Strengthening Employer Brands

Employer brands are first and foremost brands. This means that they derive their power from a psychological relationship between the brand and the target group. And their purpose is to generate added value.

How we work with employer brands

The Figures Speak For Themselves:
Employer Brands Are Valuable

Arbeitgebermarken sind wertvoll. Das ist wortwörtlich gemeint. Eine gute Arbeitgebermarke senkt die Kosten für Recruiting, macht den Arbeitgeber trotz niedrigerer Gehälter attraktiv und erhöht die Bindung bei bestehenden Mitarbeitern. Wir haben das wirtschaftliche Spielfeld für Arbeitgebermarken marktforscherisch abgesteckt, um zu zeigen, welche zentrale Rolle die Unternehmenswerte für eine erfolgreiche Arbeitgebermarke spielen.

Whoever Cancels, Cancels Culture

We asked 1,000 people who had resigned from their job in the last 12 months about the reason for their resignation. What many consider to be “soft” characteristics is the most important reason for resignation: a lack of fit between one’s own value system and the corporate culture experienced. People resign because they don’t feel comfortable at a company.

Salary 28% 28%
Did not feel well 43% 43%
Change of residence 12% 12%
Others 17% 17%

Question: Why did you resign

n = 1,000 people aged 25 and over who have terminated a permanent employment relationship within the last 12 months (06/24)

Culture = Cash

A good employer brand is valuable. Literally. You can even say quite precisely how much a suitable corporate culture is worth. You simply have to ask 1,000 people who are currently looking for a job how much money they would give up for a better corporate culture. The result: on a weighted average, respondents would give up 12.7% of their salary. Converted to an average gross salary, that’s around €560. Every month.

10% 45% 45%
20% 23% 23%
30% 12% 12%
nothing 19% 19%

Question: You are offered two jobs that are otherwise identical. One has a higher salary, the other has a corporate culture that better matches your values. How much salary would you give up in favour of the better culture?

n = 1,000 people aged 25 and over who are open to a job offer or looking for a new job (06/24)

Unknown, Unclear, Unimportant

Marlboro stands for freedom and adventure. BMW for dynamism and joy. Red Bull for the kick. But what does an employer brand stand for? How well do the people who invest a large part of their lives in an employer brand (which is also how employees can be understood) know the values of that brand? Here, too, we surveyed 1,000 people. And here, too, the answer was alarming: just under a fifth of respondents know what their employer stands for and share these values.

I don’t know them 32% 32%
I only know them by name 34% 34%
I know them and their meaning 15% 15%
I know them and they are important to me 19% 19%

Question: How familiar are you with the values that your company stands for?

n = 1,000 people aged 25 and over who are currently in permanent employment (06/24)

Employer Brands Are Based on Shared Values

Employer brands – just like all other brands – are based on values that they share with their target group, i.e. current and potential employees. Shared values facilitate identification, increase loyalty and guide behaviour. But not all values are the same.

What Kind of Values Are There For Employer Brands

In principle, three types of values can be distinguished when it comes to employer brands: basic values, performance values and differentiation values.

Basic Values

Basic values are values that an employer brand must fulfil if it wants to be taken seriously at all. Typical values are security, partnership, competence, appreciation, etc. Logically, nobody wants an insecure, egotistical, incompetent and disrespectful employer. Most companies therefore include these words in their corporate values. This is laudable, but also self-evident. Nobody is inspired by this. Basic values should never be violated. But you can’t score points with them either.

Performance Values

Performance values are values for which the rule “the more the better” applies. If you don’t fulfil them, it’s damaging. The better an employer brand fulfils them, the more attractive it is. Values such as fairness, individual development opportunities and prospects are typical examples for these values.

Differentiation Values

Differentiation values are a particularly interesting class of brand values. If an employer brand does not fulfil them, this does not trigger any particular sense of loss. However, an employer brand that stands for these values can benefit more than average. These values vary greatly from case to case.

Know Which Values an Employer Brand Stands For

It stands to reason that something as important as the values that people associate with employer brands should not be left to the gut or any brainstorming sessions. It is also not expedient to simply “define” corporate values. Values cannot be commanded. They are the evolved building blocks of corporate culture.

The good news is that these values can be measured. The even better news is that we can not only measure the current state – i.e. the values that an employer brand currently stands for, but also those that it could or should stand for.

Measuring Employer Brand Values With the Emotional Profiler

Der Emotional Profiler -> beruht auf einem von uns entwickelten Algorithmus mit dessen Hilfe wir quantitativ messen können, welche Werte und Gefühle Menschen mit Marken verbinden. Dabei arbeitet der Emotional Profiler mit maximaler Präzision und kann bis zu 10³² Werte oder Gefühle erkennen und unterschieden.

The results are presented in an emotional profile. It shows both the exact composition of the values and their significance. In addition, the position in the emotional profile provides information about the role of the values – i.e. whether they are basic, performance or differentiation values.