Who are our employees and what is the pool of our potential employees? Why do people want to work and keep working for us? What are these authentic elements that represent our organization and give a clear idea of what it is like to work in it? What makes our company recognizable and attractive? How do we attract the talents that suit us?
Does our company have a problem in attracting and retaining its talents?

These are just a few of the questions we need to ask if we want to evaluate and build a successful employer brand. Furthermore, why do we want to invest in employer branding? The reason is that, as academic research shows, companies that create and develop a unique “promise” EVP (employee value proposition) to their existing and potential employees achieve better organizational performance, customer satisfaction and ultimately increase business profitability. A strong employer brand helps the company compete to attract and retain the best and consolidate its credibility in the market.

During the last two decades, “branding” has been the highlight in organizational life. Many HR professionals have used employer branding as a strategic tool for influence and credibility. The CIPD’s “People Profession 2030” report highlights the growing demand for responsible companies that emphasize transparency and accountability, suggesting areas that employer brand management needs attention. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic we are experiencing has brought to the forefront the degree of business response to human resources issues.

A company’s reputation for the way it treats its employees can have a significant impact on the perceptions of future candidates for the organization. In general, in times of uncertainty, or during a crisis, with unexpected events affecting businesses and the whole socio-economic development, employer branding becomes an important strategic lever for maintaining the image, attracting talent and profitability.

However, the promise of attraction was the starting point, and now more and more companies are recognizing the value of the branding approach throughout their working life, and they want to create a committed workforce and a positive work experience.
After all, in the representation of the organization, the employees who are the bearers of the characteristics of the organization play a central role. Thus, the way an organization treats and motivates its existing employees and the degree of employees’ satisfaction and commitment, combined with their narratives about the company they work for, is an important part of the employer branding approach. So, there is an inherent interdependence between employer branding and internal branding.

A successful employer branding has some characteristics, such as:

Τhe company to be “known and noticeable”, namely to build the company’s awareness (brand awareness) because without this, it is exceedingly difficult for the “customer”– the candidate employee to want to choose the company as an employer. Research has already shown that the characteristics of the company are more important than the characteristics of the role of the position that one claims in a company, while a positive reputation and a strong corporate identity play a particularly important role in attracting candidates. A company with a positive reputation and positive employer branding becomes an attractive employer because employees and prospective employees have a natural desire to associate with attractive social groups, to become part of their identity and thus ensure a positive image of themselves.
The “relevance and resonance” of the employer brand value proposition. For “customers”- existing and potential employees, the value proposition of the employer brand includes the package of total remuneration/earnings. This salary package or value proposition that the organization promises must be relevant to the needs and requirements of the labor market, and especially “sound”, namely known and obvious to this market, in order to attract potential employees. In a long-standing research that we have been conducting steadily since 2013 at Millennials and Zers in Greece, young people are looking for work that will give them opportunities for personal and professional development. In addition, a work environment with ethics which also has pay and job security are equally important elements when choosing an employer. Martin Predd (2020) in a recent study argues that the main factors that influence young people in the employment decision in a company are their beliefs about their leader/ supervisor. Α leader needs to be fair and consistent, considering work/ life balance aspects and creating a work environment where the employees feel they are treated with empathy and care.
“Differentiated from direct competitors”, a feature that has been linked to the organization’s viability and continued success, is a key component of success in attracting talent from the job market.
Finally, an important feature that should be taken seriously in employer branding is the “unintended appropriation of brand values”.
To understand this feature, we need to first take for granted that evaluating an employer company is near to impossible to do before joining it. Although there are now increasingly readily available sources of information about an organization’s work experience (published list of preference employers by date, corporate brochures or corporate website, social media, etc.), access and control reliability of this information is difficult. Lack of information often leads potential employees to “borrow” information, many times, from the corporate or consumer brand in order to gain a deeper understanding of the employer branding of an organization. The personality characteristics of the brand are related to the perceived attractiveness of the organization and are judged as compatible or desirable for the individual social identity of the individual. Herein, therefore, it is shown how important it is to have a strategic development of the various forms of branding of a company, so that both the goals and messages of communication are in alignment.

Attention needs to be drawn to the HR people because there is a tendency to exaggerate their positive traits as employers and as a desirable place to work when advertising their open positions. However, this carries the risk of cultivating unrealistic expectations in the candidates, which if they fail to meet, results in rupturing the psychological contract and this will contribute to the increased chance of the employee wanting to leave the organization. Our research shows that the vast majority (over 80%) of employees believe that what they saw on social media and sites or heard from recruiters is usually different from what they experience when working for the company. This is reflected in the increased turnover rates of new recruits (1/3) within the first 6 months. In addition to the replacement costs estimated at 50% -75% of the new employee’s annual salary, this affects the morale of existing employees, customer relations and ultimately the ability of companies to attract new talent. Moreover, the low employee engagement rates worldwide are highlighting the importance of companies investing in the employer’s corporate branding.

In conclusion, employer branding should be a structured, long-term, and targeted strategy of the organization that concerns the exclusive promise (EVP) between the company and the existing and future employees, and it is necessary that this promise is linked to the corporate and internal branding and be fulfilled in every function of the organization. So, it is not a simple answer to some questions, but a systematic holistic approach through research, design and implementation of well predesigned steps adapted to the specific needs and characteristics of each company.