Employer brand – an organization’s reputation as an employer – is the deciding factor for job seekers when selecting a new employer (LinkedIn’s Talent Trends 2014).

Employers’ cannot ignore the importance of their company’s reputation as an exceptional place to work… Especially considering the mounting war for talent!

The US is closer to full employment than it has been since 1999. – Click to Tweet

According to George Bradt, this has caused a seismic shift in the war for talent.

With options expanding for employees and declining for employers, emphasizing employment brand is critical.

The war for talent is not the only change in today’s recruitment landscape necessitating robust employer branding.

The rise of the social and mobile job seeker demands that companies build employment brands with social reach as, according to Jobvite, 76% of social job seekers found their current position on Facebook and 43% use mobile in their job search.

Companies with attractive and social employment brands will win the war for talent.

So if think that your employer brand is in need of improvement, then there’s no time like the present.

Here are 11 questions to ask yourself in order to build a better employer brand:

1. What does your company stand for?

This question goes to the heart of your employment brand. You, your employees, and anyone involved in talent acquisition for your company should be able to answer this question with clarity and confidence.

2. What do your employees think your company stands for?

The answer may not be what you think! Learning more about what your employees think your company stands for will help you ensure that everyone is on the same page and may even provide a source of inspiration for your employer branding efforts.

3. Why would someone want to work for your company?

Great perks, flexible work arrangements, competitive salaries, a supportive team, a chance to make a positive difference… Not only do you need to assess what it is that makes your company a great place to work, but you also need to know which of these benefits appeal to the candidates you want to attract.

4. Do your managers receive employer brand training? (On how to deliver the brand experience, how to promote the employer brand)

Managers need to understand your company’s employer brand and their interactions with employees should reflect this knowledge.

5. How do your current employees perceive your employer brand?

The answer to this question will help you assess the authenticity of the employer brand that you are trying to project.

6. What percentage of your employees would recommend your company as a great place to work?

Word of mouth is still one of the most effective tools for building a trustworthy brand, if your employees wouldn’t recommend your company to their colleagues, then you need to know why and you need to make some changes.

7. How visible is your company’s employer brand?

Whether your company relatively unknown to potential job seekers or well known by candidates in your field should influence how you structure your employment branding strategy so you must have some idea of your company’s employment brand reach.

8. Is your employer brand social?

Being social means more than just having a Twitter account and a Facebook Page, it means actively sharing content and engaging with potential candidates via social media! If your answer is no, then check out this article on how to grow your employer brand on Facebook.

9. Does your brand reach and facilitate mobile candidates?

If your employer brand is social, then you have the means to reach and engage with mobile job seekers, but you must also make it easy for them to apply for your jobs via mobile.

10. Who owns your employer brand strategy?

This is a bit of a trick question as the answer should be your entire company. According to Brett Minchington “The traditional siloed approach to managing the attraction, engagement, and retention of talent is out of date and out of step with today’s candidate and employee needs.” In short, a more inclusive approach is needed in order to achieve cohesive employer branding.

11. How are you tracking ROI and using the data that you collect?

You need to know the metrics on your current employer branding efforts in order to make an educated decision about the direction of your future brand strategy. Number crunching may be boring, but it’s worth the effort and the extra shots of espresso!

Answer these questions and you’ll see the steps you must take to create an employer brand that will effectively attract top talent.

For more on employer branding check out how this company used Facebook to grow their employer brand and social reach by 500%.