University of Pisa

Department of Economics and Management

Master’s Degree Studies in Strategy, Management and Control

Employer branding strategy

as one of the critical success factors
for a company

Supervisor
Prof. Antonio CORVINO

Author
Joanna PLUTA

Pisa, academic year 2014-2015

Brains, like hearts, go where they are appreciated.

Robert McNamara, ex president of Ford Motor Company

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Table of contents

Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Abstract – Italiano ...................................................................................................................... 6
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7
I. People as a key factor of organizational success .................................................................... 9
1. The concept of resource-based view. Tangible and intangible resources .................. 10

2. Strategic Human Resources Management .................................................................. 15

3. A challenge to the traditional stakeholder perspective ............................................... 21

4. Positioning the employer branding strategy within SHRM ...................................... 23

II. The strategy of Employer Branding .................................................................................... 24

1. Theoretical background .............................................................................................. 27

2. Conceptual framework of employer branding............................................................ 34

a) Employer brand – definition and features. Brand equity ....................................... 37

b) Strategic approach .................................................................................................. 45

c) Employee Value Proposition .................................................................................. 46

d) External branding. Building the image of employer of choice .............................. 55

e) Internal branding. Employee as a client ................................................................. 57

3. Employer branding strategy and HRM functions ...................................................... 60

a) Recruitment & selection ......................................................................................... 60

b) Opportunities of training and development ............................................................ 63

c) Rewards .................................................................................................................. 64

d) Employee relations. Organizational culture & work-life balance initiatives ......... 66

4. Impact of a successful employer branding strategy on organizational performance . 72

a) Internal benefits ...................................................................................................... 72

b) External benefits ..................................................................................................... 73

III. Case study: Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories .............................................................. 75

1. About the company .................................................................................................... 76

a) Dr Irena Eris S.A. ................................................................................................... 77

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b) Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories Sp. z o. o. ..................................................... 79

c) Polish cosmetics industry – an overview................................................................ 80

2. Specificity of HRM and organizational culture ......................................................... 82

3. Employee Value Proposition ...................................................................................... 87

a) Information ............................................................................................................. 89

b) Remuneration ......................................................................................................... 90

c) Work-life balance ................................................................................................... 91

d) Benefits................................................................................................................... 92

e) Development........................................................................................................... 93

f) Atmosphere & relations .......................................................................................... 95

g) Other company’s strengths – suggestions on EVP................................................. 98

e) EVP communication channels .............................................................................. 100

4. Research findings ..................................................................................................... 101

a) Internal employer brand: survey on employees Trust Index and satisfaction ...... 101

b) External employer brand: focus group session & Universum Student Survey ... 107

c) Implications for employer brand .......................................................................... 111

5. Impact on company's performance ........................................................................... 112

Summary ................................................................................................................................ 118

Annex 1. Cafeteria of Employee Value Proposition elements .............................................. 120
References .............................................................................................................................. 121

4
Abstract

The thesis focuses on employer branding strategy as a valid approach to human resources
management in today’s challenging environment. Becoming an employer of choice and, in
consequence, attraction, engagement and retention of high-performance workers or talents are
the main goals of this strategy, able to become a source of sustainable competitive advantage
and success.

The study provides a broad review of literature on employer branding strategy, rooted in
resource-based view of the firm and the field of strategic human resources management. The
concept is discussed in terms of its internal and external dimension (internal and external
image of a company as a workplace), which ought to be consistent with employee value
proposition laying in the heart of the strategy. Furthermore, its harmony and alignment with
business strategy, as well as resulting for the organization advantages stemming from its
implementation, are explained. The third part of the thesis provides a case study based on
analysis of a Polish industrial company, Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories. The examined
company is considered to be a great workplace with an exceptional organizational culture and
the study provides an analysis of determinants and outcomes of its employer image and
employer brand.

5
Abstract – Italiano

L’argomento della tesi è la strategia di employer branding considerata una valida strategia di
gestione delle risorse umane in un ambiente difficile e che impone grandi sfide. Diventare un
datore di lavoro d’elezione e, come consequenza, l’attrazione, forte impegno e la retention dei
talenti sono gli obiettivi principali di questa strategia, capace di essere la fonte del vantaggio
competitivo sostenibile e del successo d’azienda.

Lo studio fornisce un’ampia rassegna della letteratura sul tema di employer branding,
radicato nella teoria di resource-based view e nel campo di gestione strategica delle risorse
umane. Il concetto viene trattato in una duplice dimensione, interna ed esterna, dell’immagine
d’azienda sul mercato di lavoro; l’immagine che dovrebbe essere coerente con l’employee
value proposition (proposta di valore) che costituisce l’elemento essenziale della strategia.
Inoltre, vengono spiegati l’armonia e l’allineamento con la strategia competitiva, nonché i
vantaggi derivanti dalla strategia di employer branding. La terza parte della tesi riguarda un
case study basato sull’analisi di un’azienda industriale polacca, Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic
Laboratories. La società esaminata è considerata un posto di lavoro eccelente, dotato di una
cultura organizzativa eccezionale; lo studio fornisce un’analisi delle determinanti e dei
risultati dell’immagine dell’azienda stabilita sul mercato di lavoro e dell’employer brand.

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Introduction

The key to achieve success in business may be found in various sources. Facing
numerous social changes reflected in emerging trends on global markets, the 21st century
companies realized the crucial value of human resources, or resourceful humans, in their
pursuit of success. Employees became partners, key stakeholders and internal clients within
workplaces, and not any more a mere means to implement strategies. Respect given by
organizations to individuals and acknowledgement of their skills, commitment, job
satisfaction and engagement, as well as discovering the essential role of organizational
culture in enabling an above-average performance, laid the ground for strategic human
resources management and, quite recently, for employer branding strategy being the subject
of this thesis.

Employer branding is focused on building, internally and externally, the image of

an employer of choice – a great workplace able to attract, engage and retain outstanding
performers. The tools necessary to develop a strong employer brand are: an attractive and
accurate employee value proposition (clearly communicated to target candidates and current
workers), an exceptional culture based on trust and commitment, and a distinct organizational
identity. Strategic alignment of human resources with organizational goals is the ultimate
purpose of this concept.

The topic of employer branding strategy was chosen for this Master’s thesis because of
the author’s strong belief that companies are made for people; that is the reason why today’s
businesses ought to put them in the heart of their activities. Respect for humans in all aspects
of life, including work life and professional career, is considered to be the fundamental rule –
also in the world of business. They are also considered to be the main source of success, thus
not only financial, but also emotional investment in human capital is indispensable to ensure
high performance.

This study aims to illustrate the notion of employer branding strategy and the advantages
stemming from its implementation. Drawing on resource-based view of the firm (and the key
role of intangible resources in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage) and on the
theory of strategic human resources management, being the topic of Chapter I. People as
a key factor of organizational success, this strategy’s features, components and best practices
will be developed and described in Chapter II. The strategy of Employer Branding. It is

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suggested by the literature that through creation of an appealing employment promise and its
continuous delivery to current employees, a consistent employer brand significantly
contributes to the company’s reputation, performance and corporate brand. Moreover, it is
argued that caring about employees, understanding and satisfying their needs, and respecting
them, is an ethically correct way of managing people within businesses.

In order to provide a valid example of a successful organization with an attractive

employer brand, a case study will be analysed in Chapter III. Case study: Dr Irena Eris
Cosmetic Laboratories. The analysis is based on the author’s direct experience (two-months
traineeship) in Human Resources Department in Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories.
Although the company does not apply a formalised marketing approach to employer brand, it
is de facto a great workplace, appreciated by the committed and loyal staff. Such HRM
mindset results in high levels of employees’ satisfaction, performance and company’s overall
outcomes and reputation. However, externally the level of this workplace brand awareness is
not that high; implications of this phenomenon are further explained in the final part of the
thesis.

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I. People as a key factor of organizational success

If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their
wings – and put compensation as a carrier behind it—you almost don't have to manage them.

Jack Welch, General Electric

You can have the best strategy and the best building in the world, but if
you don’t have the hearts and minds of the people who work with you, none of it comes to life.

Renee West, Luxor and Excalibur Hotel

Human resources are considered to be the most important source of a company’s

sustainable competitive advantage and success. Their work, engagement, talent, willingness
to share their knowledge, time, skills and – in general – giving a part of them to the
organization are essential for its existence. As Jack Welch and Renee West (and many others)
claim, people’s commitment is the secret of an outstanding performance; other resources can
be quite easily purchased, built and utilized for business scopes, thus they are not sufficient to
guarantee survival and success in a long-term perspective.

