If as an HR practitioner, you aren’t convinced that it continues to be a candidate’s market, our May issue might just change your mind. Liz Weeks, head of employer branding and attraction for the Americas for Alexander Mann Solutions, is happy to sway your position. She says: “Companies are competing for the best talent to the point where there are bidding wars.”

So how can companies get ahead? One approach is to provide potential employees an authentic view of your organization with a well-thought employer branding strategy. Weeks describes an employer brand as “the meaningful aspects of the job -the things that connect with job candidates.”

Alexander Mann Solutions partnered with Synchrony Financial during a brand transistion, and the organization is reaping the benefits. Marc Chini, executive vice president and human resources leader for Synchrony Financial, says, “Transitioning from a well-known brand like GE Capital Retail Finance to our new one, Synchrony Financial, meant that developing a strong employer brand was imperative, not just a ‘nice to have.’ The extensive research that we undertook at the beginning of the employer branding development process gave us invaluable insight into the key motivators and what resonated with each of our target audiences. Constantly ‘sense checking’ our employer brand relevance and candidate experience sentiment has allowed us to stay current and really engage with our audience.”

You’ll find another success story in Strategic Storytelling. Through branding and an innovative career portal, Amcor offers candidates a bird’s eye view into what it’s really like to work at the manufacturer.

And in today’s market, this matters. As Kevin W. Grossman says, “Candidates are becoming more sophisticated. They are taking control of their own journeys.” In his piece highlighting the top findings of the 2015 North American CandE Research Report, Grossman reveals what job seekers are currently experiencing. Something as simple as communication continues to make a huge difference. Surprisingly, only 40 percent of recruiters are required to respond to applicants. Yet candidates don’t want to feel left in the dark. In fact, 41 percent of those surveyed who reported having a poor candidate experience said they’d take their alliance, product purchases, and relationships elsewhere.

Too much is on the line these days. Now’s the time to make potential candidates your top priority. Luckily, we’ve got plenty of advice on how to do just that.

Debbie Bolla
Editor-in-Chief