Employer branding

Employer branding is a strategic corporate measure in which marketing concepts- in particular branding - are used to present a company as an attractive employer and to set itapart (to position )positivelyfrom other competitors in the labor market . The term first appeared in English-language literature in 1996 in the specialist article "The Employer Brand" by Tim Ambler and Simon Barrow in the Journal of Brand Management. The result of employer branding is the employer brand (Engl. Employer Brand ), so the targeted designed by the company way how a company is perceived in the labor market as an employer. In this respect, the employer brand differs from the employer image, which was created more historically and primarily through media influences.

The aim of employer branding is essentially to increase the efficiency of personnel recruitment and the quality of applicants on a permanent basis due to the hoped-for marketing effect. In addition, qualified and committed employees should be bound to the company in the long term through greater identification and the establishment of an emotional bond.

Examples of purely image-oriented campaigns in Germany are Lufthansa's “ Be -Lufthansa” campaign , the “ are you automotivated? "Campaign from Continental or the" Passion Wanted! "Campaign by McKinsey & Company Germany. Frequently cited and used as examples for companies that have successfully set up employer branding processes in Germany are Orthomol (“convincing company”), MARS (“Freedom takes courage. We take the courageous”), Capgemini sd & m (“substance? Warmly? Welcome! ") And since the beginning of 2010 also the Techniker Krankenkasse (" Is that you? ").

The idea of ​​the employer brand emerged in the late 1990s as a reaction to the shortage of talented and qualified specialists and managers. Often the employer brand is understood as an approach that primarily relates to the recruitment of staff . However, the employer brand has a far greater effect and absorbs completely different positive effects for companies, which, however, remain largely unused in Germany (unlike in Great Britain and the USA , where numerous studies show significant correlations between strategically founded employer brands and increased identification , organizational commitment , motivation up to a reduction in sick leave and office theft ).

The challenge for companies is to communicate a uniform image to (potential) employees as well as to (potential) customers and other stakeholders within the framework of integrated communication. This is particularly difficult if companies want to build up competing images under one brand (e.g. an image of cheaper products for consumers through savings and rationalization and an image of job security and high wages for employees).

Definition of employer branding

The definition of the German Employer Branding Academy from 2006 is most frequently referenced in specialist and scientific articles:

“Employer branding is the identity-based, internally and externally effective development and positioning of a company as a credible and attractive employer. The core of employer branding is always an employer brand strategy that specifies or adapts the corporate brand. The development, implementation and measurement of this strategy are aimed directly at the sustainable optimization of employee recruitment, employee retention, motivation and corporate culture as well as the improvement of the corporate image. Employer branding also indirectly increases business results and brand value. "

Stotz & Wedel (2009) also expose the DEBA definition from further definitions of terms and also define employer branding as part of strategic HRM, in which the special features of the company as an employer are developed, implemented operationally and communicated internally and externally.

The professional association Queb e. V. defines employer branding somewhat more briefly: "The aim of employer branding is to create a distinguishable, authentic, credible, consistent and attractive employer brand in the perception of an employer that has a positive impact on the corporate brand."

Another aspect is the development and effectiveness of social media . These have already assumed an important position in the competition for skilled workers. On the one hand, they are changing the search for employees and personnel marketing. On the other hand, social media also influence the employer brand from the outside.

Methods and areas of impact of employer branding

The aim is to increase the company's attractiveness as an employer

• Providing appropriate incentives to employee recruitment ( recruiting )
  • E-recruiting : Efficient and transparent application options
  • Candidate Experience : Applicant-friendly design of the application process
• Employee loyalty ( retention )
  • Horizontal employee loyalty: Employees are offered a wide range of development opportunities within their hierarchical grouping or classification.
  • Vertical employee loyalty: The employee has the chance to increase his responsibility or to be promoted to the next higher level in the hierarchy within the framework of defined and transparent career paths .
• Performance management through incentive systems and fair evaluation of individual and team performance as part of performance management
• Talent management to ensure that critical positions are filled
• Company image / brand (which interacts closely with the branding as an employer brand and must be consistent with it)
• Attractive corporate culture
• Design of the working environment (e.g. through innovative office concepts, the possibility of teleworking )
• Work-life balance
• Diversity management as part of social responsibility, but also the development of further sources for qualified personnel

In recent years, social media have influenced the perception of companies as employers and are used specifically for recruiting. Employer reviews on portals and image reviews in particular contribute to the employer brand, as more and more applicants are looking for employers and jobs. For example, one in five university graduates now uses such rating portals to form an opinion about potential employers. As a reaction to this, the companies try to help shape their employer brand on such portals.