But are people resources? Is it not amoral to treat humans as assets, as a means to
organizational goals? It is a controversial issue and this is not the scope of this thesis to
debate about ethical matters. However, it is important to have in mind that discussing about
human resources, about their management and strategy, we are dealing with human
individuals – persons who are ends themselves and should not be seen as instruments.
Although this reflection might seem contradictory to the topic of human resources
management and to the subject of the following sections, I believe that the metaphor human
resources does not include necessarily de-humanization of people within organizations (as it
regards rather the resources possessed by humans: skills, competencies, know-how etc.) and
it can be used without a negative connotation. In this way it is suggested to interpret this term
in the present thesis.

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This chapter explores the relationship between a company and its employees as resources
– where their place within an organization is and how this relationship is/should be managed.
Section 1. includes an introduction to resource-based view of the firm with several
classifications of resources and a proposition of a portfolio of resources. It focuses on critical
resources as the source of a sustainable competitive advantage, identifying within them
particularly human resources.

Section 2. treats about the role of human resources management in a company’s strategy.
Its roots, numerous definitions and components are described and some various approaches
are discussed. Significant issues are the distinction between hard and soft model of HRM and
the concept of fit (both internal and external) between human resources strategy and business
strategy.

In Section 3. the study aims attention at identifying a new role of employees in the
21st century companies. Social changes provoked a review of the traditional stakeholder
perspective, putting emphasis on improving relationships between organizations and their
employees as a key stakeholder. Some implications and solutions are proposed, in particular
the employer branding strategy is recommended as a valid HRM strategy able to meet new
labour market’s expectations.

Finally, Section 4. situates the employer branding strategy within strategic human
resources management.

1. The concept of resource-based view. Tangible and intangible resources

The resource-based view of the firm (RBV), or resource-based theory (RBT), is a field of
study emerged within the area of strategic management1 during the last two decades of

1
However, RBV has acquired a broad attention in different fields. Mahoney & Pandian in their study show
that the RBV fits and “stimulates conversation within mainstream strategy research, organizational economics
and industrial organization research”, Mahoney J.T., Pandian J.R. (1992), The resource-based view within the
conversation of strategic management, in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 13, pp. 363-364. According to
Peteraf & Barney, this theory “(…) integrates a management perspective with an economics perspective”,
Peteraf M.A., Barney J.B. (2003), Unraveling The Resource-Based Tangle, in Managerial and Decision
Economics, Vol. 24, p. 309; Galbreath, instead, argues that “The resource-based view of the firm gained (…)
prominent attention in the field of strategic management as well as in economics, organization theory, and
even other fields (e.g. intellectual capital)”, Galbreath J. (2005), Which resources matter most to firm success?
An exploratory study of resource-based theory, in Technovation, Vol. 25, p. 979.

10
20th century. The concept was first described by Wernerfelt2 in 1984 and has been developed
until nowadays. However, its roots can be found in Penrose’s work (1959) which had a great
influence on further research3, as she emphasized the role of a high-quality resources
management in building competitive advantage by a company.

What can be called a company’s resource? The literature gives numerous definitions and
classifications of the subject. Barney (1999) describes resources as:

(…) all assets, capabilities, organizational processes, firm attributes, information, etc.
controlled by a firm that enable the firm to conceive of and implement strategies that
improve its efficiency and effectiveness4

and he classifies them into three categories: physical (including financial) capital resources,
human capital resources and organizational capital resources. Wernerfelt (1984), instead,
following Caves (1980), defines resources as assets (tangible or intangible) which are
semipermanently tied to the company and represent its strengths and weaknesses 5, linking
them to the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. Adding to his
two categories of resources the Hall’s6 identification of assets (what the company has) and
skills (what the company does) within intangible resources, a more extensive resources
portfolio may be defined. Graph 1. describes its components.

Within all possessed resources a crucial role for achieving the success is played by the
critical resources – the ones that are unique and differentiate the company from its
competitors; they are essential and scarce in the sense that the demand for them is higher that
the supply. 7 Prahalad & Hamel (1990) define them core competencies,8 focusing in particular

2
Wernerfelt B. (1984), A Resource-based View of the Firm, in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 5, pp.
171-180.
3
“Penrose (1959) has been instrumental to the on-going development of the modern resource-based view
of strategic management”, Kor Y.Y, Mahoney J.T. (2004), Edith Penrose’s (1959) Contributions to the Resource-
based View of Strategic Management, in Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 41, Iss. 1, p. 191.
4
Barney J. (1999), Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage, in Journal of Management,
Vol.17, No. 1, p.101.
5
Wernerfelt B. (1984), above quoted, p. 172.
6
Hall R. (1992), The strategic analysis of intangible resources, in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 13,
Iss. 2, pp.136-139.
7
Wernerfelt B. (1989), From critical resources to corporate strategy, in Journal of General Management,
Vol. 14, No. 3, p. 5.
8
Prahalad C.K., Hamel G. (1990), The Core Competence of the Corporation, in Harvard Business Review,
Vol. 68, Issue 3, p. 89.

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on a set of intangible, firm-specific resources. According to Barney (1999)9, they have
a potential of creating sustained competitive advantage if they have the following features:

 Value: help improving performance (by maximizing opportunities or neutralizing

threats);
 Rareness: no one else or a small number of companies possess those valuable
resources;
 Imperfect imitation: it is difficult or impossible for competitors to buy or duplicate
them because of unique historical conditions, causal ambiguity or social
complexity of a bundle of resources10;
 Non-substitutability: the critical resources do not have common (not rare) or
imitable substitutes that could enable a competitor to achieve the same objectives
or to implement the same strategy in a different way.

Graph 1. Company’s resources portfolio

Source: own elaboration

9
Barney J. (1999), above quoted, p.105.
10
For “unique historical conditions” Barney (1999) and other scholars (e.g. Arthur, Emoliev & Kaniovsky,
1984, 1987) mean that an important determinant in obtaining some resources and a high performance is
a particular path followed by a company through history. “Causal ambiguity” can be observed when it is not
clear which resources and how contributed in a successful strategy – because both the successful company
and its competitors do not understand the link between the resources and sustained competitive advantage.
Another reason of the difficulty or impossibility of imitation may lay in a “social complexity” of resources that
cannot be directly managed or influenced because of their entanglement.

12
In his previous study, Barney (1995) proposed the VRIO (Value, Rareness, Imitability,
Organization) framework which considered organization as another important feature of
strategic resources. To be able to fully exploit valuable, rare and not perfectly imitable
resources, a company must be aware of its potential and well-organized (having a formal
reporting structure, management control systems and compensation policies).11

Furthermore, Peteraf & Barney (2003) show in their paper the connection between critical
resources, value created and rents. It can be studied on Graph 2.

Graph 2. Impact of critical resources on company’s outcome

Source: Peteraf M.A., Barney J.B. (2003), citied, p. 316.

The resource-based view’s main statement is that superior bundles of resources possessed
and deployed by companies are the key source of a sustainable competitive advantage and, in
consequence, of a better than competitors’ performance. This theory is based on two
important assumptions:12 companies and resources are heterogeneous (resource
heterogeneity) and some resources are immobile (imperfect resource mobility). The first
notion refers to the belief that the differences between companies’ results exist because of
heterogeneous distribution of strategic (critical) resources. It means that some companies are
more competitive because they picked from the market or built internally a better (more
efficient or generating more value) and unique bundle of resources. The resources immobility
(or imperfect mobility) ensures heterogeneity duration in time. If strategic resources were

11
Barney J. (1995), Looking inside for Competitive Advantage, in The Academy of Management Executive,
Vol. 9, No. 4, p. 56.
12
Barney J. (1999), above quoted, p.101.

