Employer Branding

Employer Branding (German employer branding ) is an enterprise strategic measure in which concepts from the marketing - are used to represent a company as a whole as an attractive employer and stand out positively from other competitors in the labor market ( position ) - in particular the branding. The term appeared in the English literature, beginning in 1996 in the article " The Employer Brand" by Tim Ambler and Simon Barrow in the Journal of Brand Management on. The result of employer branding is the employer brand (English Employer Brand ), ie the specifically designed by the company way how a company is perceived in the labor market as an employer. In this respect, the employer brand is different from the employer image, which is more historical and primarily caused by media influences.

The goal of employer branding is essentially to, due to the expected marketing effect to increase the efficiency of the recruitment as well as the quality of the applicants permanent. In addition, qualified and dedicated employees are bound by a higher identification and the establishment of a long-term emotional attachment to the company.

Examples of purely image -oriented campaigns in Germany, the "Be - Lufthansa " campaign by Lufthansa, the " are you automotivated? " Campaign of Continental or the "Passion Wanted! " Campaign by McKinsey & Company, Germany. Frequently quoted and used as examples of companies that are successful employer branding have put processes in Germany, are Orthomol ( " Convincing companies " ), MARS ( "Freedom takes courage. We take the courageous " ), Capgemini sd & m ( " substance? Herzlich? Welcome " ) and since 2010 also the technicians health insurance ( " Is that you? ).

The idea of ​​the employer brand was created in the late 1990s in response to the shortage of talented and qualified professionals and executives. Often the employer brand is understood as an approach that mainly refers to the recruitment of staff. The employer brand acts far beyond this and still exhausted from all other positive effects for companies that remain largely untapped in Germany (unlike in the UK and U.S., where numerous studies significant correlations between strategically sound employer brands and increased identification, commitment, willingness to have found out to reduce sick leave and office theft).

The challenge for companies is to communicate a consistent image both (potential) employees, as well as to (potential) customers and other stakeholders as part of integrated communication. This is particularly difficult especially if companies want to build competing images under a single brand (eg cost benefits through savings and rationalization to consumers and a good reward to employees ).

Definition of employer branding

In journal articles and scientific articles most frequently referenced is the definition of the German Employer Branding Academy from 2006:

" Employer Branding is the identity-based, internally and externally effective development and positioning of a company as a credible and attractive employer.

Core of employer branding is always a corporate brand or specifying adapting employer brand strategy. Development, implementation and monitoring of this strategy aimed directly at the sustainable optimization of employee recruitment, employee retention, motivation and corporate culture as well as the improvement of the corporate image. Indirectly increases employer branding also business results and brand value. "

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

The professional association Queb eV defines employer branding on the other hand a little tighter:

" Employer Branding aims in the perceptions to an employer form a distinct, authentic, credible, consistent and attractive employer brand that pays a positive impact on the corporate brand. "

Methods of Employer Branding

Employer branding is divided into two strategies:

Impact areas of employer branding

• Recruiting ( Recruiting )
• Employee retention (retention )
• Corporate Culture
• Performance and Talent Management
• Corporate image / brand ( by positive feedback effects )

The above-mentioned study is only one example of the ever increasingly intensive research in this area. The effect areas receive considerable attention in the literature.

Factors influencing the employer brand

The following aspects are in building an employer brand of importance:

• Identity and values ​​of the company
• The company's strengths as an employer (eg, content, culture, attractiveness of the products, career opportunities, etc.)
• Needs and requirements of potential workers (eg, content, culture, attractiveness of the products, career opportunities, etc.)
• The integrity of the employer brand ( communicated, but not existing properties or performance may cause adverse results )
• The strengths of the competitors in the labor market
• The current image of the company as an employer

The expectations of the target groups that you want to achieve by the employer brand, to an employer, are important indicators in operational communication of the employer brand. Since these so-called candidate preferences or attractiveness features, however, are subject to substantial fluctuations, they should not be used alone as a basis for employer brand strategy. A comparison of the relevant German studies on candidate preferences shows a very irregular, constantly changing image. They are therefore by itself not a reliable basis for planning an employer positioning, the best, have several years of existence and should be based on one's own identity as an employer and not only on the zeitgeist expectations heterogeneous target groups. In economic crises, for example, gain values ​​such as job security, culture and education opportunities in importance, which for the majority of the candidates have a deep relevance in successful years. Recent research has intensified the challenges of employer branding in crisis.

Criticism

The emphasis of the potential future employee for the principle of emotionally bound branding is assumed, so that employer branding can have an effect. Employer branding has neither a material value to the stock of employees, the procedure still carries material benefits for these workers. Many companies use marketing strategies for employee recruitment. For example, the number of English-language job titles has risen disproportionately.

The Employer Branding is used to distinguish between those who belong and those who (still) do not belong. The concept is tied to regular growth of the workforce. Once the company is shrinking and wanting interest also belong to outsiders is irrelevant, breaking the Employer Branding at regular intervals. The value of employer branding for the employee will be rather marginal.

The concept is thus not robust against variations in the performance of the company in the market of competitors to employees. The capacity to understand the headcount is overwhelmed by the setting at the latest before their own dismissal if there is a danger soon no longer to belong to it.

On the other hand, makes a good employer brand as well as a good product brand the company in times of crisis less vulnerable as long to develop the industry companies similar or missing lucrative alternatives in the labor market.