Factors influencing the employer brand

The following aspects are important when building an employer brand:

• Company identity and values
• The intrinsic value and attractiveness of its products
• Strengths of the company as an employer (e.g. salary, culture, attractiveness of the products, career opportunities, etc.)
• Needs and requirements of potential employees (e.g. salary, culture, attractiveness of the products, career opportunities, etc.)
• Integrity of the employer brand (communicated but non-existent characteristics or services can cast doubt on the integrity)
• Strengths of competitors in the labor market
• Current image of the company as an employer

The expectations of the target groups that one would like to reach through the employer brand of an employer are important indicators in the operational communication of the employer brand. However, since these so-called applicant preferences or attractiveness characteristics are subject to strong fluctuations, they should not be used solely as a basis for an employer branding strategy. A comparison of the relevant German studies on applicant preferences shows a very inconsistent, constantly changing picture. Taken alone, they are therefore not a reliable planning basis for an employer positioning, which should at best last for several years and be based on one's own identity as an employer and not just on the contemporary expectations of heterogeneous target groups. In economic crises, for example, values ​​such as job security, culture and further training opportunities gain importance, which in successful years have a deep relevance for the majority of applicants. More recent research is increasingly concerned with the challenges of employer branding in times of crisis.

literature

• Simon Barrow, Richard Mosley: The Employer Brand. Bringing the Best of Brand Management to People at Work. John Wiley & Sons, West Sussex 2005, ISBN 0-470-01273-0 .
• M. Ewing et al: Employer Branding in the Knowledge Economy. In: International Journal of Management. Volume 21, No. 1, 2002, pp. 3-22.
• Alexander Haldemann, Martin Elbel: When your own brand gets into crisis. Skilled employer branding should attract potential employees - and bind good and existing employees to the company. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. May 27, 2009 (PDF)
• Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones, Beth Axelrod: The war for talent. Harvard Business School Press, Boston 2001, ISBN 1-57851-459-2 .
• Brett Minchington: Your Employer Brand: Attract, Engage, Retain. Collective Learning Australia, 2006, ISBN 0-646-46502-3 .
• Sara Mrozek: Employer Branding. Mering Verlag, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-86618-418-3 .
• M. Petkovic: Employer Branding. A brand policy approach to creating preferences when choosing an employer. 2nd Edition. Mering, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-86618-204-2 .
• F. Schumacher, R. Geschwill: Employer Branding. Human resources management for corporate management. Wiesbaden 2009, ISBN 978-3-8349-1129-2 .
• Waldemar Stotz, Anne Wedel: Employer Branding. The preferred employer with a strategy. New edition. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2013, ISBN 978-3-486-73585-7 .
• Christoph Stritzke: Market-oriented personnel management through employer branding. Theoretical-conceptual approach and empirical evidence. Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden 2010, ISBN 978-3-8349-1908-3 .
• Torsten Tomczak , Franz-Rudolf Esch, Joachim Kernstock, Andreas Herrmann: Behavioral Branding - How employee behavior strengthens the brand. Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 978-3-8349-0634-2 .
• Armin Trost (Ed.): Employer Branding. Position and present employers. Luchterhand, Cologne 2009, ISBN 978-3-472-07485-4 .
• Benjamin von Walter, Dietmar Kremmel (ed.): Employer Brand Management. Build and manage employer brands. Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden 2016.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Definition Queb e. V.
2. ^ Sandra Jeanquart Miles, Randy McCarney: The candidate experience: Is it damaging your employer branding? In: Business Horizons 61 (2018) 5, pp. 653–654.
3. ↑ http://arbeitgeber.monster.de/hr/personal-tipps/personalmanagement/personalfuhrung-entwicklung/mitarbeiterbichtung-so-funktionierts-035920.aspx .
4. ^ Sandra Jeanquart Miles, W. Glynn Mangold: Growing the Employee Brand at ASI: A Case Study. In: Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies 14 (2007) 1, pp. 77–85.
5. ↑ App, job exchange or career page: Where to look for graduates. Haufe.de, accessed on May 7, 2015 . 
6. ↑ Employer ratings online - don't work here! Handelsblatt, accessed on May 7, 2015 .