What Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Should Do About Employer Branding

・The trend of a “seller’s market” getting stronger

According to the “Works University Graduate Job Offer Ratio Survey” by Recruit Works Institute, the job-offer ratio for 2023 graduates was 1.58×, for 2024 graduates 1.71×, and for 2025 graduates 1.75×. Since a ratio above 1.0 is considered a seller’s market, this shows that competition among companies for talent is intensifying.

・Recruitment competition is especially fierce among small and medium enterprises

Looking at companies by size:
– Companies with fewer than 300 employees: 6.50×
– Large companies with 5,000 or more employees: 0.34×
 This highlights that the challenge is particularly acute for SMEs.

・Changes in job-seekers’ value sets

Traditionally, recruitment focused on salary and perks. But increasingly job-seekers emphasize:
1. The company’s mission or vision (social contribution and management philosophy)
2. Transparency of workplace culture (company atmosphere, ease of working)
3. Opportunities for career growth (training systems and development support)
4.Work-life balance (flexible working styles, remote work)

From these data, especially for SMEs, securing human resources is becoming more difficult—and with the change in job-seekers’ values, the importance of recruitment branding is increasing. Job-seekers place importance on “meaning of work” and “alignment of values with company,” so how a company concretely communicates its vision and culture matters.

With the aging population and decreasing workforce, securing talent for SMEs will only become harder. The old method—posting lots of ads and getting many entries—will see declining success as job-seekers’ values diversify. From now on, the key will not be just increasing the number of applications, but attracting people who truly resonate with the company’s vision and culture. Recruitment branding is a strategic activity to raise the brand power of a company in the recruitment market—not just filling positions, but drawing in people who align with the company’s vision and will work long term.

What is Recruitment Branding?

Recruitment branding is a strategic activity aimed at strengthening a company’s brand presence within the hiring market.
Rather than simply filling vacancies, its goal is to attract individuals who resonate with the company’s vision and culture and who can make long-term contributions.
By implementing effective recruitment branding, companies can increase the number of applicants who are a good fit, improve employee retention, and ultimately drive sustainable business growth.

Specific benefits

1. Raising company recognition

By actively communicating their information, companies can increase awareness among not just applicants but also business partners and industry stakeholders. Using recruitment pages and owned media to deliver content about vision, culture, and work environment helps strengthen corporate branding, not just recruitment.

2. Increase in applications from desired candidates

Traditional job ads cast a wide net but often bring applicants whose values may not match the company. By strengthening recruitment branding, the company’s vision and desired human-image become clearer, letting job-seekers self-select better and improving matching rate.

3. Reduction of recruitment costs

Through proper recruitment branding, reliance on job boards and agents can be reduced, while still attracting targeted candidates. Also, if you hire people who fit the culture, turnover risk decreases, reducing costs of re-hiring.

4. Improved employee motivation

Recruitment branding doesn’t just attract new people—it also helps existing employees reaffirm “why they work here.” Clarifying corporate values and mission via outward communication also enhances internal engagement and reduces attrition.

5. Differentiation from competitors

Job-seekers compare multiple companies, so it’s important to clearly convey your uniqueness. “What experiences are available only at our company?” “What’s our strength in the industry?” “What’s unique about our working environment?” — These points help your message stand out. Recruitment branding acts also as internal branding (for employees) and contributes to long-term organisational strength.

採用ブランディングは、求職者や転職希望者だけでなく、既存の従業員にも企業の価値を再認識させ、ロイヤリティを高める「インナーブランディング」の効果があります。経営理念やビジョンを明確に発信することで、社内の共通意識を醸成し、従業員のエンゲージメント向上にもつながります。 このように、採用ブランディングは企業にフォットした人材の確保と企業文化の強化を同時に実現する施策であり、長期的な企業成長において不可欠な戦略と言えるでしょう。

For companies that previously took a more intuitive approach, adopting recruitment branding allows major improvements in targeting. A key principle is “consistency and continuity.” Especially now when touch-points with candidates are many and varied, maintaining a stable message is critical.

① Build the operational framework

Often overlooked but foundational:
– Form a recruitment branding team
– Appoint a brand owner within recruitment
– Define policies to ensure message consistency

② Clarify the purpose of hiring and the desired human type

– Define why you’re recruiting, aligned with business growth strategy
– Define the desired human profile not only by skills but also by alignment with corporate culture and direction
– Separate “Must” requirements and “Want” requirements, and ensure shared understanding across the team

③ Analyse own strengths/characteristics & craft effective messaging and taglines

– Map out business domains, services/products, market positioning – Organise company culture, values, and environment into language that makes job-seekers say “I want to work here” – Confirm personnel systems: benefits, career paths, evaluation, training/education – Benchmark competitors and identify your unique strengths (e.g., technical capabilities, flexible workstyle) – Then design a tagline/messages reflecting vision, business content, culture—simple and attractive. Include employee interviews to capture authentic voice.

④ Design communication

With recruitment branding, the shift is from “posting job ads & waiting” to “actively communicating the company’s appeal and attracting the right talent.” Consider the communication in three major phases:

– Building the candidate pool: Awareness & interest

Understand the target candidates’ information habits and medium usage, and design content accordingly. E.g., SNS use to share company culture and stories; Recruiting site with enriched content; Industry events/seminars.

– Selection & screening: Forming motivation

When candidates are comparing companies during selection, it’s essential to clearly articulate why someone should choose your company. Show concrete growth opportunities, and relieve anxieties via detailed information in info sessions, the website, and follow-up.

– Maintaining excitement: Eliminating anxiety

Even after (“offer accepted”) it’s not guaranteed the person joins. During the period until joining, candidates may compare other companies or feel uncertain. Proactive follow-up enhances acceptance rate. E.g., regular communications (email, online meeting), informal gatherings for new‐hires, sharing career paths/growth promise, prompt Q&A.

⑤ Measure and improve

Recruitment branding must be continuous improvement. One-off measures aren’t enough. Set KPIs, clarify important metrics, and run a PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle based on data.

Using each medium appropriately enhances recruitment branding.

Owned Media

– High freedom: You can deeply explore the company’s philosophy and culture.
– Frequency of updates is critical to maintain freshness and engage latent candidates.
– Effective for “value alignment matching” because you can dig into corporate culture.

SNS / Video Platforms (YouTube, etc.)

– High immediacy and spreadability: Effective for reaching younger generations.
– Strong visual appeal: Using photos/videos you can convey workplace culture clearly.
– Increases sense of proximity: Storytelling with employee’s everyday life reduces the barrier between candidate & company.

Job Boards / Recruitment Media

– Information tends to become fixed; keeping freshness is the challenge.
– Must clearly present business, job type, required skills.

If you’re a recruitment or management professional currently feeling the challenge of securing talent, certainly you are not alone. This article presents recruitment branding — not merely recruiting people, but securing the right people for your company and strengthening competitiveness over the long term. Recruitment branding also contributes to rising employee satisfaction and retention. By clarifying your company’s vision and culture, you can reduce mismatches with candidates, stabilise the organisation, and deepen engagement with existing employees. Why not consider investing in recruitment branding now, looking ahead to your company’s future and sustainable growth?