The Hidden Power of Image and What Is Our Reflection in the ‘Mirror of Society’?

Even the birds on the branch know what employer branding is, but how many companies base their employer branding on real data rather than urban legends? Not so long ago, an interesting trend emerged from the IT sector: offices were bursting with colors, there were relaxation and sleeping rooms, and an indispensable piece of furniture in every company that holds itself together was none other than a foosball table.

This trend has spread so much that it has now become a subject of mockery and ridicule. We are not saying that colorful offices do not suit any company, but we want to point out that other companies should not blindly follow trends and what others are doing, but must find their own path. One that will be relevant to their employees, as well as candidates.

Why is employer branding important?

Employer branding is important for two reasons: to retain (the best) employees and to attract new ones. Human resources departments have been intensely dealing with this topic for some time now, given that it is very difficult to find individual talent. It started first in the IT sector, but now we see strong employer branding campaigns in the sales and tourism sectors as well.

When we talk about attracting new employees, the situation is somewhat more complex since they do not have direct insight into the corporate culture of the company. They know about the company based on the stories that circulate around. And what stories circulate must first be known by the companies themselves, and then they must manage them.

As part of the Employer of Choice research, companies have the option to purchase reports for their company; however, there are many companies that want to but cannot obtain a report. Namely, if a company has not received enough votes using the ‘top of mind’ method employed in public opinion research, it is not possible to create a valid statistical analysis for it, and thus no report.

To solve this problem, companies now have the option to conduct Employer Brand Awareness research. In the framework of Employer Brand Awareness research, we ask the public (or part of the public, depending on the wishes and target groups of the companies) what they think about a particular company, what terms they associate with it, and what information they have about its operations.

What makes this research even more interesting is the possibility of conducting research within the company, where both employees and management fill out the same questionnaire. In this way, companies can see exactly how management’s views differ from those of employees, as well as from public perception.

How to improve your employer branding?

Action plans for improving employer branding are made based on data. As we mentioned, you can buy a ping-pong table, introduce Beer Fridays, and have team-building every first Saturday of the month, but is that what employees and potential candidates really want?

Let’s be clear, the data that companies have are not magic wands! They do not provide solutions. They provide a foundation for HR professionals and everyone who cares about employees to think in the direction of creating solutions!

In addition to collecting data on what the public thinks, measuring employee satisfaction is the next step in the process. It would be better to say that these two steps are parallel and equally important. Essentially, they are two sides of the same coin.

Engagement

Employee satisfaction is closely related to another term we often encounter – engagement.

Employee engagement is a popular topic in human resources because there is a clear connection between the level of employee engagement and the success of the company. Many studies show that companies with highly engaged employees have better results on key indicators such as profitability, productivity, employee satisfaction, and employee retention rates. Although many define it differently, both practitioners and academics agree that employee engagement is a reflection of workplace conditions. Engaged employees think, feel, and act in accordance with the company’s goals.

When we talk about engagement, we cannot fail to mention Gallup’s research. According to the latest data, the percentage of engaged employees in Europe is only 13 percent, while the global level is 23 percent engaged (in the U.S., for example, it is 32 percent).

The percentage of engaged employees in companies with best practices according to Gallup is as high as 72 percent.

Engagement in Croatia is examined by MojPosao through Pulser – employee satisfaction research. This research often includes good companies with proven good practices, which is not surprising, as they clearly know what is needed for success. From this, we see that such research is very necessary and important for those companies that have not yet established themselves as Best Employers.

If we compare the companies that won the Best Employer award with Gallup’s data for Best-practice organizations, we see that the data do not differ much. While in Gallup’s best companies 72 percent are engaged, in Croatian Best Employers (which emerged from the Pulser tool – Employee Satisfaction Research) that number is 84 percent. It is a pity that Gallup does not have data on employees’ intention to promote the company to friends and family (eNPS), as these two data points usually correlate highly.

Employer Net Promoter Score, or eNPS, is a scoring system designed to help employers measure employee satisfaction and loyalty within their organization.

Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) consists of one simple question: ‘How likely are you to recommend your employer as a place to work to your family and friends?’

Based on the answers, research participants are divided into three categories: promoters, passives (neither will promote the organization nor say anything negative), and detractors (extremely dissatisfied employees).

It is important to emphasize that the data obtained from measuring eNPS should also be viewed in the context in which they were created. We can easily start comparing results with other companies in Croatia, and even beyond.

In a study conducted by MojPosao on over 61,000 respondents in 12 European countries, data were obtained on how many employees from which countries are promoters of their companies.

Looking at countries, Croatia has a relatively large number of critics of their current employer (as much as 68 percent). Only Slovenia and North Macedonia have more critics than us. The highest number of company promoters is found in Poland and the Czech Republic, and they also have a small number of critics. The smallest number of company critics lives and works in Finland, only 46 percent, but they also have a small number of promoters (13 percent), while as much as 41 percent of workers are passive.

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Given that this data is public, companies probably hope that it is not the case in their company. And indeed, looking at the data from the aforementioned Best Employer, which comes from the Pulser tool – Employee Satisfaction Research, it seems that employees in Croatia are much more willing to promote their company than the public data shows us. However, it should be taken into account that the companies participating in that research are good and nurture their culture. It is much more important that the companies that are not quite sure about their employees’ satisfaction approach the research; they can benefit much more from the results obtained, as the report shows them exactly what their strengths and weaknesses are, allowing them to work on what needs to be improved while also strengthening their strong sides. In this way, the company does not need to waste time or money on things that are not really that important to employees, or that they are already satisfied with. Companies participating in the research have another benefit: that is the comparison with similar companies; both in size and activity. Because, of course, it is not the same if you are a manufacturing or IT company. In this way, not only do companies gain insight into their results and can work on action plans accordingly, but they can also work on their employee attraction strategy by comparing themselves with others.

Not every form of motivation is the same

Employee satisfaction and willingness to speak positively about the company are influenced by a whole range of factors. Through Pulser – the employee satisfaction research tool, employee satisfaction is measured through 9 factors: Challenge of work tasks, Support from superiors, Work organization, Working conditions, Personal growth and development, Involvement in decision-making, Commitment to work, Interpersonal relationships, and Communication in the company.

These satisfaction factors can be redistributed into two larger categories: hygiene factors and motivators.

The hygiene and motivators theory, also known as the two-factor theory of motivation, was developed by Frederick Herzberg. According to this theory, there are two types of factors that influence employee motivation: hygiene and motivational factors.

Hygiene factors relate to the environment in which the employee works, including working conditions, salary, relationships with colleagues and superiors, job security, etc. If these factors are poor, they can cause employee dissatisfaction, but improving them will not necessarily lead to greater motivation.

On the other hand, motivational factors relate to the very nature of the job and how the employee perceives their work. They include items such as recognition for good work, opportunities for personal development and advancement, a sense of achievement, job interest, etc. If these factors are present, employees will be motivated and satisfied with their work and work environment.

In the previously mentioned international research, it was found that among respondents with high incomes, we find 30 percent of those who will speak positively about their employer, while among respondents with low incomes, only 8 percent of them do so.

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As we can see, a whole range of factors influences a company’s success in attracting candidates and retaining the best employees, and there is no recipe that companies can apply to be successful in this. It is important to collect data, measure and analyze, and based on the data, draw conclusions. Only then is it time to think about what and how to proceed and what action plans to make. So if necessary, paint the walls in bright colors if that is what employees and candidates want.