Employment Brand Report > Methodology
Methodology
Learn how we evaluate brands to create our report.
About the research
WilsonHCG’s 2023 Employment Branding Report evaluated the employment brands of the Fortune 100. The evaluation focuses on six key components: recruitment marketing, job advertising and promotion, career pages, employee and candidate perspectives, accolades and corporate social responsibility. Each category was weighted based on their relevance to employment branding and the tools and resources available to objectively score them. In total, 100 points were available.
Recruitment marketing
19 points
There was no change in the number of points allocated to recruitment marketing this year. However, we have added additional criteria that accounts for the increasing importance of employee resource groups (ERGs) and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). According to Benevity's 2022 State of Corporate Purpose: 80% of employees believe it's the responsibility of company leadership to take action on addressing racial justice and inequity; 77% believe it's important for companies to allow difficult conversations around race and social issues to occur at work; and 50% of employees would stay at a company because it offered ERGs. The criteria for this category include:
The Criteria Includes
- Company blog on company website
- Company social media pages linked on corporate or career website
- Employee testimonial videos on career website
- Insights on workplace culture and wellness initiatives
- Information on employee benefits and perks on career website
- Mental health specific support programs or benefits
- Veteran recruitment program/initiatives
- University recruitment program/initiatives
- Remote/virtual recruitment on career website
- Pay equity policy stated on company website
- Employee resource groups (ERGs)
- Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) recruitment efforts
- DEIB initiatives
Job advertising and promotion
13 points
There are 13 points available in the job advertising and promotion category. It's no surprise that companies are starting to change their job advertising and promotion tactics so their job postings stand out and reflect shifting candidate expectations. Informative job postings with inclusive and encouraging language are key, as it gives a glimpse into workplace culture. This category’s criteria includes:
The Criteria Includes
- Informative job postings that have a company description, role impact statement, “you” focused headers, encouraging language and employee perks and benefits
- Job postings available on career website and designated job boards
- Organic career promotion on designated social media sites
Career pages
18 points
There has been no change in the number of points allocated to career pages for the 2023 report. Providing a great user experience should be a given regardless of company size. Career pages should be optimized for mobile, accessible and should contain the information that candidates are seeking. Other notable features on career pages include chatbots and talent communities that receive targeted communications. This category’s criteria include:
The Criteria Includes
- Career website and mobile accessibility
- Accessibility settings or widget on career website
- Talent community/network
- Multimedia content demonstrating inclusion and diversity on career website
- Ability to communicate via a chatbot or pre-application on career website
- Application, interview, and onboarding process on career website
- Career content is easy to navigate
Employee and candidate perspectives
38 points
The employee and candidate perspectives category has 38 points up for grabs and is our largest category. The No. 1 obstacle candidates experience when searching for a job is not knowing what it’s like to work at an organization. Since candidates are 3x more likely to trust the company’s employees than the company itself when it comes to providing credible information on what it’s like to work there (according to LinkedIn), they will often turn to sites like Glassdoor, Indeed, Comparably and CareerBliss before accepting a job offer. This category’s criteria include:
The Criteria Includes
- Glassdoor culture and values rating, work-life balance rating, compensation and benefits rating, career opportunities rating, diversity rating, and percentage of employees that would recommend the company to a friend
- CareerBliss rating
- Comparably rating
- Indeed company rating
Accolades
4 points
Accolades can be the difference between a candidate choosing one company over another, as they help to provide third-party endorsement and recognition. Today’s jobseekers are particularly interested in awards that recognize diversity and company culture. This category’s criteria include:
The Criteria Includes
- Accolades accessible from the career website
- Accolades related to diversity
Corporate social responsibility
8 points
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a key driver for a lot of candidates, especially when you consider research from Porter Novelli which revealed 88% of employees want to work for companies that actively strive to have a positive impact on society. This is especially true for millennials and generation Z. This category’s criteria include:
The Criteria Includes
- Promotion of 2030 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Community development programs/initiatives
- Environmentalism and sustainability
- Social justice and equality
- Early education programs and promotion
View more findings
From top rankings to an interactive checklist, browse our findings below in an easy-to-digest format.
Rankings: 2023 Fortune 100 Employment Branding Report
Check out the Fortune 100 companies that scored highest in this year’s report. We highlight categories these companies excelled in, as well as how what they do exemplifies effective employment branding. All great takeaways for how to be thoughtful and put yourself in the shoes of a jobseeker to attract and retain talent.
Learn More
A letter from our CEO
Read CEO John Wilson’s introduction letter as he discusses the ongoing rate of change in talent acquisition — and why your employment brand must match your employee value proposition (EVP). From hybrid working to employee experience, the need for leaders to foster connection and belonging is more important than ever.
Learn More
Checklist: 2023 Fortune 100 Employment Branding Report
Our interactive checklist provides a snapshot of your employment brand’s effectiveness in today’s market. Using the same six categories as our methodology, you’ll mark all that apply to your company’s employment brand for a qualitative scoring on where your company can continue to improve.
Learn More
Talk to our employment branding experts
Start driving results through your employment brand.
Let us help you fine-tune your employment branding strategy.
Let us help you fine-tune your employment branding strategy.