How to Improve Brand Sentiment and Protect Your Reputation

In today’s hyper transparent world, employer brands aren’t just defined by what an organisation says it is, but also by what customers, employees and even candidates have to say. A Glassdoor review, LinkedIn post or an internal leak is enough to shift perceptions overnight. With 76% of candidates considering a company’s reputation before applying (Moka), negative perceptions can have real consequences to talent pipelines and employee engagement.
It’s by understanding your employer brand sentiment – measuring it, tracking it – that you can uncover blind spots and identify ways to improve it.

Here are 4 steps to improving your employer brand sentiment:

1) Understand and benchmark sentiment towards your employer brand

Start by understanding how your brand is perceived, internally and externally. With our Employer Brand Sentiment Study and Survey, we uncover both qualitative and quantitative insights on how you’re perceived as an employer and why. This establishes a clear benchmark; identifies strengths, weaknesses and opportunities, and enables annual tracking to monitor changes in perception, measure impact and evolve your talent strategy with confidence.

2) Own the narrative and align perception with reality

Use your learnings to shape and refine your EVP and employer brand narrative, making sure it authentically reflects both strengths and what it’s really like to work for your organisation. From there, your narrative can guide everything from employer communications and campaigns, to sharper recruiter messaging and candidate interactions – ensuring consistency across every touchpoint. The result is a more intentional, evidence-led approach to proactively shape perception and own the narrative.

3) Address the internal gaps that don’t support the employer brand narrative

Once the employer brand narrative is clearly defined, it’s essential to ensure the employee experience genuinely support it. Any gaps between what you promote externally and what people experience internally need to be addressed to maintain credibility and trust. Where misalignment exists, take targeted action to bring the reality in line with what’s communicated externally. If there isn’t clear visibility on where those gaps lie, a formal Culture Study can play a critical role in identifying areas for alignment, focus and meaningful improvement.

4) Empower employees as employer brand advocates

Your employees are your most trusted storytellers and can be powerful advocates, but many organisations find this difficult to activate in practice. Barriers such as lack of confidence publicly or governance concerns often hold employees back, so broadening the definition of ‘advocacy’ and what it means to be an employer brand ambassador can unlock this potential. Beyond posting on social media, advocacy can also include informal or private actions like leaving reviews on platforms like Glassdoor, sharing experiences with industry peers, referring candidates or speaking positively about their work within their networks. By enabling and supporting employees to share their authentic experiences in ways that feel natural to them, you can build a more credible, far-reaching and trusted employer brand.

Whether you want to improve your employer brand sentiment or understand where you are, message us [email protected] to find out how we can help you move from sentiment to strategy.

Source: https://www.mokahr.io/myblog/why-employer-branding-matters-in-recruitment/

Written by Shohada Akthar

Senior Strategy Consultant

Shohada is passionate about building meaningful brands through curiosity and a holistic approach. With extensive experience in brand strategy and insightful research, Shohada brings a cross-industry understanding to every project. Whether crafting brand purpose, values, culture or shaping strategies that resonate with a variety of unique voices, she thrives on making brands come alive. Shohada has led award-winning strategies across Fashion, Architecture, Property, Music, and Food & Beverage, creating authentic and impactful brand and customer experiences.