13
mobile, competitors would buy or replicate them and in a long-term perspective those
resources would lose their greater value. Thus, imperfect resources mobility is a necessary
condition for a sustainable competitive advantage.13

According to a major part of scholars within RBV approach, tangible resources can be
easily purchased or imitated by competitors14 so they are not sufficient to obtain a sustained
competitive advantage. Therefore, intangible resources or competencies (e.g. know-how,
skills, organizational culture, reputation, brands) are considered to be the main source of
a company’s superior performance. They are often characterized by causal ambiguity and
time-path dependence, or are socially complex, being therefore very difficult or impossible to
imitate. Hall’s (1992) and Galbreath’s (2005) studies confirm this statement.15 Those critical
resources are based on people – employees, who are metaphorically called human
resources.16 Hill et al. (2004) describe in their paper the essence of this point of view:

Employees are viewed as a capital resource that requires investment (…) people are
perhaps the only sustainable source of competitive advantage (…) when human
capital investments are successful (…) continuous learning and leveraging the firm’s
expanding knowledge base are linked with strategic success (…) viewing employees
as a resource to be maximized rather than a cost to be minimized facilitates the
successful implementation of a firm’s strategies (…)17

Also Boxall (1996)18 sees a company’s success in finding and keeping the better people
and uniting their talents with better than competitors’ processes. However, not only has
an academic literature been developed in this field, but also practitioners, CEOs and
13
Peteraf M.A., The cornerstones of competitive advantage: A resource-based view, in Strategic
Management Journal, Vol. 14, p. 184.
14
Galbreath J. (2005), above quoted, p. 980.
15
“(The) analysis (…) shows company reputation, product reputation and employee know-how as the
most important contributors to company success”. See Hall G. (1992), above quoted, p. 141.
“Capabilities (…) are argued to be the highest order and most important of a firm’s resources due to their
high levels or causal ambiguity and strong barriers to duplication (…). Our findings confirm that capabilities
contribute more significantly to firm success than either intangible or tangible assets”. See Galbreath J. (2005),
above quoted, p. 984.
16
Inkson argues that the term human resource de-humanizes employees, presenting them as assets or
passive commodities rather than as partners and that the actual resources are the knowledge and expertise
they possess. However, this metaphor might influence people’s perceptions and behaviours in a negative way.
In his study Inkson suggests some alternatives to this term. See Inkson K. (2008), Are humans resources?, in
Career Development International, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 270-271.
17
Hill C.W.L., Jones G.R., Galvin P. (2004), Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach, 5th ed.,
Houghton Mifflin, pp.397-398.
18
Boxall P. (1996), The strategic HRM debate and the resource-based view of the firm, in Human Resource
Management Journal, Vol. 6, Iss. 3, p.69.

14
managers can observe a growing power of Human Resources Departments in their
organizations.

2. Strategic Human Resources Management

Human resources, workforce, manpower, labour force, personnel, staff – all those terms
concern employees who implement company’s strategy and often contribute in defining its
details: policies, processes, single actions. They are the main factor, an indispensible one for
company’s existence, and at the same time, because of its complexity, the most difficult one
to be managed. Human Resources Management (HRM) and, after being integrated into the
strategic management, Strategic Human Resources Management (SHRM), became a very
significant field of study after the recognition of employees’ critical role in building
a sustained competitive advantage of a company. Both scholars and practitioners put much
effort trying to understand HRM/SHRM features, best practices, its place in company’s
reality and organization, implications and – first of all – to answer the question: How to build
a sustained competitive advantage through people?

The area of HRM includes all the practices used to manage people in organizations. They
can be grouped in several subdisciplines: selection, training, appraisal and rewards, which
reflect the most common functions of human resources department 19 of any company (the
subfunctions will be reviewed in detail in Chapter II in relation to employer branding
strategy). Historically, those functions evolved separately and were not integrated within one
area, thus were not coordinated properly. Therefore, the HRM field of study is actually the
sum of the insights within each of those subfunctions.20 Their roots lie in Scientific
Management’s improved work methods, while the first recognized formal personnel
department (labour department) was established in 1902 at the National Cash Register
Company.21

19
Wright P.M., McMahan G.C. (1992), Theoretical Perspectives for Strategic Human Resource
Management, in Journal of Management, Vol. 18, No. 2, p. 297.
20
Wright P.M., McMahan G.C. (1992), above quoted, pp. 297-298.
21
Miles R.E., Snow C.C. (1984), Designing Strategic Human Resources Systems, in Organizational
Dynamics, Vol. 13, No.1, p. 42.

15
Schuler & MacMillan in their earlier study proposed a more detailed description of HRM
practices, including within them:22

 HR planning,
 Staffing (recruitment, selection and socialization),
 Evaluation,
 Remuneration,
 Training and development,
 Union-management relationships.

In the same paper the scholars claim that the consequence of an effective HRM is
an enhanced ability to attract and retain qualified employees who are motivated to perform,
and the results (…) include greater profitability, low employee turnover, high product
quality, lower production costs, and more rapid implementation of corporate strategy.23

The literature provides a distinction between hard and soft HRM. The first approach sees
employees as mere factors of production to be used in the same way as other company’s
assets. Simmons (2003) relates this view to amoral management, in which employees are
seen as instruments for achieving business goals.24 Marchington & Wilkinson (2005) suggest,
that in the hard model:

The human resource is seen as similar to all other resources – land and capital for
example – being used as management sees fit. Under this scenario, which stresses the
“resource” aspect of HRM – there is no pretence that labor has anything other than
commodity status (…)25

The soft HRM, instead, views employees as stakeholders and key actors of organizational
life. They are rather resourceful humans than human resources.26 What becomes the most
important task for managers is to obtain their commitment, engagement and loyalty – only

22
Schuler R.S., MacMillan I.C. (1984), Gaining Competitive Advantage through Human Resource
Management Practices, in Human Resource Management, Vol. 23, No. 3, p. 242.
23
Ibidem.
24
Simmons J. (2003), Balancing performance, accountability and equity in stakeholder relationships:
Towards more socially responsible HR practise, in Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental
Management, Vol. 10, p. 131.
25
Marchington M., Wilkinson A. (2005), Human Resource Management at Work: People Management and
Development, 3rd ed., Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, p. 6.
26
Simmons J. (2003), above quoted, p. 131.

16
then they contribute proactively in the pursuit of success. The soft perspective of HRM is
more moral than the hard one, as it includes ethical issues. Nowadays, in the 21st century, it
is widely recognized that employees are stakeholders27 and not just assets, and the soft HRM
approach seems to be significantly predominant, not to say, the only one considered by both
theorists and practitioners.

The strategic role of HRM was first taken into consideration and discussed by Devanna,
Fombrum & Tichy (1981) in their article Human Resources Management: A Strategic
Perspective. They recognized the critical role of people in strategy implementation and
argued that organizations had been focusing just on the operational (short-term) level,
neglecting the managerial (medium-term) and strategic (long-term) ones.28 Instead, they
suggested that the subfunctions of HRM should be integrated and aligned with business
strategic planning29, providing a broader, strategic perspective of workforce management.
This, together with the fit between HR architecture and the company’s strategy30, would
create a basis of HR’s contribution to competitive advantage, that is, to an above-average
financial performance.31

Following studies developed significantly the field of SHRM. For Armstrong (2006),
strategic HRM is a process that integrates HR issues vertically with the business strategy and
horizontally with one another, defining the company’s intentions and plans on how its
corporate objectives should be gained through people.32 Important issues to consider while
valuing HR strategy’s uniqueness are people’s personalities, capabilities and organizational
culture. Wright & McMahan (1992) define SHRM as the pattern of planned human resource

27
The approach to employees as stakeholders is reviewed in the next section.
28
Devanna M.A., Fombrun Ch., Tichy N. (1981), Human Resources Management: A Strategic Perspective,
in Organizational Dynamics, Winter 1981, pp. 54-57.
29
Devanna M.A., Fombrun Ch., Tichy N. (1981), above quoted, p. 57.
30
Becker & Huselid identify a “black box” between HR and company’s performance and suggest that to
unravel its content, the emphasis should be put on strategy implementation (using strategic capabilities and
business processes) as the key mediating variable between those two elements. See Becker B.E., Huselid M.A.
(2006), Strategic Human Resources Management: Where Do We Go From Here?, in Journal of Management,
Vol. 32, No. 6, pp. 898-903.
31
Becker B.E., Huselid M.A. (2006), above quoted, p. 899.
32
Armstrong M. (2006), Strategic Human Resource Management: A Guide to Action. 3 rd edition, Kogan
Page Publishers, pp. 29-30.

17
deployments and activities intended to enable an organization to achieve its goals.33 On the
basis of this definition, Wright (1998) formulated four components of SHRM:34

 It concentrates on people as the leading source of competitive advantage, thus,

humans are the strategic resources,
 HR activities (programs, policies and practices) are the means through which
employees can be deployed to implement successful strategies,
 The pattern and the plan are both related to the company’s strategy – they
emphasize the need of fit (alignment) of human resources strategy with the
business strategy,
 Business goal achievement (maximizing company’s performance) is the final
purpose of SHRM.

