Identification of internal employer brand and current employees’ perceptions at Gasum Group

In recent years, employer branding has gained more attention and significance in corporate strategies, much due to the economic and societal changes taking place in the world, and most recently due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At best, employer branding is a long-term strategic investment into attracting and retaining key talent and can help an organization to distinguish itself from other employers in an increasingly competitive labor market. Today, organizations have a better understanding of the importance of aligning their external brand propositions with the internal experiences and perceptions of the company. Understanding what current employees think of the employer has become a key element in successful employer brand management. In the theoretical framework, the key definitions and evolution of the employer branding concept over its existence are introduced, and the central frameworks and components affecting the formation of the employer brand are examined. In addition, the concepts of future of work and employer branding are examined to bring understanding of values and expectations that employees today have towards current and potential employers. Special attention has been paid to the key principles of employer brand management and to identifying correct measurement items for the internal employer brand. The commissioning organization for this thesis was Gasum Group. The main objectives were to provide the company a description of its internal employer brand and of current employees’ values and expectations towards the company and employment in general. The research was carried out as a mixed method research that included both primary and secondary data sources and qualitative and quantitative data. The active part of the research commenced in January 2022. The primary data collection was carried out during March 2022 through a survey targeted to the entire Gasum personnel, and the secondary data collection during February–May 2022. Analysis of the research data and finalizing the thesis report took place in April–November 2022. The research shows that Gasum’s internal employer brand is more positive than negative. Gasum is seen as an employer with great cultural characteristics, modern ways of working, and providing interesting tasks, significance and meaning to its employees. The research also shows that Gasum’s external employer brand propositions and values are relatively well realized internally. Possible development areas identified relate to, for example, compensation, career development opportunities, structure and organization, reliability and stability, need for a unified culture, sense of being appreciated and valued, and the ability to manage own workload. Overall, this thesis succeeds in providing the case organization a good overview of the different elements of its current internal employer brand. In addition, through understanding the employee values and expectations, the company will be able to focus its future development actions in the right areas, both internally and externally