Employer Branding

Focus topic
Employer Branding

Attracting good people to a company is becoming increasingly difficult. This is because skilled workers are rare and have a choice. They no longer just look at the salary, but at the entire working environment. Strong employer brands have the advantage of no longer having to prove much. Their good reputation as attractive employers precedes them and almost automatically attracts qualified and committed new employees. Once they are in the company, strong employer brands create a working environment that inspires them in the long term – and retains them in the long term.

The challenges

But what makes employers attractive? How do they make employees feel understood and comfortable and identify with the organisation? And how much New Work is actually good?

We have been supporting companies and organisations with successful employer branding for many years. We help organisations to strengthen their brand and bring it to life through communication and design. Together, we develop suitable strategies and measures for recruitment. We develop internal campaigns, career portals and specific offers (such as employee benefits, learning opportunities or the redesign of the workplace). We realise appealing designs and meaningful texts in the right tone of voice – and ensure a credible and long-term positioning as an attractive employer in our new world of work.

Our process

We have been supporting companies and organisations in their successful employer branding for many years. Our process in a nutshell:

1.

Understanding the brand, planning the project

2.

Analyse the employer brand

3.

Develop a clear profile

4.

Coming into practice

Together with our clients, we define the initial situation: What characterises the brand and what makes the company special as an employer? Which values and strengths should become visible? We harmonise expectations, identify challenges and develop a clear roadmap for the project.

We analyse how the company is perceived internally and externally. To do this, we conduct interviews with various stakeholders, analyse the recruitment strategy and examine the entire employee journey. We identify the most important target groups and describe them more precisely using personas. And, of course, we also take a close look at the competition – and how others address their employees and potential applicants.

Based on the insights gained, we define a strong positioning as an employer, the so-called Employer Value Proposition (EVP). We formulate key messages, design a visual identity and provide impetus for values, culture and behaviour. We also develop a campaign strategy with suitable formats for the relevant channels.

Now we are implementing the measures: From career websites and social media campaigns to internal communication – we create content that makes the company an attractive employer and implement the campaign in a targeted manner in recruiting. Finally, we analyse the success of the measures and evaluate them.

5 good reasons for employer branding

The brand gains radiance 

Strong employer branding not only ensures a clearer positioning towards current and potential employees but also strengthens the entire corporate brand.

Recruitment costs decrease

An attractive employer brand reduces the cost of recruiting campaigns in the medium term and thus lowers the cost of recruiting.

Perfect match instead of mass appeal

Employer branding conveys a realistic image of the work culture – this may not attract the most talent, but it attracts the right talent.

More WE, less away

By involving employees and applicants, it becomes clear what the corporate culture is all about – and how it can be developed in a targeted manner. This strengthens the WE feeling, increases identification and binds the right people to the company.

Fit for the future

Whether diversity, new work, mental health or digitalisation/AI – key future topics are reflected and strategically integrated in the employer branding process. In this way, the company remains relevant as an employer and can inspire and retain talent in the long term.

Slide

If employer branding is the answer – what is the question again?

1. how do we find the right applicants in times of skills shortages?

The key lies in a clear, authentic employer brand. If you position yourself as a company in a distinctive way, you will attract the talent that matches your corporate culture – instead of generating as many applications as possible. Employer branding ensures that values, working environment and development prospects become visible. At the same time, it improves the entire recruiting strategy, from the approach to the choice of channels through to communication during the application process.

Slide

If employer branding is the answer – what is the question again?

2. how can we reduce staff turnover?

Employees leave a company for many reasons – remuneration, development opportunities and corporate culture often play a central role. The employer branding process helps to identify the critical points in internal and external communication and to reflect on them as part of the corporate culture. The insights gained show how the company can continue to develop in order to remain more attractive to employees in the long term.

Slide

If employer branding is the answer – what is the question again?

3. how can we position ourselves as an attractive employer in the long term?

Competition for skilled labour is fierce – and companies are faced with the challenge of convincingly differentiating themselves from other employers. A strong employer branding strategy defines clear values, messages and visual elements that make the company recognisable as an attractive employer and create strong identification in the long term.

Case Study I – Performance for people

Cofinpro AG has been a ‘Great Place to Work’ for years. The research and consulting institute of the same name (which certifies the workplace culture of companies based on anonymous employee surveys and analyses of HR measures) regularly honours the Frankfurt-based management consultancy: as Germany’s best employer, best employer in consulting, etc. We supported Cofinpro AG in building its compelling employer brand – with a clear strategy, inspiring design, customisable job advertisements, its own employee magazine and much more.

Case Study II – Career at Labor Berlin

In 2011, the laboratories of Charité and Vivantes merged to form Labor Berlin and have been synonymous with cutting-edge diagnostic medicine and innovative procedures ever since. Prof Dr Christian Drosten developed the first PCR test here and the young company was the first laboratory in Germany to carry out serial testing for coronaviruses. When we were commissioned with the new website of Labor Berlin in the year before the pandemic, the aim was not only to communicate the existing service and increase awareness of the laboratory – the focus was also on attracting new employees. In addition to an internal campaign, we realised Labor Berlin’s new brand identity, including the website and career section.

Ganzen Case ansehen

Case Study III – Energy from Neukölln

FHW has been producing district heating for Neukölln and Kreuzberg for more than 100 years. We advised Fernheizwerk Neukölln AG on the holistic positioning of its brand and also focussed on the employees’ perspective from the outset. The transformation of the power plant, the early phase-out of hard coal and the innovative paths taken in energy generation played a major role here. Why a job at FHW really makes sense, how employees are shaping the future here and what else awaits them in addition to their own fitness centre – all this can be experienced on the new website, including the careers section.

Ganzen Case ansehen

Case Study IV – More than ever

FAS Advisory AG, a full-service provider in the areas of tax and financial advisory, became WTS Advisory AG in 2022, thereby becoming part of a larger group of companies. Getting all employees on board with this important step and getting them excited about the changes was a major challenge. We supported the six-month change process with co-creative workshops, cross-media measures and team-building campaigns, thereby increasing employee identification with the new employer brand.