Measuring is knowing

If you want your employer branding to succeed, only a well-thought-out approach counts. By measuring and adjusting your efforts, you know exactly what works and what doesn't. In this chapter, you'll learn how to approach this.

You'll discover which numbers matter for different aspects of employer branding. You'll also learn how to translate these figures into useful insights for your organization.

What to measure in each phase of the employee journey

To know if your employer branding activities are effective, you measure different key performance indicators (KPIs) during people's journey with your organization - from first contact to departure. By choosing the right measurement points for each phase, you can see where your strategy works and where improvement is needed.

In this chapter, we'll look at which metrics are relevant for each phase, how to measure them, and why they're important. This way, you'll build a complete dashboard step by step to demonstrate the impact of your employer brand.

What do numbers tell us?

Before we discuss the various measurement points: these numbers only become meaningful when you compare them. This can be done in three ways:

1. Comparison over time: are your scores getting better or worse?
2. Market comparison: how are you performing compared to similar organizations?
3. Comparison with your goals: are you reaching your own targets?

A snapshot can also be valuable for establishing a baseline. Where do you stand now? This helps you set realistic goals. A snapshot can also show where the biggest opportunities for improvement lie.

Phase 1: Awareness

In this first phase, you measure how well-known your organization is as an employer:

Employer brand awareness

• What: Percentage of the target group that knows your organization as an employer.
• How: Market research and target group studies.
• Why: Insight into the effectiveness of your visibility.

Social media reach and engagement

• What: Number of followers, likes, shares, and responses to content.
• How: Social media analytics via tools like Hootsuite.
• Why: Shows how well your content resonates with the target audience.

Career website visits

• What: Number of visitors and page views.
• How: Google Analytics.
• Why: Measures the impact of your campaigns on website traffic.

Share of Voice

• What: Your organization's share in employer-related conversations compared to competitors.
• How: Media monitoring tools that analyze your brand mentions compared to the total market.
• Why: Provides insight into your market position and the effectiveness of your communication efforts.

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Share of Voice (share in conversations)

Share of Voice (SOV) shows how visible you are as an employer compared to other organizations. It tells you what portion of all employer conversations is about your organization.

Calculate your SOV like this:

1. Count how often your organization is mentioned as an employer across different channels (social media, news, reviews).
2. Count the total number of mentions of all employers in your sector.
3. Divide your mentions by the total and multiply by 100 to get a percentage.

Example: If you're mentioned 20 times, while there are 200 mentions in total? Then your SOV is 10 percent.

Compare the score with your market share (are you as visible as you are big?), your competitors (do you stand out more or less?) and your own trend (are you growing?) Note: Don't just look at the number but also at the sentiment. Are you being discussed positively, negatively, or neutrally?

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Phase 2: Interest

Once people know you, you want to know if they become interested:

Content interaction

• What: Time spent on content, click-through rates.
• How: Google Analytics.
• Why: Shows if the content appeals to the target group.

Downloads and subscriptions

• What: Number of content downloads and newsletter subscriptions.
• How: Forms and download statistics.
• Why: Measures active interest from potential candidates.

Growth in social media followers

• What: Increase in followers on relevant channels.
• How: Platform statistics.
• Why: Shows growing interest in your organization.

Phase 3: Application

Now it gets concrete - you want to know how many people actually apply:

Number of applications

• What: Total number of applications per vacancy or period.
• How: Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
• Why: Measures the attractiveness of your vacancies.

Quality of applications

• What: Match between candidate and job requirements.
• How: Assessment by recruiters.
• Why: Measures if you're attracting the right candidates.

Cost-per-hire

• What: Average recruitment costs per hire.
• How: Total recruitment costs divided by number of hires.
• Why: Measures the efficiency of your recruitment process.

Phase 4: Selection

During selection, you measure how positive the experience is:

Candidate experience score

• What: Satisfaction with the application process.
• How: Surveys after job interviews.
• Why: Measures the quality of your selection process.

Time-to-hire

• What: Duration from application to hire.
• How: Applicant Tracking System.
• Why: Measures the speed of your recruitment process.

