How to Overcome a Negative Employer Brand

A negative employer brand can impact a company’s ability to attract top talent. Negative brand means that the company’s reputation fails to resonate positively with prospective employees and can deter skilled candidates and lower hiring success. This challenge is particularly pressing in the tech industry, where competition for talent is fierce. Over half (54%) of talent leaders predict an increasingly difficult hiring environment, with the shortage of IT and engineering skills posing a major threat to growth and innovation. 

In this article, we share strategies to improve employer branding, boost recruitment efforts and encourage a positive work culture. 

Understanding the Impact of a Negative Employer Brand

More than two in three (68%) talent professionals consider employer branding a top priority. And with 35% of employees leaving their organizations due to unrealistic performance expectations, it’s critical for tech companies to align their employer brand with their work culture. The biggest impacts of a negative employer brand include:

• A reduced applicant pool: Talented candidates may avoid companies with poor reputations.
• Higher recruitment costs: Companies with a negative brand often need to offer higher salaries to attract talent.
• Decreased employee retention: Employees are more likely to leave, increasing turnover and replacement costs.
• A damaged consumer brand: Negative perceptions can spill over into consumer trust and loyalty.
• Slower hiring processes: Limited interest from top talent leads to prolonged recruitment cycles.

Short-Term Strategies to Work Around a Negative Employer Brand

When a company’s employer brand is struggling, short-term strategies can help mitigate immediate impacts and attract talent despite negative reviews. Many tactics improve candidate interactions and build positive perceptions in the short term, including:

• Improving the candidate experience: streamlining the application process, providing timely updates and creating a welcoming interview environment
• Leveraging employee advocacy: encouraging employees to share their experiences on social media and participate in employer branding initiatives 
• Updating job descriptions: using clear, engaging language in job postings and emphasizing growth opportunities, benefits and unique selling points
• Personalizing outreach: tailoring messages to individual candidates to demonstrate interest and a personal touch 
• Offering competitive compensation: paying competitive salaries and benefits to make candidates more willing to overlook negative reviews
• Improving social media presence: sharing behind-the-scenes content, employee stories and project highlights to showcase the company’s culture and values authentically

Long-Term Solutions to Improve an Employer Brand

Fixing a bad company image requires a strategic, long-term approach that addresses the root causes of negative perceptions. Build and sustain a positive tech employer brand.

• Conduct an employer brand audit: Identify specific pain points and assess current perceptions internally and externally through surveys, reviews and focus groups.
• Address underlying issues: Determine key problems affecting the brand, such as a negative workplace culture or unclear career progression paths.
• Develop a strong employee value proposition: Build an EVP that aligns with company goals and resonates with employees. Key components include compensation, work-life balance, stability, respect and career growth opportunities.
• Improve workplace culture: Create a supportive environment that fosters worker satisfaction and loyalty and regularly assesses and updates policies to meet employees’ needs.
• Enhance internal communication: Transparent communication is important, especially during crises. Engage employees through regular updates, open-door policies and leadership outreach.
• Invest in employee development: Acknowledge the importance of upskilling — particularly due to skill shortages and AI advancements — and create pathways for continuous learning and professional growth.
• Encourage employee feedback: Create a culture where colleagues feel heard and use feedback to make meaningful changes aligning with employees’ expectations.
• Focus on leadership development: Realize that effective leaders can radiate a positive employer brand and invest in leadership training to ensure they correctly embody and communicate company values.

Implementing these strategies can fix a bad company image and build a sustainable tech brand that positively impacts current and prospective employees. 

Measuring and Monitoring an Employer Brand

Companies that prioritize employee experience outperform others in worker growth and average revenue. Continuously measuring and monitoring the company brand can help leaders understand its impact and make data-driven improvements that elevate their work culture and recruitment efforts. By tracking the right metrics, companies can assess the effectiveness of their strategies and identify areas needing attention. These metrics include:

• Candidate net promoter score: gauges candidates’ experiences throughout the recruitment process
• Employee referral rate: indicates internal advocacy and satisfaction
• Cost per hire: helps evaluate the efficiency of recruitment efforts
• Social media engagement: measures brand visibility and perception
• Number of inbound job applicants: tracks interest in the company
• Career site traffic and conversion rate: shows how effectively the company’s job postings attract candidates
• Quality of hire: assesses the long-term value of new employees
• Employer brand index: measures the strength of the employer’s brand
• Glassdoor interview experience rating: Provides insight into candidates’ experiences
• Offer acceptance rate: measures the appeal of offers
• Diversity of applicants: helps track inclusivity in hiring practices

Building a Positive Employer Brand for Sourcing Success

Creating a positive employer brand requires immediate action and a long-term commitment. Companies can overcome negative perceptions and attract top talent by developing a strong EVP, improving workplace culture and continuously measuring brand performance. A few key takeaways to help companies improve their employer brand are:

• Short term: Focus on improving the candidate experience, leveraging employee advocacy and updating job descriptions.
• Long term: Conduct employer brand audits, invest in employee development and establish transparent communication across all levels of the organization.

Transform Your Employer Brand with Dice

Start taking proactive steps to transform your employer brand today. Explore Dice’s hiring and recruitment solutions for effectively attracting top talent in the tech industry and securing the candidates your company needs for sustainable growth and success. With access to millions of tech professionals, we make it easy to source highly skilled engineers, developers, analysts, technicians and more to help you build the perfect team.