In many developed economies, changing demographics and economic conditions have given rise to increasingly competitive labour markets, where competition for good employees is strong. Consequently, strategic investments
in attracting suitably qualified and skilled employees are recommended. One such strategy is employer branding. Employer branding in the context of recruitment is the package of psychological, economic, and functional benefits
that potential employees associate with employment with a particular company. Knowledge of these perceptions can help organisations to create an attractive and competitive employer brand. Utilising information economics and signalling theory, we examine the nature and consequences of employer branding. Depth interviews reveal that job seekers evaluate: the attractiveness of employers based on any previous direct work experiences with the employer or in the sector; the clarity, credibility, and consistency of the potential employers’ brand signals; perceptions of the employers’ brand investments; and perceptions of the employers’ product or service brand portfolio.

Employer branding : strategic implications for staffrecruitment

Over the past two decades, scholarly interest in employer branding has strongly increased. Simultaneously, however, employer branding research has developed into a fragmented field with heterogeneous interpretations of the employer branding concept and its scope, which has impeded further theoretical and empirical advancement. To strengthen the foundation for future work, this paper takes a brand equity perspective to review the extant literature and create an integrative model of employer branding. Using an analytical approach, the authors identify 187 articles, which they integrate along different employer brand dimensions and branding strategies: (i) conceptual; (ii) employer knowledge dimensions; (iii) employer branding activities and strategies. On the basis of this review, the authors develop an employer branding value chain model and derive future research avenues as well as practical implications.

https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6773&context=lkcsb_research

Employer branding: A brand equity-based literature review and research agenda

Employer branding ต่อการสรรหา

Orientation : For a higher education institution (HEI) to maintain a long-term trajectory of excellence, a strong focus on retaining a younger generation of skilled academics is needed.
Research purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate intention to quit amongst Generation Y academics in HEIs.
Motivation for the study : Higher education institutions are more dependent on the abilities and commitment of their staff than most other organisations. More than 4000 academics will retire and need to be replaced by 2018, providing justification for the study of intention to quit of academics.
Research design, approach and method : An ex post facto quantitative research design was followed. Academics at six HEIs in South Africa were sampled. Measurement instruments included abridged versions of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Arnold and Feldman Intention to Quit Scale, Job Descriptive Scale and Chew's reward scale.
Main findings : Employee engagement, job satisfaction, remuneration, reward, recognition and transformational leadership were significantly related to intention to quit. In the partial model, three of these variables explained 45% of the variance in intention to quit. Partial least square path modelling revealed that employee engagement and job satisfaction have significant negative impacts on intention to quit.
Practical/managerial implications : The findings serve as input for the development of efficacious strategies to retain Generation Y academics at HEIs in South Africa.
Contribution/value-add : This study contributes to our knowledge of intention to quit amongst Generation Y academics. It provides evidence of the complexity and inter-relatedness of variables in the phenomenological network of intention to quit.

Intention to quit amongst Generation Y academics in higher education : original research

This research expands on the current literature surrounding employee-focused Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Employer Branding (EB) and Human Resource Management (HRM). It explores whether practical connections exist between these concepts, and what impact they have on each other’s capabilities and spheres of influence. Investigated within the financial sector, this study provides some initial insights into the New Zealand and Australian service sector in the period following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). The GFC has drastically affected the business environment and this is mirrored in the most recent literature (Wettenhall, 2011). The literature notes that cost efficiencies, job security concerns and demands for greater organisational transparency have become the norm (Bondy, Moon & Matten, 2012). This is driven by more competitive markets, an increasingly diverse workforce, and more informed and less loyal customers. Some of the recent literature consequently calls organisations to refocus inwards, away from the volatile external environment (Garavan & McGuire, 2010) to their employees, as a means of ensuring competitive advantage (Inyang, Awa & Enuoh, 2011; He, 2012). Despite this renewed focus on the effective recruitment, engagement and retention of talented employees (Nilsson & Ellstrom, 2012), the current normatively dominant employee-focused CSR, EB and HRM literature all remain, for the most part, separated into distinct academic silos. Although research into each of these three areas is extensive and continually developing, employees have only recently become a focus within each field. Increased emphasis on employees has resulted in an enhanced focus on HRM in the literature. However, with limited empirical support, this literature lacks practical instruction as to how HRM can actually go about achieving these often ‘superman-like’ theoretical suggestions. Consequently, concerns remain with some authors as to whether HRM has the skills and influence to actually meet these increasing expectations (Evans, 2009; Guest & Woodrow, 2012). These concerns are mirrored for both EB and CSR. Likewise, recent literature promotes the relationship between HRM, CSR and EB, as valuable and beneficial for HRM and business, despite there often being very limited empirical evidence to support its claims (Sukserm & Takahashi, 2010; Inyang et al., 2011; Martin, Gollan & Grigg, 2011). Focused specifically on employees and the overlap and integration of CSR, EB and HRM, this research aims to address this research gap and the biases in the literature. It first explores the current literature to better understand what the literature envisages in terms of a more integrated and internally consistent people management approach. It will then empirically explore whether the literature’s largely normative theoretical claims are actually practiced.

Towards an integrated people management approach? An exploratory study into the relationships between Corporate Social Responsibility, Employer Branding and Human Resource Management in the New Zealand and Australian financial sectors

Orientation : In an ever shrinking global talent pool organisations use employer brand to attract and retain talent, however, in the absence of theoretical pointers, many organisations are losing out on a powerful business tool by not developing or maintaining their employer brand correctly.
Research purpose : This study explores the current state of knowledge about employer brand and identifies the various employer brand building blocks which are conceptually integrated in a predictive model.
Motivation for the study : The need for scientific progress though the accurate representation of a set of employer brand phenomena and propositions, which can be empirically tested, motivated this study.
Research design, approach and method : This study was nonempirical in approach and searched for linkages between theoretical concepts by making use of relevant contextual data. Theoretical propositions which explain the identified linkages were developed for purpose of further empirical research.
Main findings : Key findings suggested that employer brand is influenced by target group needs, a differentiated Employer Value Proposition (EVP), the people strategy, brand consistency, communication of the employer brand and measurement of Human Resources (HR) employer branding efforts.
Practical/managerial implications : The predictive model provides corporate leaders and their human resource functionaries a theoretical pointer relative to employer brand which could guide more effective talent attraction and retention decisions.
Contribution/value-add : This study adds to the small base of research available on employer brand and contributes to both scientific progress as well as an improved practical understanding of factors which influence employer brand.

Botha, Annelize, Bussin, Mark, De Swardt, Lukas

Papers

An employer brand predictive model for talent attraction and retention : original research