Employer brand – an underrated key to finding the best talent

TEXT: TIMO MANSIKKA-AHO

Every organization, whether operating in the private or public sector, is increasingly dependent on its ability to attract and retain capable professionals. In the light of ever-tightening competition and sheer labor shortage, at least when it comes to certain lines of business, successful recruitment has recently become a downright rarity.

Lauri Vaisto, Principal Consultant –Strategy & Employer Brand at Duunitori Oy, believes that this is largely due to the fact that organizations have not understood the real strategic value of a strong employer brand. Capable workforce is out there, yet unable to connect with the right jobs.

“Especially when it comes to small and medium-sized companies, even the level of general recognition can be surprisingly low,” Lauri Vaisto points out. “The local area where the company operates simply can’t produce enough candidates, so the company must head farther from its home turf in its quest to find the right professionals.”

Even though this problem can often be solved by spreading the word on a larger scale, Vaisto reminds of the pitfalls of simply raising the volume. To make the message relevant and just right, it must be clear to everyone what kind of professionals are being targeted.

The organization may also be well-known, but for wrong reasons from the viewpoint of recruitment. Fazer is known for chocolate and Nordea for banking services, but those organizations are full of other tasks as well. If Fazer is hiring an IT specialist, it certainly does not want applications from people who simply like its chocolate, even though just that connection might make many want to work for Fazer.

Perhaps the most challenging type of inadequate employer brand is seen in areas where a thoroughly wellknown organization fails to hire quality professionals – because they rather go elsewhere. Healthcare is a perfect example of this: both the employers and tasks are well-known. Yet, some hospitals manage to get all the best talent.

“Especially in these situations, a skillfully and systematically built employer brand makes all the difference,” Lauri Vaisto says. “The organization must find a way to stand out and address the candidates in a way that resonates in a powerful way.”

Duunitori publishes the annual National Recruitment Study on recruitment, talent experience, recruitment marketing and employer brand management. The 2024 study shows that organizations have difficulties in linking recruitments to strategy. Furthermore, employers and talent alike are not satisfied with either employers’ ability to stand out from the crowd or the ways workplace culture is communicated to talent audiences. |

Download the National Recruitment Study here.