Another configuration is proposed by Baird & Meshoulam (1988). They identify six
strategic components of HRM:35

 Management awareness (role and power given to HRM within organizational

reality and strategic planning),
 Management of the function (HR function’s structure),
 Portfolio of programs (from simple to very complex HR programs),
 Personnel skills,
 Information technology (IT tools used within HRM),
 Awareness of the environment (how much attention is put to internal and external
environment and to their impact on organizational decisions).

Becker & Huselid (2006), drawing from preceding studies, define the metaphor of HR
architecture which consists of HR systems, practices, skills and competencies, employee
performance behaviours, employee commitment and engagement.36 The authors focus on its
differentiation, in the sense that not all employees are strategic and there are various groups
of employees within a company, therefore those groups should be managed differently in
order to their contribution to the value creation process. Lepak & Snell (1999), referring to

33
Wright P.M., McMahan G.C. (1992), above quoted, p. 298.
34
Wright P.M. (1998), Introduction: Strategic Human Resource Management Research in The 21 st Century,
in Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 187-188.
35
Baird L., Meshoulam I. (1988), Managing Two Fits of Strategic Human Resource Management, in The
Academy of Management Review, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 122.123.
36
Becker B.E., Huselid M.A. (2006), above quoted, pp. 899-900.

18
the resource-based view of the firm, suggest that the basis of such a differentiation lays in
value and uniqueness37 of employees’ skills and they distinguish four groups of employees
that should be managed differently38 - with one of four appropriate architectures: knowledge-
based employment, job-based employment, contract or alliances.39 The HR architecture, thus,
should fit the type of employees.

This fit approach is widely described by Baird & Meshoulam (1988). They propose
a framework for developing and implementing HRM strategies, with a particular emphasis
put on their external and internal fit. The external fit (similar to Armstrong’s and other
academics’ vertical fit40) means that to be effective, the human resources management must
operate proactively to match the company’s stage of development (the scholars distinguish
five stages of development: Initiation, Functional Growth, Controlled Growth, Functional
Integration and Strategic Integration).41 As every organization grows and changes, the HRM
strategy should develop as well, and be flexible. Only if the HR architecture is aligned with
the company’s level of development and complexity, it is effective and can have a positive
impact on organizational outcomes.42 The internal fit (called also horizontal fit by many
scholars, e.g. Ferris et al., 1999, Armstrong, 2006), instead, is related to the inner components
of HRM which should match and support one another. The better the alignment among
structure, processes, task, people and their administration, the greater the company’s
performance.43 In other words, the better the fit among management awareness, HR function
management, HR programs, employees’ skills, information technology and awareness of the
environment (internal and external ones), the higher value added by HRM to organizational
effectiveness.

However, gaining a perfect fit is not always desirable. If an organization needs change to
compete in a complex environment, a focus on maximizing alignment can be

37
Lepak D.P., Snell S.A. (1999), The Human Resource Architecture: Toward a Theory of Human Capital
Allocation and Development, in The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 24, No. 1, p. 32.
38
Becker B.E., Huselid M.A. (2006), above quoted, p. 904.
39
Lepak D.P., Takeuchi R., Snell S.A. (2003), Employment Flexibility and Firm Performance: Examining the
Interaction Effects of Employment Mode, Environmental Dynamism and Technological Intensity, in Journal of
Management, Vol. 29, No. 5, p. 681.
40
For vertical fit the scholar understands the alignment of the HR strategy to the business strategy so that
the former supports the implementation of the latter. See Armstrong M. (2006), above quoted, p. 33.
41
Baird L., Meshoulam I. (1988), above quoted, pp.117-121.
42
Ferris G.R., Hochwarter W.A., Buckley M.R., Harrell-Cook G., Frink D.D. (1999), Human Resources
Management: Some New Directions, in Journal of Management, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 389-390.
43
Baird L., Meshoulam I. (1988), above quoted, p. 122.

19
disadvantageous and counterproductive.44 Therefore, a thorough monitoring of the
company’s needs and environmental challenges is needed.

To conclude the above considerations and drawing from Armstrong’s (2006) and
Lengnick-Hall & Lengnick-Hall’s (1988) propositions, a perspective on strategic HRM is
depicted on Graph 3.

Graph 3. View on strategic HRM

Source: own elaboration

It is relevant to underline the reciprocal interdependence between a company’s

competitive strategy and its human resource strategy.45 External and internal circumstances,
organization’s characteristics, industry and macroeconomic issues have their impact on those
strategies as well. While developing and implementing the HRM strategy, thus, it is crucial to
take into consideration the environment.

44
Lengnick-Hall C.A., Lengnick-Hall M.L. (1988), Strategic Human Resource Management: A Review of the
Literature and a Proposed Typology, in The Academy of Management Review, Vol. 13, No. 3, p. 460.
45
Lengnick-Hall C.A., Lengnick-Hall M.L. (1988), above quoted, pp. 466-477.

20
3. A challenge to the traditional stakeholder perspective

Stakeholders are all those individuals and groups who can affect or be affected by
an organization. The main assumption is that they have an interest in the company or the
company has an interest in them. What is more, without stakeholders’ support the
organization could not exist.46 The main groups of stakeholders are illustrated on Graph 4.

Graph 4. A model of company’s stakeholders

Employees

Trade Investors
associations

Governments Company Suppliers

Political
groups Customers
Communities

Source: Donaldson T., Preston L.E. (1995), p. 69.

As the company’s resources are limited, an organization has to choose the key
stakeholder groups and focus attention and resources on them. To identify them, Kenny
(2014) suggests answering the following questions:47

46
Stanford Research Institute, 1963, quoted in Freeman R.E. (1984), Strategic Management: A stakeholder
approach, Boston: Pitman, p. 31.
47
Kenny G. (2014), Five Questions to Identify Key Stakeholders, in Harvard Business Review, retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2014/03/five-questions-to-identify-key-stakeholders/.

21
1. Does the stakeholder have a fundamental impact on your organization’s
performance?
2. Can you clearly identify what you want from the stakeholder?
3. Is the relationship dynamic — that is, do you want it to grow?
4. Can you exist without or easily replace the stakeholder?
5. Has the stakeholder already been identified through another relationship?

If the answer to the questions 1, 2 and 3 is positive and to the questions 4 and 5 negative,
than the analysed group is a critical stakeholder.

It is clear that the relationship with employees is vital to achievement of the company’s
goals and to gain a sustained competitive advantage (thus, they are considered to be a key
stakeholder); it has been already discussed in the previous section. However, this relationship
has been reshaped significantly over past three decades. Some social changes like increased
participation of women in the labour force (which itself caused redefinition of values, family
roles and communities’ rules) and the growing importance of the quality of life 48 changed
drastically the employees’ expectations towards companies. What is more, in today’s
turbulent environment also employers’ expectations towards employees are different – and no
life-long employment can be guaranteed any more.

To respond those various expectations, the organizations willing to remain competitive

had to reformulate their relationship with potential and present employees. To attract and
keep talented and committed people, they had to take into consideration the following new
employee priorities which had appeared:49

 Feeling appreciated,
 Achieving a desired state of work/life balance,
 Having opportunity to contribute significantly to job tasks,
 Being proud of one’s work.

Therefore, respect, flexibility, family-friendly policies and a certain level of autonomy in

carrying out one’s work represent a 21st-century employee’s expectations. Also training and

48
Pitt-Catsouphes M, Fassler I. (1998), Enhancing Strategic Value: Becoming a Company of Choice, Boston
College Center for Corporate Community Relations: The Center for Work & Family, p. 17.
49
Dunn R.L. (1993), Money isn’t everything, in Plant Engineering, Vol. 49, No. 17, p. 9.

22
development opportunities within a company are essential, since, because of employment
insecurity, employers are also supposed to enhance employees’ employability.

In order to meet those expectations and to attract, engage and retain the most-talented and
valuable employees (to manage efficiently the relationship with this key stakeholder group),
many companies have adopted the employer of choice strategy. It includes, in particular,
creation of an employer brand – an intangible resource standing in the heart of the employer
branding strategy which is the subject of this thesis and will be developed in the following
chapters.

4. Positioning the employer branding strategy within SHRM

Concluding from preceding sections, it becomes apparent that adapting employer

branding strategy in order to become an employer of choice is a valid HRM strategy able to
respond today’s labour market needs and expectations. It stems from the fact that HRM
recently began to assume an increased role in organizational effectiveness.50 However,
employer branding strategy requires a collaboration with other departments, first of all with
marketing and public relations – as an effective communication is indispensible. Needless to
say, a successful implementation of this strategy depends upon management and owners
awareness and commitment.

The following chapters provide a broader explanation of the employer branding strategy
with a particular attention on practice – a case study will be developed. It will show more
clearly the impact and position of this model within strategic HRM.

