You’ve undoubtedly heard about recruitment marketing; it’s the idea that you can build a brand so powerful that you can cut down on the number of cold-calls recruiters have to make because qualified candidates can’t wait to work with you. Regardless of if you’re recruiting for a scrappy nonprofit, pulling new tech talent from a graduating class, or just starting out in inbound marketing for management consultants, it’s a system that works.

Or does it?

Employer brand is everywhere. There are recruitment marketing certificates, conferences, and experts that didn’t exist just a year ago. There’s even employer content marketing software to help kick off the employer branding process (which we encourage you to check out!).

But employer brand, much like traditional branding, falls victim to a difficult problem: ROI is next to impossible to prove. Branding has an attribution problem that marketers have classically solved with only half-meaningful metrics. These include brand recognition, social media reach, and direct traffic… none of which tie nicely back to ROI.

How have people justified an investment in employer brand in the past? What kind of success have brands seen in return? What have academic journals, company-sponsored studies, and professional associations found when they dig into the question of employer brand?

I’ve got a big handful of employer brand statistics for 2019 to answer all those questions. Let’s get started.

Employer brand statistics for 2019

72% of candidates who had a negative recruiting experience shared that experience in person or online. (CareerArc) Most (81%) candidates share positive candidate experiences with their inner circles. (Talent Board) 60% of employers say brand awareness is a significant barrier when it comes to attracting and hiring candidates. (Glassdoor) Almost half (49%) of candidates believe content about company values is most important when evaluating an employer. (Talent Board) Companies with a powerful employee advocacy program are 58% more likely to attract top talent. (Human Capital Institute) Opportunities for career progression are far more likely to attract candidates than retain existing employees. (Randstand) Only 19% of employees believe their employer’s online presence actually matches what it’s like to work there. (Weber Shandwick) 42% of recruiters and hiring managers believe their sourcing data is poor. (LinkedIn) 66% of organizations have optimized recruiting for smartphone users. (SHRM) On average, companies with poor reputations pay $4,723 more in salary to close candidates. (Harvard Business Review) 60% of job seekers said that their own research on a company was “very” or “extremely” influential in their decision to apply. (iCIMS) Nearly 80% of Americans would choose one position over another based on the personal connections made in the hiring process. (Mattersight) “Lack of applicants” is the second-leading cause of jobs going unfilled. The first is “lack of experience.” (Express Pros)

More employer branding statistics?

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