Many companies stick to trends or traditional approaches when building their employer brand. At Railsware, we took a different route — one guided by data.
Our experience shows how understanding what truly matters to your team (rather than relying on assumptions) can lead to a more authentic and effective employer brand. Instead of focusing solely on attracting talent, we found ways to both attract and retain great people.
In this piece, I share the practical strategies and data-gathering methods we used — along with results that you might use for your company.
No gut feeling – only data
It’s tempting to rely on gut instinct or what feels right when building an employer brand, but if you want it to truly stick and make an impact, you need data to lead the way.
Unlike traditional marketing, employer branding involves a lot of moving parts—like employee satisfaction, motivation, and culture — that aren’t always easy to measure. However, with the right approach, you can collect the insights needed to craft messaging that speaks directly to your employees and the talent you’re looking to attract.
1. Motivators research
People always value something different – flexible schedules, a collaborative team, career growth or work-life balance. However, you can pinpoint several things that truly resonate with your talent and make them join and stay for years. For this, you need more than understanding your team’s needs. You should gather and analyze key motivators to shape a brand that reflects what people care about (which also makes the right candidates see a place where they would want to be).
And it’s way more challenging than obtaining data. So, before taking any steps, it’s important to structure the data thoughtfully, factoring in things like location and years of experience. Such a structured approach can allow you to make more informed decisions that will not only create an attractive employer brand but also be adaptable to your team’s evolving needs.
Let’s break down Railsware as an example. Here are the top reasons (motivators) why people choose Railsware:
Motivation depends on a person’s life context. So, it’s crucial to consider factors like country, age, and profession in your questionnaire. We conduct motivation research annually, segmenting the results by team (Marketing, Finance, Engineers, etc.) and time (see example):
As shown in the screenshot, 5 means most important and 1 means least important—the factors are ranked based on that scale. Regardless of how long Railswarians have been with the company — whether they’re newcomers or “dinosaurs” — the top motivators remain the same: a flexible schedule, remote work, and meaningful work content. In contrast, social interaction plays a minimal role and is neither a strong selling point nor a key factor in decision-making.
2. Candidate Development Interviews
If you haven’t realised it yet, your employees are your greatest asset. That’s why engaging with them through the Candidate Development Interview and regular feedback shows that you’re listening and committed to enhancing their job satisfaction.
While it’s common to focus on employees who have successfully passed their probation, don’t overlook the value of Off-boarding Sessions. These can provide critical insights for improving your processes and refining your employer brand, ensuring you attract and retain the best talent.
To get started, collaborate with your HR team to develop the right set of questions. They should cover various contexts to uncover the insights you need. So, be concise and clear, focus on questions that truly matter to your goals, and avoid asking for information you won’t use.
Don’t forget to organize all the gathered data into a structured document and analyze it. Here is a small part of questions from our pool:
3. Check review platforms (bullet, action points)
When conducting Candidate Development Interviews, don’t miss the opportunity to emphasize the importance of leaving feedback on review platforms like Glassdoor. Whether you believe it or not, our experience (and we’ve conducted plenty of the CDIs) shows that most candidates check these platforms. So, if you want to climb higher on the list of companies your future candidates are considering, this is a smart move.
Remember: honest feedback, whether it’s praise or critique, is invaluable. And if reviews seem fake or come directly from the company, they can backfire, eroding trust and credibility. Instead, authentic reviews give you crucial insights into your workplace culture, strengths, and areas that need improvement.
Keep a close eye on these reviews to understand how your company is truly perceived. Negative reviews? They’re part of the package, and they’re more common than you might think. But sometimes, they might reflect genuine concerns or frustrations. Approach them with a cool head, and use them as a guide to make necessary changes.
Now that we’ve covered this step, let’s move on to the next crucial point—how to start building data-driven employer branding.
How to do brand positioning: step by step case study
Building a strong employer brand isn’t about adding flashy promises into messages—it’s about showing what’s truly resonating within your company. Instead of fabricating an ideal image from scratch, take a closer look at what genuinely attracts talent and what your culture authentically offers. By aligning your employer brand with these realities, you’ll keep top talent who appreciate an honest, transparent workplace.
To achieve this, we’ve developed step-by-step instructions using the tools from our previous list. Here’s how to put them into action:
1. Conduct a BRIDGeS session with the HR team
We took the first crucial step in shaping our employer brand by setting up BRIDGeS sessions with the HR team. We’ve often emphasized the importance of having a clear communication purpose, but knowing how to define that purpose is just as critical. To ensure every voice is heard and every perspective is considered, I recommend organizing brainstorming sessions with your entire HR team.