50
Francis H., Reddington M. (2011), Employer Branding and Organisational Effectiveness, in Francis H.,
Holbeche L., Reddington M. (2011), People and Organisational Development, Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development, p. 260.

23
II. The strategy of Employer Branding

Your brand is what people say about you when you’ve left the room.

Larry Ellison, Oracle

When people are financially invested, they want a return.

When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute.

Simon Sinek, leadership expert & author

Employees engage with employers and brands when they’re treated as humans worthy of respect.

Meghan M. Biro, TalentCulture Consulting Group

War for talent or fight for brainpower51 in the competitive labour market became a well-
known, although not simple, reality in the beginning of 21st century. Companies willing to
achieve high performance and sustained competitive advantage need to prepare their “arms”
and “equipment” to win this battle against other employers. However, it is an unusual war
because once won, the “conquered” (attracted and hired) talents need to be nurtured by
an exceptional organizational culture characterized by openness, trust and engagement. Only
in such environment they can “spread their wings” and fully exploit their potential.

Organizations aware of the key role of attraction, engagement and retention of valuable,
high-potential employees, started to treat their workforce as internal clients, worth respecting,
understanding their needs and caring about. Employer brand is a powerful “weapon” or tool
in their efforts to win a better, unique position on the labour market, whereas employer
branding strategy is an “umbrella”, under which all HRM subfunctions and activities can be
gathered to effectively build competitive advantage through people: to attract, involve,
satisfy, build their loyalty and make them stay and actively contribute to organizational
success. This field of study arised in middle 90. as a response to the new labour market

51
The “war for talent” term was first used by McKinsey & Company in 1997; “fight for brainpower” is an
alternative, slightly different notion proposed by Universum in 2012, focusing on high-potential individuals
rather than on talents.

24
configuration and changing competitive environment. Transformation of psychological
contract between employees and organizations (shown in Table 1.) and the war for talents
emerged are the most significant reasons behind redefinition of employer-employee
relationship.

Table 1. Transition of psychological contract between employee and employer

Aspect Traditional deal Current deal

Environment Stable Dynamic

Career horizon (workplace) One organization Several organizations

Career horizon (time) Long Short

Employer expect / Employee Loyalty and commitment Long time working hours
give

Employer give / Employee Job security Investment in employability

expect

Success means Progress on the hierarchy ladder Inner feeling of achievement

Training Formal programmes, generalist On-the-job, company specific

Essence of career direction Linear Multidirectional

Source: Baruch Y. (2004), p. 66.

The origins of the labour market changes and of modification of the psychological
contract conditions can be found in several global trends challenging today’s businesses.
According to Universum, a company being a global leader in employer branding, these trends
are:52

a) Accelerating technology development

 Potential and current employees have access to a greater amount of
information,
 Participants of the labour market can exchange their experiences and
opinions about workplaces – thus, organizations need to manage this flow
of information,

52
Arbin K. (2012), The Fight for Brainpower: Employer Branding Trends and Case Studies, Universum
Communications Sweden AB, pp. 13-22.

25
 Candidates are aware of much more workplaces and job opportunities –
today’s generation is called “a generation of thousand choices”; thus, it is
more difficult to attract and retain high-potential individuals.
 Companies have to be more communicative and transparent,
 Inspiring and flexible organizations (e.g. supporting work/life balance) are
becoming more and more attractive for talents;
b) A bigger, better and faster world: growing markets and higher living standards
 Employees’ values – their drivers of commitment and engagement – have
evolved into soft ones: an increasing importance is given to work/life
balance, innovative and friendly work environment, training and
development, manager’s support,
 Importance of personal brand for individuals representing Y generation
(often demanding their consideration as partners, willing to have
a meaningful job and working in a company whose brand reflects their
own personalities and values),
 Democratization of skills – higher education is common and is not
a privilege in most markets, thus there are more qualified individuals
applying to different companies,
 New appealing workplaces are emerging – like Google, Facebook etc. –
and they often win the battle for talents because of creative work
environment,
 The internationalization of talent attraction;
c) The growing importance of people to organizations
 Talents aware of their importance for companies are able to choose among
employers, they have more power and, in consequence, they are more
demanding,
 Organizations willing to win the war for talent need to develop appropriate
strategies and management practices aligned with business strategies,
 Super organizations have begun to arise – that is, companies which invest
in their employees and communities and are considered employers of
choice.

26
Those changes generated a great challenge for employers: they need to re-think and re-
design their relationship with employees. Employer branding strategy seems to embrace all
important dimensions of this challenge.

This chapter aims to define and exemplify the employer branding practices and activities
from strategic perspective. Section 1. will provide the readers with a review of theoretical
background of the concept: relationship marketing basis, person-organization fit approach
and social exchange theory, with a particular focus on psychological contract and
organizational support theory. Their contributions to employer branding will be discussed.

In Section 2. the strategy of employer branding and its components will be analysed in
detail. A model of employer branding, including employee value proposition (EVP), internal
employer branding and external employer branding will be proposed, with the attention
aimed at the harmony of the above elements and their alignment with business strategy. Also
the attributes of successful employer brands, including two dimensions: attractiveness and
accuracy, will be discussed in order to demonstrate practical implications for managers and
HR workers.

The main purpose of Section 3. of this chapter is the integration of HRM subfunctions
under the employer branding “umbrella” – and the impact of this strategy on recruitment
& selection process, training & development activities, reward systems and employee
relations management. Organizational culture and work/life balance initiatives are given
some more attention due to their significant role in a winning EVP.

Finally, Section 4. summarizes the internal and external outcomes of a successful

implementation of employer branding strategy. The positive impact of its consequences on
organizational performance and competitive advantage is maintained.

1. Theoretical background

The concept of employer branding is a holistic approach to managing people within

an organization, or to the two-way relationship between an employer and potential and
current employees (considering workforce as a key stakeholder, as explained in the previous
chapter). However, the term brand evokes clear associations with marketing; in fact, the roots
of employer branding can be found in this discipline. Ambler & Barrow (1996) are
considered the first scholars who suggested applying marketing techniques (especially

27
relationship marketing and branding) to human resources management in order to build
employee loyalty (analogically to customer loyalty) 53 and to enhance HRM’s positive impact
on performance. They proposed the concept of employer brand which earned a place next to
product and corporate brand – intangible assets having a great value for companies and often
being a source of sustained competitive advantage. The input of marketing theories and
practices in employer branding strategy will be studied in detail in the following section,
although some notions of relationship marketing need to be invoked at this point.

This view on marketing covers all marketing activities aimed towards establishing,
developing and retaining successful, relational exchanges54 with various stakeholders of
an organization. Based on social exchange theory, especially on the principle of reciprocity, it
finds in commitment and trust55 the key factors of successful and endurable relationships
between a company and its customers, employees, suppliers and other business partners – the
parties of exchanges of goods, services, efforts. Another essential attribute is collaboration
between the parties. According to Morgan & Hunt (1994), these elements are crucial because
they encourage cooperation and reciprocal investment in the exchange relationship,
discourage choice of attractive short-term alternatives, supporting long-term benefits of
remaining with existing partners, and reduce risk level perception because of the conviction
of non-opportunism of the parties.56 The same authors propose a model of relationship
marketing depicted on Graph 5. (grey arrows indicate a positive correlation, the red ones –
a negative correlation between two elements).

53
Ambler T., Barrow S. (1996), The Employer Brand, in Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 4, p. 198.
54
Morgan R.M., Hunt S.D. (1994), The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing, in The Journal
of Marketing, Vol. 7, Iss. 1, p. 22.
55
By commitment Morgan & Hunt understand “an exchange partner believing that an ongoing
relationship with another is so important as to warrant maximum efforts at maintaining it; that is, the
committed party believes the relationship is worth working on to ensure that it endures indefinitely”.
Commitment is necessary for engagement in any type of relationship. See Morgan R.M., Hunt S.D. (1994),
above quoted, p. 23.
Trust is associated with a partner’s reliability, integrity and competence and constitutes the basis for
loyalty. Parties desire a trustworthy partners because it “reduces the risks associated with relational
exchange”. See Hunt S. D., Arnett D.B., Madhavaram S. (2006), The explanatory foundations of relationship
marketing theory, in Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 21, Iss. 2, p. 75. Referring trust to
reciprocity within social exchange theory, McDonald (1981) suggests that “mistrust breeds mistrust and as
such would also serve to decrease commitment in the relationship and shift the transaction to one of more
direct short-term exchanges”. Quoted by Morgan R. M., Hunt S. D. (1994), above quoted, p. 24.
56
Morgan R.M., Hunt S.D. (1994), above quoted, p. 22.