Acceptance rate

• What: Percentage of job offers accepted by candidates.
• How: HR administration.
• Why: Measures the attractiveness of your offer.

Phase 5: Onboarding

A good start is half the work - measure the effectiveness of your onboarding:

Onboarding satisfaction

• What: Appreciation of the onboarding program.
• How: Surveys after 30, 60, and 90 days.
• Why: Measures the effectiveness of your onboarding.

Time-to-productivity

• What: Time until a new employee is fully productive.
• How: Assessments by managers.
• Why: Measures the efficiency of your onboarding process.

First-year retention

• What: Percentage of employees who stay in the first year.
• How: Personnel administration.
• Why: Measures the success of your matching and onboarding.

Phase 6: Employment

During employment, you measure engagement and satisfaction:

Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

• What: Employees' willingness to recommend the organization as an employer.
• How: Short surveys.
• Why: Measures ambassadorship among your employees.

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Employee Net Promoter Score

With one question, you measure how likely employees are to recommend your organization as an employer: "How likely are you to recommend our organization as an employer?"

You divide the answers into three groups:

• 9-10: Promoters (ambassadors)
• 7-8: Passives (neutral employees)
• 0-6: Detractors (critics)

Calculate the eNPS by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. The score ranges from -100 to +100. A score above 30 is excellent, below 0 requires action.

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Employee satisfaction

• What: General satisfaction with work and employer.
• How: Extensive surveys.
• Why: Measures job satisfaction and engagement.

Turnover rate

• What: Percentage of employees who leave.
• How: HR figures.
• Why: Measures employee retention and satisfaction.

Phase 7: Departure

Even at departure, you want to know how people experience you:

Exit interview scores

• What: Feedback from leavers.
• How: Through exit interviews.
• Why: Measures reasons for leaving.

Alumni engagement

• What: Contact/interaction with former employees.
• How: Through alumni network statistics.
• Why: Measures long-term relationship.

Boomerang hires

• What: Percentage of returning employees.
• How: Through HR administration.
• Why: Measures lasting attractiveness.

Tips:

• Start with a limited number of KPIs per phase.
• Ensure a mix of quantitative and qualitative metrics.
• Measure regularly and consistently.
• Use insights to improve processes.

Calculating Return on Investment (ROI)

Of course, you want to know if your investment in employer branding pays off. By calculating the ROI, you can demonstrate this to your stakeholders. The calculation is simple:

ROI = ((Returns - Costs) / Costs) x 100 percent

First, add up all costs such as the salaries of your employer branding team, your campaign budget, and the costs of tools used. The returns or savings are often more complicated to identify. These include lower recruitment costs, reduced turnover, and higher productivity.

An example

You invest $50,000 in employer branding. The returns are: lower recruitment costs: $30,000, reduced turnover: $40,000, and higher productivity: $25,000 (total returns: $95,000). The calculation:

ROI = (($95.000 - $50.000) / $50.000) x 100% = 90%

This means that every dollar invested in employer branding yields $1.90.

Continuously improving your employer branding

Employer branding is never 'finished'. By regularly measuring and adjusting, you strengthen your position as an employer. This is how you approach it.

The improvement cycle (PDCA)

During Plan, you analyze data and determine what can be improved. You set concrete, measurable goals and create an action plan. During Do, you put this plan into practice with the right people and resources. During Check, you measure results and compare them with your goals. You gather feedback through data, surveys, and conversations. During Act, you draw conclusions, adjust your approach, and start the cycle again.

How to approach it

Meet trends

Follow patterns over time to see if changes are lasting. Compare your performance with competitors and listen to feedback from employees and candidates.

Test and experiment

Try new approaches, but start small. Test different messages or channels and learn from the results. Roll out successful experiments more broadly.

Involve others

Share your results with stakeholders and work together with other departments. Celebrate successes together to maintain support and enthusiasm.

An example

You notice that few IT professionals are applying. You first investigate why this is the case. Based on this, you adjust your message. You test this in a small campaign, measure the results, and refine your approach until you find the right formula.

Tips:

• Start with one improvement point to keep it manageable.
• Measure regularly but not too often - monthly is usually sufficient.
• Use both data and stories for a complete picture.