FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“Companies shift focus to their people as global study finds increasing investment in employer branding”
New research by Employer Brand International of more than 1100 organisations from 19 countries and regions shows 65% of companies are planning to increase or maintain their investment in employer branding initiatives in the coming year.
The global study released today details key insights into the current status of employer branding and future plans for organisations whilst highlighting key trends over the past five years of the trends tracking study.
Brett Minchington, Employer Brand International Chairman and CEO said, “This report highlights the need to educate leaders about the business benefits of employer branding and train leaders how to develop and implement an employer brand strategy. Ask any CEO their main priorities and ‘attracting and retaining talent,’ will generally appear in their top three. Employer brand strategy provides a way forward for organisations to ensure they can attract and retain the talent required for growth,” Minchington said.
The study found companies who invest in developing their employer brand can expect an increase in employee engagement and their ability to attract candidates with companies rating them as the top two benefits of their strategy.
The study also found the rush by companies over the past 3 years to shift recruitment expenditure into social media has continued with 76% of companies now using social media as the main activity to communicate their employer brand and engage with potential candidates.
Whilst the research shows more companies investing in employer branding, the results suggest there is an ongoing debate inside companies as to who should take responsibility for the strategy. In some companies, HR, the traditional custodians of the employer brand strategy, is now being challenged by executives and the marketing department for control which is similar to the 2011 study.
The study found whilst HR is driving the strategy in 36% of companies surveyed, increasingly teams of HR, marketing and communication professionals are managing the employer brand strategy especially in countries such as Russia and Ukraine where teams of HR and marketing are driving the strategy.
Though employer branding continues to climb higher on the leadership agenda, many organisations lack the capability to leverage their employer brand due to the absence of a clearly defined strategy. The survey found only 17% of companies (up from 14% in 2011) has developed a clear strategy to strengthen their employer brand. Understandably, respondents also said having a clearly defined strategy is the key to achieving their employer brand strategy.
The importance of strong and engaging leadership remains a key ingredient to the success of the employer brand strategy. If you can’t engage leaders in Asia, Australia, Scandinavia, Russia, South Arica and UK in employer branding its game over with more than 80% of companies reporting senior management engagement is critical to achieving employer branding objectives.
Career development (87% of respondents), leadership (86%) and work environment (83%) are the most important attributes a company can promote when trying to attract talent to their organisation. The research supports the populist view that intangibles are now responsible for the majority of contribution to shareholder value.
Companies are relying on a range of metrics to measure the success of their employer branding investments, with 44% tracking employee engagement and 41% retention rates. Some 34% of respondents are measuring number of applicants whilst 33% track quality of hire and cost per hire. A company’s ranking in a ‘best place to work’ survey or similar awards programs has received more focus over the past two years with a 95% increase in companies using this to measure their return on investment.
Other key findings of the study include:
87% of companies believe a clearly defined strategy is the key to achieving employer branding objectives
70% of employees say obtaining an adequate budget is their number 1 challenge in managing an employer brand
76% of companies leverage social media for communicating the employer brand
53% of employees believe it’s important other people want to work for their employer
56% of companies use career website development to enhance their employer brand
11% of marketing departments are responsible for the employer brand strategy
Social media participation and defining the employer value proposition (EVP) is most the effective initiative (11%), whereas company videos are the least effective (1%).
Having trained and advised leaders in more than 50 cities around the world since 2007, Minchington said, “The findings underscore how important it is for companies to take a strategic approach to managing their employer brand, clearly define their strategy, develop relevant metrics and allocate sufficient resources to the most effective initiatives if they want to stay one step ahead of competitors.”
To purchase a copy of the full report please visit the publisher's website at
Also launched today is the next global online intake of EBI’s Certificate in Employer Brand Leadership. Details at
For media enquiries please contact
Andrea Fielding
Global Relationship Manager
Employer Brand International