28
Drawing on the Morgan & Hunt’s (1994) study, Hunt, Arnett & Madhavaram (2006)
underline the importance of shared values of the parties. The scholars suggest that
stakeholders more probably engage in relational exchange with an organization whose values

Graph 5. Model of relationship marketing

Source: Morgan & Hunt (1994), p. 22.

they share.57 This claim has a big impact on employee-employer relationship and supports
another theoretical construct: the person-organization fit.

57
That is, people look for organizations that “agree with them as to what is important vs. unimportant,
right vs. wrong, appropriate vs. inappropriate, proper vs. improper, and significant vs. insignificant. For
example, some [partners] will engage in relational exchanges only with those firms that they deem to be
socially responsible”. See Hunt S. D., Arnett D.B., Madhavaram S. (2006), above quoted, pp. 75-76.

29
Study on person-organization fit reveals that individuals compare their set of values, their
needs and personalities to the organization’s image and they choose to cooperate with or
apply to the one that matches best their principles. The better the fit between the values of the
two parties, the more probable the person is to be attracted to the organization. 58 Relating this
concept to employer branding, it means that defining and clearly communicating the
company’s core values within employer brand will make the organization more likely to
become an employer of choice for individuals who share these values, and the current
employees will more likely remain within the company if its principles are aligned with
theirs. Additionally, an effective and successful HRM has a strong ideological component 59 –
if employees identify themselves with company’s values and goals, they result more
committed and engaged in their work.

The above organizational identification (seen as the perception of oneness with or

belongingness to the organization60 or as the degree to which a member defines him or
herself by the same attributes that he or she believes define the organisation61) makes part of
the social identity theory, another scheme supporting the field of employer branding. This
theory posits that people have a natural need to link themselves to social groups and that
these social bodies can become part of their identity.62 In other words, they derive their self-
concept from their membership in a social group63 whose reputation and image are in their
eyes positive. In this way they guarantee a positive self-regard and pride (both connected to
their identity) from feeling membership with the organization. Therefore, if a company has
a good reputation and a desirable, positive image, individuals are more likely to identify with
that employer brand, and, according to Backhaus & Tikoo (2004), they will more likely
choose to seek membership with the organization for the sense of heightened self-image that
membership promises.64 Employees can supposedly enjoy the reflected glory of favourable
reputation of the company they work for.65 However, that image and organizational

58
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), Conceptualizing and researching employer branding, in Career
Development International, Vol. 9, No. 5, p. 506.
59
Francis H., Reddington M. (2011), above quoted, p. 271.
60
Ashforth B.E., Mael F.A. (1989), Social identity theory and the organization, in Academy of Management
Review, Vol. 14, p. 22.
61
Dutton J.E., Dukerich J.M., Harquail C.V. (1994), Organizational images and member identification, in
Administration Science Quarterly, Vol. 39, p. 239.
62
Edwards M.R. (2010), An integrative review of employer branding and OB theory, in Personnel Review,
Vol. 39, Iss. 1, p. 12.
63
Tajfel H. (1982), Social psychology of intergroup relations, in Annual Review of Psychology, p. 33.
64
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 506.
65
Edwards M.R. (2010), above quoted, p. 12.

30
identification need to be sustained by fair and supportive day-to-day management practices,
transparent communication and organizational culture in general.

The social exchange theory, already mentioned as a background of relationship

marketing, has itself a huge contribution to the topic of employer branding. It views social
exchanges as a series of interactions (both social and economic) that create obligations to
reciprocate and which stimulate feelings of personal obligations, gratitude and trust.66 This
theory focuses on the importance of comprehension of employees’ motivation and its relation
to the achievement of business goals.67 The reciprocity rule can be seen from three different
perspectives:68

 reciprocity as a transactional pattern of interdependent exchanges,

 reciprocity as a folk belief,
 reciprocity as a moral norm.

The major part of social exchange constructs are built upon content models analysing
what has been exchanged, how much, and the results of that exchange69 (in organizational
context e.g. employee commitment and performance). Two concepts deserve more attention
in the context of HRM and employer branding strategy: psychological contract and
organizational support theory.70

The psychological contract in employment circumstances is a belief system of

an employee and an employer concerning their mutual obligations.71 Those obligations are
based on promises and on the expectations that those promises would be fulfilled by the
parties, and they go far beyond the explicit conditions of a written contract. Rousseau

66
Blau P.M. (1986), Exchange and Power in Social Life, 13th edition, John Wiley, p. 94.
67
Aselage J., Eisenberger R. (2003), Perceived organizational support and psychological contracts:
A theoretical integration, in Journal of Organizational Behaviour, Vol. 24, Iss. 5, p. 492.
68
Cropanzano R., Mitchell M.S. (2005), Social Exchange Theory: An Interdisciplinary Review, in Journal of
Management, Vol. 31, No. 6, p. 876.
69
Francis H., Reddington M. (2011), above quoted, p. 266.
70
According to Aselage & Eisenberger (2003), both theories “assume that employees increase their efforts
carried out on behalf of the organization to the degree that the organization is perceived to be willing and able
to reciprocate with desirable impersonal and socioemotional resources. Employees who receive highly valued
resources (e.g., pay raises, developmental training opportunities) would feel obliged, based on the reciprocity
norm, to help the organization reach its objectives through such behaviours as increased in-role and extra-role
performance and lessened absenteeism.” See Aselage J., Eisenberger R. (2003), above quoted, p. 492.
71
Rousseau D.M., Schalk R. (2000), Psychological Contracts in Employment: Cross-national Perspectives,
Sage Publications, Inc., p. 1.

31
& Schalk (2000) propose a model showing the context of psychological contracts; it can be
viewed on Graph 6.

Graph 6. The context of psychological contracts in employment circumstances

Source: Rousseau & Schalk (2000), p. 2.

The process of creation of psychological contract between the two parties in employment
situation is influenced by many determinants, and the model identifies within them five main
factors: a) global environment circumstances (macroeconomic conditions), b) society
(common rules, believes, customs, law, politics ), c) negotiation process and its output,
d) organization’s and its managers’ values, rules, promises and expectations, and
e) individual’s values, believes, previous experiences and expectations.

Edwards (2010), drawing on the studies of Rousseau (1990) and Martin & Hetrick
(2006), distinguishes three aspects of psychological contract:72

 transactional (explicit tangible exchange based) content, referred to economic

issues, like remuneration, working hours, etc.;
 relational (socio-emotional based) content, which focuses on subjective
perception of trust and fairness, as well as on expectations regarding
organizational culture; it includes employees’ organizational citizenship
behaviours73 in exchange for job security, remuneration, personal and professional
development;

72
Edwards M.R. (2010), above quoted, pp. 14, 18.
73
Organizational citizenship behaviours of employees are e.g. speaking well of the company (employee
advocacy, word of mouth), going beyond the requirements of the job position, making sure of high quality, or
helping others. See Francis H., Reddington M. (2011), above quoted, p. 267.

32
 ideological content, involving credible commitments to pursue a valued cause or
purpose;74 it is related to the social identity theory and to alignment of principles
of individual and organization (in the context of employer branding this aspect of
psychological contract is significant since common values make people more
likely to wish to be a member of the company, enabling their personal fulfilment,
resulting from working for a particular ideological goal).

The key of reciprocal employee-employer trust is a belief that the psychological contract
is being fulfilled by both parties in day-to-day activities. Violation of its terms, that is, failure
of the organization to meet its promises, causes feelings of injustice and betrayal.75
Furthermore, several studies show that this breach of psychological contract is positively
correlated with turnover, decreased both job satisfaction and job performance, and reduced
trust.76 Following this observation, it can be supposed that kept promises will enhance
employees’ satisfaction, performance, trust and retention.

Employer brand may initiate the formation of psychological contract between a future
employee and organization since it expresses some of employment conditions (tangible and
intangible, like values and culture), likely interpreted as promises by potential employees.
Thus, including accurate and sufficient information about the company within employer
brand may help to reduce misunderstandings (caused by informal and often incomplete
information, e.g. from word-of-mouth sources, external recruiters, press and popular media77)
and perception of violation of the psychological contract by newcomers.78

Another construct rooted in social exchange theory and worth mentioning in this section
is the organizational support theory. Its main assumption is that employees create a belief
related to the extent to with the company cares about their well-being and values their
contributions to the organization.79 Such perceived organizational support (POS) is a product
of the perception of various factors by an individual: rewards, approval, praise, rank, job

74
Thompson J.A., Bunderson J.S. (2003), Violations of principle: ideological currency in the psychological
contract, in Academy of Management Review, Vol. 28, pp. 574.
75
Francis H., Reddington M. (2011), above quoted, p. 266.
76
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 507.
77
Moroko L., Uncles M.D. (2008), Characteristics of successful employer brands, in Brand Management,
Vol. 16, Iss. 3, p. 166.
78
Ibidem.
79
Eisenberger R., Huntington R., Hutchison S., Sowa D. (1986), Perceived Organisational Support, in
Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 71, Iss. 31, p. 500.