We used the BRIDGeS framework to guide these discussions. By dividing the session into two key sections, we were able to thoroughly assess risks, gather ideas, and define essential aspects of our company. This approach allowed us to pinpoint:
- What our company truly stands for.
- The core values that drive our decision-making.
- The unique culture that defines our teams.
Through this process, we laid the foundation for what would become our employer brand, ensuring that it authentically reflects who we are and what we believe in.
As we’ve discussed, it’s crucial not only to conduct Candidate Development Interviews (CDIs) but also to thoroughly analyze them. This analysis is a key step in shaping your employer branding, as it helps you create a collection of frequently cited insights and quotes that reflect your company’s strengths.
You’ll want to capture all the key phrases and insights from your feedback. To make sense of it all, organize them into distinct categories. For instance, we use color coding to sort phrases into sections like:
- exit reasons
- job search patterns
- company-specific terms
- job description triggers
- ad triggers.
This approach not only highlights your strengths—such as a strong team, work-life balance, or clear processes—but also provides context on WHY these elements matter. Start by systematically categorizing feedback into major themes like hiring processes, exits, and company culture.
Tip: Color coding these categories will make it easier to pinpoint the most crucial motivators and recurring concerns.
Therefore, you can spot patterns in what your employees and candidates care about most. And by categorizing these insights, you can prioritize the most critical motivators and address common concerns directly in your communications. Thus, your messaging will be not only relevant but resonate deeply with your audience.
We noticed that three motivators were equally important to us. Usually, companies focus on just one, but we decided to build our communication around all three: a strong team (impacting company results), solid company processes (doing things that matter), and a flexible schedule (work-life balance). You can see these motivators reflected across all Railsware assets.
What was left was to find one strong narrative that reflected both what we have and what people value. And since Railsware is a company for seasoned, self-driven specialists, we decided to highlight that it’s not their first job — it’s their NEXT career step, their NEW career calling.
After some brainstorming, we decided to go with these two options.
- Railsware is your New Career Crush
- Railsware is your New Career Match
We also considered other options like “Career Passion”, “Career Key”, “Career Charm” and “Career Calling”.
Once you have several options, it’s time to test which one works best, right?
3. Use ads to test ideas
Usually, a communication platform “lives” for 3 to 5 years. That’s why you want to be sure about your choice. Test it before you settle on it. Ads are an efficient way to do this because:
- You get a controlled space where you can gauge how well different concepts resonate with your audience.
- You can see what works without affecting your current conversion rate (CR).
After finding 2 narratives, we started debating between “Career Crush” and “Career Match” for our revamped career page.
We used paid ads to test both options, ensuring we didn’t disrupt our existing setup. However, before sharing our insights, take a moment to guess which term we ended up choosing and why.
After running some tests, we discovered that “Career Match” resonated better with our audience. “Crush” seemed too personal and might imply a fleeting interest, which felt off compared to the long-term fit we were trying to create.
4. One last check: feedback from updated CDIs
However, testing new ideas is not the last part of the process – the final step happens when you check how those ideas resonate with your colleagues. That’s why it’s crucial to update Candidate Development Interviews (CDIs) and gather fresh insights on your messaging.
- What does work-life balance mean to you?
- How do you define a strong team? Why is it important to work with one?
- Do you feel you have enough flexibility at Railsware?
- Do you find it challenging to work with people from different time zones and cultures?
Engaging directly with Railswarians allowed us to capture their reactions and associations, ensuring that nothing slips through the cracks.
Results and final thoughts
How do we know it’s working?
We launched our new employer branding communication at the end of 2022, and the data speaks for itself:
- +27% increase in applications — from 5.5K in 2022 to 7K in 2023
- Candidate call conversion rose from 3.25% to 8.88% — meaning significantly more people we reached out to wanted to continue the conversation
- Referrals grew from 337 to 458 — and we don’t offer bonuses, so this reflects genuine belief from our team
- During CDIs and in emails, we’ve noticed phrases like “I think it’s a match” and other our keywords from new communication more frequently. These are the exact words and themes from our Career & Team pages—proof that our tone, values, and mission are connecting on a deeper level.
However, what matters even more is alignment.
The success we’re seeing comes from staying true to who we are. As our communication isn’t a surface-level rebrand, it reflects our culture, our values, and our intentional approach to hiring.
That’s why at Railsware we’re not in a race to fill roles fast, but to find people who fit — with the work, the team, and the vision. Only then that’s the real match for both us and the candidate.
