How do you increase employer attractiveness?

Employer branding is no longer a new topic. But it still arouses great interest among HR professionals. This is the only explanation for the fact that the 15th edition of the East Switzerland HR Day was held in front of a record-breaking crowd: The hall was almost filled to capacity, as Abdullah Redzepi, member of the patronage committee, could not fail to note with pride in his opening address.

Employer Brand: "Being Substantially Different"

The organizers succeeded in putting together a varied panel of speakers on the topic of "employer attractiveness". Theory and practice alternated in a balanced manner. First, Bastian Schneider of Hotz Brand Consultants spoke about the essence of a true employer brand. "Brands make people make decisions," he said, referring to the fact that this naturally also applies to the brand with which one presents oneself as a company. The real ingredient for success in employer branding, he said, is to be "substantially different." To do this, you also have to have the courage to say no to what all the other competitors are doing. "Purpose, meaning, identification, pride: this is where the greatest potential lies," says the speaker.

Florian Wassel, founder and co-owner of TOWA Digital, continued this thread when he spoke about employer branding for digital natives. It is neither foosball tables in the office nor ingratiation with the younger generation nor the frantic attempt to be cool that attracts generations Y and Z, he said. Rather, it is a matter of setting an example of agile management, creating orientation, clarity and transparency, and thinking even more digitally in the search for talent. His company is very active in this search, he says, not least because a wide variety of employees regularly make their presence felt on a wide variety of communication channels and thus become ambassadors for the company.

Maintaining and measuring employer attractiveness

Katharina Lehmann, CEO of the timber construction company Blumer-Lehmann, explained how even "traditional" companies cannot avoid using social media as an indispensable recruiting and communication tool. Managers as well as employees serve as "influencers", marketing is an important tool not only for sales but also for recruiting. And last but not least, every company needs a culture of trust. This is still created at the human-to-human interface. Nevertheless, employee communication must be direct, open, fast, unsparing, but at the same time constructive.

Simon Graf from Swiss Post showed that not only SMEs but also large companies struggle with recruitment difficulties. He explained how his company uses quantitative and qualitative surveys of applicants to identify weaknesses in the recruitment process. After all, if a candidate can at least report a positive "candidate experience" even after a rejection, this serves the attractiveness of an employer. In addition, Swiss Post relies on an internal referral program: employees are rewarded if they successfully find applicants for open positions in their personal environment. It's an effort that has already led to many hires, says Graf.

The role of positive psychology

The conference was concluded by Oliver Haas. He explained how positive psychology can lead to unimagined potential development in companies. "Appreciation creates added value," he concluded. Behind this is the realization that happy people are more successful overall. This requires the right inner attitude. This needs to be awakened by focusing less on weaknesses and more on strengths. After all, the current economic upswing is due less to technology than to positive psychosocial factors. These will also form the basis for competition in the future: "Machines don't burn out, people do," as the speaker put it.

More information: www.personaltag.ch