33
enrichment, control over organizational policies, procedural justice and supervisor support. It
is suggested by numerous studies that a strong POS generates three consequences:80

 a hypothesized felt obligation to support the organization in achieving its goals,

 an affective attachment (emotional bond) to the company,
 a heightened expectancy that superior performance will be rewarded (effort-
outcome expectancy).

Therefore, employees who feel appreciated, being treated fairly and taken care of by the
organization will more likely become corporate citizens and will put a greater effort to
increase their performance. This will develop into better organizational outcomes. As it will
be demonstrated in the following sections, employer branding strategy focuses on enhancing
commitment and engagement of individuals and teams within a company, as well as on
ensuring fairness and building attachment and mutual trust. The strengthening of employee-
employer relationship is put under the spotlight of this concept, and the contribution of the
organizational support theory is of crucial importance in the subsequent considerations.

2. Conceptual framework of employer branding

Employer branding (employment branding, workplace branding) is a process of

intentional development of the employer brand within an organization.81 It applies branding
rules to human resources management, focusing on potential and current employees as the
target, to whom a unique and particular experience is offered as the branded product.82 To
better explain the meaning and various approaches of different scholars to this term,
numerous definitions and a summarizing model are to be presented.

According to Lloyd (2002), employer branding is the sum of a company’s efforts to

communicate to existing and prospective staff that it is a desirable place to work.83A similar
description is provided by Ewing et al. (2002), who suggests that it means creating an image
in the minds of the potential labour market that the organization, above all others, is a great

80
Aselage J., Eisenberger R. (2003), above quoted, p. 494 and Eisenberger R. et al. (1986), above quoted,
p. 501.
81
Figurska I., Matuska E. (2013), Employer branding as a human resources management strategy, in
Human Resources Management & Ergonomics, Vol. 7, Iss. 2, p. 36.
82
Edwards M.R. (2010), above quoted, p. 6.
83
Lloyd S. (2002), Branding from the inside out, in Business Review Weekly, Vol. 24, Iss. 10, pp. 64–66,
quoted by Berthon P., Ewing M., Hah L.L. (2005), Captivating company: dimensions of attractiveness in
employer branding, in International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 24, Iss. 2, p. 153.

34
place to work.84 Backhaus & Tikoo (2004) describe employer branding as an approach
toward attracting, recruiting and retaining the best possible human resources within
competitive employment environment; they focus on differentiation which is the main goal of
branding itself. For them, employer branding is a process of building and promoting (inside
and outside the company) a clear view of what makes the organization different, unique and
more attractive from the competitors on the labour market.85 The authors propose an overall
framework of the construct; after adding some key elements from other studies, its extended
version is proposed. It is depicted on the Graph 7.

Graph 7. Employer branding framework

Source: own elaboration

As the model shows, effective employer branding includes three core elements: Employee
Value Proposition (employment offering, including both tangible and intangible
components), which lays in the heart of the concept, external branding (towards potential
employees and other stakeholders) and internal branding (towards current workforce). Within
external branding, individuals outside the organization develop an employer brand image

84
Ewing M.T., Pitt L.F., de Bussy N.M., Berthon P. (2002), Employment branding in the knowledge
economy, in International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 21, Iss. 1, pp. 3–22, quoted by Berthon P. et al. (2005),
above quoted, p. 154.

85
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 502.

35
from the brand associations, created by company’s employer branding. Defining desirable
associations is the key for attracting the right people and becoming the employer of choice
for those who are wanted within the organization.

Internal branding’s goals: employee satisfaction, engagement and high performance are
achieved by developing the employer brand loyalty or attachment – that is, a long-term
relationship based on reciprocal trust, commitment and person-organization fit. Backhaus
& Tikoo (2004) suggest that the relationship between employer branding and employer
loyalty are mediated by organizational culture and organizational identity.86 The former
concept relates to a set of beliefs, values, attitudes and routine learned by the members of
an organization and passed on to newcomers. The culture is company-specific and built
continuously by all the members, and it strongly affects employees’ individual and collective
behaviours. Organizational identity, instead, stands for the cognitive image held by its
members about the organization, or, in other words, the collective attitude about who the
company is as a group.87 To captivate and retain right people, this identity must be attractive
and unique to them – as they look for a sense of belonging and want to identify themselves
with this social group represented by the company. This viewpoint leads back to the
employer branding roots in social identity theory, mentioned in the previous section.

The components of this framework will be explained in a more detailed manner in the
following paragraphs of this chapter.

In conclusion, as the presented model shows, the main goals of employer branding
activities are: attraction, engagement and retention of talents, creation of a unique
organizational culture, making employees internalize organizational values and goals, and –
as a consequence of the above objectives – generating endurable competitive advantage
through people.

One more issue needs consideration at this point: the importance of a coherent integration
of the components of the model. Harmony of the above elements and activities is essential for
success in employer branding strategy implementation. The strength of this construct lays in
the fact that its aim is, exactly, to harmonize internal belief (organizational identity and

86
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 509.
87
Ibidem.

36
culture) with external brand message (created and communicated employer image).88 Moroko
& Uncles (2008) also highlight the significance of consistency between workplace brand and
employment experience (perception of employees about how it is de facto to work in the
organization; the “product” that is offered to them by the employer), company culture and
values.89 This accuracy forms one of two dimensions of success in employer branding (the
second aspect is attractiveness; both dimensions will be further explained in the next
paragraph). The basic reason of this indispensible need of authenticity stems from the fact
that it is very difficult, not to say impossible, to cover up the organization’s real values,
culture and policies to the employees who experience it in first person every day.90 Since
members of an organization are the first and most important informal communication channel
for external stakeholders (potential employees included), a potential dissonance would be
rapidly discovered and the company would lose its credibility. This would in consequence
lower its reputation not only on the labour market, but also in the eyes of consumers,
investors and communities; a negative impact on outcomes would be inevitable.

Therefore, the authenticity of employer brand and the harmony of its external and internal
components, based on company’s honesty, are crucial for creation of a long-term brand
loyalty and positive brand associations.

a) Employer brand – definition and features. Brand equity

Brand is defined as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them which
is intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to
differentiate them from those of competitors.91 It can be also seen as a mix of features (what
the product is), customer benefits (what needs and desires the product meets) and values
(what associations the customer has with it)92. It is an image of the product in the mind of

88
Martin G., Beaumont P., Doig R., Pate J. (2005), Branding: A New Performance Discourse for HR?, in
European Management Journal, Vol. 23, Iss. 1, p. 79.
89
Moroko L., Uncles M.D. (2008), above quoted, p. 160.
90
Love L.F., Singh P. (2011), Workplace Branding: Leveraging Human Resources Management Practices for
Competitive Advantage Through “Best Employer” Surveys, in Journal of Business Psychology, Vol. 26, p. 177.
91
Schneider L. (2003), What is branding and how is it important to your marketing strategy?, retrieved
from: http://marketing.about.com/cs/brandmktg/a/whatisbranding.htm, quoted by Backhaus K., Tikoo S.
(2004), above quoted, p. 502.
92
Pearson S. (1996), Building brands directly: creating business value from customer relationships,
Macmillan, quoted by Ambler B., Barrow S. (1996), above quoted, p. 197.

37
potential and current clients. Ambler & Barrow (1996) conclude that a brand is a holistic
package of benefits, some real and some imaginary.93

The emotional benefits, attributes and personality that people associate with a brand build
its identity. Brand identity can be defined as the degree to which people develop
a psychological attachment to the brand.94 It has two components:

 brand image (created by associations – individual’s perception of brand quality

and their attitude towards the brand, or thoughts and ideas built in one’s mind95 –
linked to the brand), and
 brand loyalty (an emotional attachment, followed by preference for the brand over
time).

