campaign when your brand has been tarnished, and no longer attracts candidates like it once did.

Reputation and recruitment

Unsurprisingly, a company’s reputation has a huge impact on its recruitment success. Nicknamed ‘purple squirrels’ in the recruitment industry, those hard-to-find perfect candidates who tick every box are rare, if not near enough impossible, to find, even if your brand is on point. If your brand has been tarnished the situation is even more drastic.

If your company does not have a good reputation, you risk never even catching a glimpse of the best candidates’ applications. A large majority of workers report that they would rather remain unemployed and carry on job-hunting than apply to a company that has a negative reputation, according to studies.

Several things can give a company a bad reputation in the eyes of potential employees.

• Your company may have been involved in a workplace scandal, and received bad press
• Your company could be famed for poor employee conditions and treatment
• You have a reputation for treating customers badly, and this isn’t the kind of company that a candidate believes in and wants to work for

All of these and more mean that you could be missing out on vital opportunities for finding your next employee. Luckily, there are steps you can take to get your brand’s reputation back up to scratch and even continue recruiting top talent despite it.

Get back into the good books

Take time to work on your employer brand and get it back to where you want it to be.

For example, go and check out your company profile on Glassdoor. See what your ex-employees are leaving as feedback for your company and what people feel it is like to work for you.

You are much more likely to see a positive change in recruitment results if you are reading and actively responding to negative reviews. To future employees who have heard horror stories about you, this indicates you are aware there is a problem and are proactively trying to solve it. However, do not make empty promises either.

Be the change you want to see

This is self-evident, but maybe you need to take some time to look at your company and change things at the root. Of course applicants aren’t going to want to work for a company where they know they will be treated badly. This tells you a lot about your workplace and the happiness levels of your employees.

Focus on changing the way your managers and employees relate to each other. Find ways to open and improve communication channels between team members. Maybe even plan a team-building activity or away day. Do whatever it takes to get to a point where you can point out your happy employees to potential candidates, and prove to them that your reputation is undeserved.

Make the most of your resources

Remember: your best brand ambassadors are your current employees. They work for you for a reason, and you need to get them to tell the world what that reason is.

There are two reasons why using referrals from your best employees are a great option for recruiting for tarnished brands.

First, they will refer friends, ex-colleagues and contacts who they can vouch for. This will considerably shorten the recruitment process and avoid wasting time by shortlisting relevant and trustworthy candidates.

Secondly, you can rely on your own employees to present the company in a positive light, and explain to their friends about what is great about working for your business, despite any scandal or bad press it may have received.

Transparency is key

If there has been a big mistake or scandal caused by your company and it was your fault, you need to own up to that. Be honest, acknowledge and apologise for your mistakes sincerely; this is important for PR but also just a generally decent thing to do.

In terms of employer image, it is crucial that you act with integrity and recognize you were at fault. However, once you have don’t dwell on it. Instead, look forward to the future and move on. Some bad press does not have to be a death sentence for your brand, and if you can show that you have evolved, changed and learnt from your mistakes, you may just rise out of the ashes.

Social media

Use social media to boost a positive image of your company.

Get interacting with customers and build relationships. You never know who might apply to be your next employee. Create your online corporate profile to be approachable and interesting.

Share pictures and stories about what life is like behind-the-scenes at your office, so people can see for themselves what it’s really like to work for you.

Broaden your search

Tried all of the above to no avail? Consider expanding your search to people who won’t be put off by your reputation.

Of course you still want your perfect candidates, but you may have to face up to the fact that won’t happen overnight if your brand isn’t looked upon favourably.

Instead, consider recruiting candidates who perhaps are less experienced in your specific sector or industry, but possess transferable skills. These people could still be a fantastic addition to your team, and add variation and depth.

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For your next recruitment campaign, look to Jobboard Finder to find your perfect job board and narrow down the search for the top talent your company needs.