Employer branding : likenesses and differences between external and internal employer brand images

Most studies show that we are entering a longer period of lack of competence, and more people are showing interest in the matter. The demand for qualified working capacity is increasing faster than the offering, both in Sweden and internationally. As competition in the labour market has intensified, companies have shown an ever-increasing interest in strategies to different themselves. Strong demand for specific skills, in addition to ever tighter labour markets generally, is making it much more difficult both to retain current employees and to recruit new employees. Employer Branding is called the ‘hottest strategy in employment’. It is an international concept referring to the work with making the identity clear as employer. The result is the companies’ images as employer, both internally and externally. Strategic work with a company’s employer brand should be focused at the common images found externally and internally. In order to develop a strong employer brand, it is necessary to demonstrate what is specific about your organisation and its culture. However, awareness of possibly existing differences and likenesses in attitudes within certain groups will make a strategic work more efficient. The objective with this research was to examine the existence of similarities and differences between external and internal employer brand images. Universum Communication is an international research and management consulting firm, working with understanding the career expectations of today's students and young professionals. Young professionals, i.e. individuals between the age of 25-35, with an academic background and up to eight years of working experience, will probably be the markets most wanted work force. The other group of interest concerning competence on the future labour market are the students of today. Communicating with these groups is a critical success factor for companies/organisations today. The research by Universum Communication conducts quantitative surveys about the opinions of students and young professionals regarding recruitment and lifestyle issues. In this research information collected from their surveys concerning students and young professionals was serving as reflection of the external employer brand images. For obtaining comparable data of internal employer brand images among employees, a survey was designed for this research. Three companies were investigated, in this study referred to as company A, B and C, due to requirements for being anonymous. The students and young professionals included were the ones seeing these three companies as ideal employers. Found in this research as common for all three companies was that among all respondent groups, varying work and exiting products are frequent expected offers and associations. Three associations were over all neither common, nor uncommon, coincidently for all three companies. These were good leadership/ management, innovative solutions and strong clear company culture. Among the least frequent associations for any of the companies, for any of the respondent groups, was a too competitive working environment. For this research the objective was also to examine whether there are coincidence concerning differences. Overall the employees at the three companies are appreciating possibilities for advancement/ promotion offer very little, while the external groups tend to expect it more, especially the young professionals. A good reference for future carrier, project based work, competitive compensation and tasks that mean bigger challenges are for all three companies something that people on the outside are expecting more than the employees are appreciating it. Flexible working hours are for all employees a highly appreciated offer. Good reputation & and highly thought of is also more frequently associated with the companies among their employees, then among the external groups. The size of the gap to the external groups varies between the companies. However, it is clearly so that all employees are strongly associating their employer with good reputation. When it comes to employees with varying background one thing is in common for all three companies: the two working groups, the employees and young professionals are paying more attention to it than the students. A dynamic organisation on the other hand is less associated with the companies among the working groups, than among the students.Validerat; 20101217 (root