The Silent Killer in Your Hiring Funnel? Your Employer Brand
Over the past year, I’ve spoken with hundreds of HR and talent leaders. The message is consistent: we all know employer branding matters, but most teams don’t have the structure, support, or bandwidth to deliver on it.
To better understand what’s getting in the way, our team at Rent a Recruiter surveyed over 460 HR and TA professionals across our LinkedIn network and webinar audience in April 2025.
The goal was to get a clearer view of the barriers to effective employer branding, and more importantly, to explore how we can help overcome them.
Here’s What We Learned
When asked about their biggest challenges in executing employer branding (EB) strategies:
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56% said they lacked internal resources
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21% cited leadership buy-in
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12% pointed to unclear messaging
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Only 9.7% said standing out in the market was their top concern
This paints a clear picture. HR and TA teams don’t need to be convinced of EB’s value. The challenge is execution, and most of that comes down to support, both operational and strategic.
The Commercial Case Is Already Proven
The frustrating part? The business case for employer branding has already been made. According to LinkedIn:
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A strong employer brand can reduce cost-per-hire by up to 43%
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Companies with strong employer brands see a 50% increase in qualified applicants
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75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying
These aren’t soft benefits. They directly impact hiring speed, candidate quality, and ultimately, retention and productivity. Yet, employer branding is still underfunded, deprioritised, or siloed in marketing without full integration into talent strategy.
“If EB isn’t on the board agenda, it’s a missed commercial opportunity. Talent attraction today is brand-led, not just process-led,” Mark Loughnane, COO – Rent a Recruiter.
The Disconnect We Need to Fix
The biggest takeaway from our survey is that the problem isn’t a lack of ideas. It’s a lack of ownership. Employer branding is often treated as a campaign instead of a core business function. It becomes something reactive, used when hiring spikes or reputation dips, instead of a consistent, long-term talent asset.
HR knows the value. The data supports it. But without executive support and dedicated resources, they’re being asked to deliver strategic outcomes with tactical tools and part-time attention.
That’s a systemic gap, not a performance issue.
What Needs to Change
If you’re leading HR or talent acquisition and this sounds familiar, here are four steps I recommend based on our data and on-the-ground experience with clients:
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Reframe EB as a business lever
Position your employer brand in terms of business outcomes like hiring speed, offer acceptance, and early attrition reduction. Speak in numbers, not slogans. -
Start small and focus
You don’t need a global EVP relaunch. Begin with what you already know: exit interviews, team culture insights, and candidate feedback. Shape your messaging around what actually matters to the people you want to attract. -
Engage leadership early
Get your senior team involved before employer branding becomes a problem to fix. Share the data. Show how investing in brand now prevents bigger hiring issues later. -
Work cross-functionally
Employer branding works best when HR, marketing, and operations align. This isn’t about who owns it. It’s about who contributes to it consistently and collaboratively.
As SHRM highlights in its executive insight series, employer branding must be clearly defined, consistently communicated, and championed by leadership in order to attract top talent and build long-term credibility (SHRM, 2023).
Why We Did This Research
We did it because we work inside our clients’ talent functions, and we see the disconnect up close. HR teams are being asked to deliver more impact with fewer resources. If we want to help, we need to understand the barriers and design practical solutions.
That’s exactly why Rent a Recruiter exists. We believe in embedded, scalable talent partnerships that help HR leaders meet hiring goals and build long-term employer brand value.
Watch our webinar replay ” How to effectively manage your employer brand” with special guests:
Gillian Horan, Founder The Pudding, Kevin Brennan, National Account Manager Indeed, Brendan Ring – Chief People Officer at Otonomee
When employer branding is done well, it doesn’t just attract more candidates. It brings in the right ones. It reduces time-to-fill, improves retention, and creates a better employee experience from day one.
If you’d like to explore how employer brand can become a more integrated part of your talent strategy, let’s talk. We’re here to support.
Let’s Build Brands That Attract the Right People
When employer branding is done well, it doesn’t just attract more candidates. It brings in the right ones. It reduces time-to-fill, improves retention, and creates a better employee experience from day one.
If you’d like to explore the full survey results or talk about how employer brand can become a more integrated part of your talent strategy, let’s talk. We’re here to support, not just advise.
Let’s make employer branding work for HR teams, not weigh them down.
About the data:
Survey conducted in April 2025 with 460+ respondents across LinkedIn HR communities and a live Rent a Recruiter webinar. Respondents included HR business partners, talent acquisition leads, and EB professionals across multiple sectors.
