Employer branding - enthusiasm for the brand

Skills shortages, vacancies and staff turnover are part of everyday life for many companies. The employer market is changing into an employee market. In addition, the demands placed on employees are changing as a result of increased pressure on the economy and rapidly changing markets. In this dynamic world, highly qualified and enthusiastic employees are a company's key asset for the future.

Motivated, enthusiastic employees: they guarantee success.

This is exactly where employer branding comes in:
On the one hand, the aim is to increase employees' identification with the company and, on the other, to permanently increase the quality of applicants. Good HR management is aware of the need for employer branding strategies that rely on internal communication to get employees excited about the company and its tasks. It is no coincidence that retention and motivation are employer branding goals that need to be achieved before recruiting.

Applicants who fit: They also love the brand.

Culture and brand should not be underestimated in recruiting either. The aim is to find employees who fit the company and the brand and identify with its culture. It is not the quantity of applicants that is decisive, but their quality, competence and personality profile. Employees with an accountant's mentality, for example, are simply not suited to development or sales positions in a company that is committed to innovation. The trick is to attract suitable applicants with values that match the brand. Creative, emotional advertising can help with this. There are also tools for matching the personality profiles of applicants and the brand. It is better to look for employees who fit the culture than to try to make employees fit.

Empty promises: This will be punished immediately.

You can't fool employees. Applicants also put companies through their paces. Agencies can present companies as very attractive, but the full-bodied platitudes of many job advertisements are increasingly being questioned and jobs rejected. Even if an applicant is hired, they quickly discover if the promises are not lived up to and the corporate culture and values are not as advertised. This quickly leads to dissatisfaction. Internal and genuine resignations are the result - and they are extremely costly.

Corporate and employer brand with the same positioning and design: this is top class.

The employer brand cannot be seen independently of the corporate brand. Although the employer brand communication must address other requirements of its target groups in detail, the core messages should be consistent. A different positioning externally and internally, towards customers and employees is not credible. If, for example, partnership or a high pace of innovation are advertised, then applicants and employees must also be convinced of this and be willing and able to implement it accordingly in their jobs.

An employer positioning that is strategically aligned with the corporate brand allows for clear differentiation. Self-similar communication in terms of design also creates additional synergy effects. This pays off for the brand, saves money and gives the opportunity to multiply the communication pressure.

Employer branding: not a walk in the park, but a mountain hike.

The summit can only be reached as a team. Managers, HR staff, marketing and management must pull together. And there are many intermediate peaks to climb.

Starting with strategy development on the basis of sound market, target group, competition and SWOT analyses, through to the development of an employer positioning that is focused, differentiated, honest and relevant to the target group. The planning of measures in external employer branding ranges from image campaigns, job advertisements, brochures, career fairs, university and school marketing, PR, social media, storytelling and dialog offers. The instruments of internal employer branding are interdisciplinary and diverse. Internal communication with brochures, onboarding material, employee magazines, intranet and social media form the basis. Brand-oriented personnel programs such as remuneration and incentive systems are an indispensable part of employer branding, as are the right leadership and change management processes.

Return on investment: Quite easy to prove with cost savings.

According to a Gallup study, an employee base that identifies with the company and is enthusiastic about the brand and products is demonstrably more productive. Other studies show that a functioning, brand-oriented organizational culture is a strong competitive advantage. This may sometimes be difficult to quantify, but the cost reductions in HR due to lower staff turnover can be proven with impressive figures. There is potential for savings here that can quickly add up to millions. Studies estimate at least 39,000 euros per fluctuation case. This is plausible if you include not only the costs of leaving the company, such as compensation for time off, sick leave and the costs of the recruiting process, but also opportunity costs such as vacancies and training periods. A lack of identification with the company and internal resignation, which usually precedes external resignation, cost enormous sums of money. Reducing the fluctuation rate by 3 percent with a good retention process results in savings of EUR 1,170,000 for 1000 employees alone. Added to this are further savings due to a reduction in misplacements, improvements in the recruitment process and a better fit between employees and the company.
Employer branding is therefore worthwhile, as is professional support from agencies and change management consultants.