Brands were originally used to differentiate tangible products, but this area of marketing
has been developed and nowadays they can be applied to differentiate people, places and
companies.96 The types of brands most considered by organizations are: product (consumer)
brand, corporate brand and, quite recently, employer brand. It is indisputable that they share
the same theoretical foundations and have influence on many of the same stakeholder groups
(employees, customers, shareholders, other business partners)97; however the two former
ones are addressed only to the external stakeholders, while employer brand’s target are the
present and potential employees (thus, both internal and external audiences).

The main assumption of employer branding is that employees can be seen as internal
customers and employment experience is a product offered to them, having as core
components the culture, policies and processes.98 Following this hypothesis, it is suggested
by numerous scholars that branding principles (brand equity role in attraction and retention,
brand loyalty, brand image etc.) can also affect company’s human resources by adding value
to the employment experience of potential and current employees.99

93
Ambler B., Barrow S. (1996), above quoted, p. 197.
94
Sevier R.A. (2000), Brand as Relevance, Stamats Communications, Inc, retrieved from
http://www6.miami.edu/marcom/whitepapers/branding.pdf.
95
Love L.F., Singh P., above quoted, p. 176.
96
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 502.
97
Moroko L., Uncles M.D. (2008), above quoted, p. 161.
98
Moroko L., Uncles M.D. (2008), above quoted, p. 171.
99
Kim D., Sturman M. (2012), HR Branding: How Human Resources Can Learn from Product and Service
Branding to Improve Attraction, Selection, and Retention, The Center for Hospitality Research, Cornell
University, pp. 6-7.

38
Every employer has a brand whether they want it or not (and whether this brand is
managed or not). Employer brand includes reputation, image and a unique identity of an
organization as employer. It is created by employment offering, or employee value
proposition, that is different – and should be better – than those offered by competitors. In
other terms, employer brand is the package of functional, economic, and psychological
benefits provided by employment, and indentified with the employing company. 100 Edwards
(2010) underlines the importance of intrinsic, intangible rewards,101 while Dell & Ainspan
(2001) provide us with probably the most accurate definition for the goals of this thesis:

The employer brand establishes the identity of the firm as an employer. It

encompasses the firm’s values, systems, policies, and behaviours toward the
objectives of attracting, motivating, and retaining the firm’s current and potential
employees.102

Workplace brand can be also seen as a promise made by an organization to the employees
– and this promise requires being permanently kept in order to create positive outcomes of
employer branding activities and of HRM in general. In addition, Moroko & Uncles (2008)
see employer brand as a psychological contract between employee and organization103 –
when it is fulfilled and meets expectations, employees are more likely to be engaged and
loyal; they also co-create the workplace brand, as they experience it “back stage”. Thus, not
only do they choose the level of commitment to the organization and of engagement, but also
give the most accurate information about the employment to external stakeholders.

Like every brand, employer brand has its attributes, that is, associations and values linked
to it. They can be tangible (objective), like salary, location or organizational structure, or
intangible (subjective, highly symbolic), like reputation and culture. The latter ones are
considered to matter the most.104 Bonaiuto et al. (2013) identify five aspects of the workplace
brand attributes:105

100
Ambler B., Barrow S. (1996), above quoted, p. 197.
101
Edwards M.R. (2010), above quoted, p. 6-7.
102
Dell D., Ainspan N. (2001), Engaging Employees through Your Brand, Conference Board Report No. R-
1288-01-RR, Conference Board, Washington, DC, p. 10, quoted by Edwards M.R. (2010), above quoted, p. 7.
103
Moroko L., Uncles M.D. (2008), above quoted, pp. 165-166.
104
Bonaiuto M., De Dominicis S., Illia L., Rodriguez-Cànovas B., Lizzani G. (2013), Managing employer
brand attributes to attract potential future leaders, in Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 20, Iss. 9, pp. 781-
782.
105
Bonaiuto M. et al. (2013), above quoted, p. 782.

39
 interest value (attracting through high quality products, innovation, creative work
environment),
 social value (attracting through environment, culture and relationships within the
organization),
 economic value (attracting through remuneration),
 development value (attraction through career and development opportunities),
 application value (competencies fit, person-job position alignment, opportunity to
share one’s own knowledge).

The above classification is an extension of previous papers, e.g. by Ambler & Barrow
(1996), who distinguished psychological, functional and economic benefits (or attributes) of
brands.106

Mere discussion about brand and its application to human resources management is
interesting, but does not contribute significantly enough to company’s efforts to increase
performance. Practical aspects are of higher value – and the emerging question is: How to
build and develop an attractive, successful employer brand? In other words, how to become
employer of choice for desired talents and how to keep them engaged over time? It has been
already debated that brand’s promises must be kept and that both external and internal image
should be consistent. Some more perspectives on successful employer brand’s features are to
be examined at this point.

According to Moroko & Uncles (2008), there are two key dimensions of
successful/unsuccessful employer brands:107

 attractiveness dimension (attractive – unattractive), an extent to which the brand is

known and noticeable, seen as relevant and differentiated from competitors (those
three features can be equally applied to product and corporate brands), and
 accuracy dimension (accurate – aspirational) which depends on fulfilment of
psychological contract and unintended appropriation of brand values (understood
as accuracy or alignment of product and corporate brand associations with
employer brand, both internal and external).

106
Ambler B., Barrow S. (1996), above quoted, p. 197.
107
Moroko L., Uncles M.D. (2008), above quoted, p. 169.

40
Those two determinants are suggested to inspire success or cause failure in employer
branding efforts. Positive associations with a brand will attract employees and fulfilled
promises will likely make them stay and engage in their work. On the other hand, if
an organization fails to identify and create workplace brand associations desired on the labour
market, candidates will not be attracted; if there is no consistency of external image with
employment experience, and psychological contract is violated, a long-term success in this
field becomes unattainable. The implications of these considerations are revealed on Graph 8.

Graph 8. Dimensions of employer brand success and following implications

Source: Moroko & Uncles (2008), p. 172.

Positioning a company’s employer brand in one of the four cells of the graph has
significant consequences; Moroko & Uncles (2008) define four states of employer branding
strategies based on employer brand’s levels of attraction and accuracy:108

1. Communication breakdown – company possesses all the attributes of an attractive

employer, but its target candidates are not attracted because of unawareness of its

108
Moroko L., Uncles M.D. (2008), above quoted, pp. 172-173.

41
employer brand, or lack of its alignment with corporate/product brands, or no
differentiation from the competitors;
2. Strategic mismatch – organization is unable to keep the employer brand promises
– thus, it attracts talents, but does not retain them or does not engage them (in
a long-term perspective it has a negative impact on attractiveness because of
dissatisfied employees who express their frustration, usually in an informal way);
3. Long-term disconnect – situation of a negative employer brand, case that needs
a change of both employment experience and brand communication in order to
attract and retain valuable workforce;
4. Sustained success – the most desirable scenario in which company becomes
an employer of choice and obtains the image of great place to work; employees
represent a high level of commitment and engagement and live the brand.
However, it is important to consistently maintain this positive image and
reputation by adapting the employer branding strategy to dynamic environment.

A process approach to the concept is represented by Botha et al. (2011). The scholars
review the literature and develop a research on the determinants influencing a workplace
brand; in consequence they build the employer brand predictive model.109 Its core elements
are depicted on Graph 9.

The identified determinants are the consecutive stages of the process of creation of
employer brand. The first step is defining needs of target group of potential employees that
the organization wishes to attract. On this basis the benefits to offer within employee value
proposition (EVP) are to be defined (those benefits, as presented in previous section, are the
core element of employer branding model). The employee value proposition should be
unique and different from competitors. The following factor – people strategy – relates to
adaptation of people management practices aligned with the employer brand, that is, practices
that enable the company to delivery on the brand promise. Line managers’ role is crucial to
achieve success in employer branding strategy implementation; thus, they need to have
particular skills, be aware of their role and commit to it. People strategy should therefore
match the workplace branding strategy, as they are “two sides of the same coin”. Brand
consistency is another key determinant – employer brand should be aligned with brand
portfolio to ensure clarity of company’s purpose and values; furthermore, internal and
109
Botha A., Bussin M., De Swardt L. (2011), An employer brand predictive model for talent attraction and
retention, in SA Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 9, Iss. 1, Art. 388, p. 11.

42
external communications should be consistent. Such harmony builds the ground for brand
trust. Communication itself is the fifth step of creation of an employer brand. The more
effective communication of the brand, the stronger the brand itself (as brand awareness
grows). Botha et al. argue that the communication should reflect honest, authentic and
consistent employer brand messages about employment promises which could be delivered
upon through an organisation’s employer branding (people management) practices, and that
the channelling of the employer brand message should be carefully considered to ensure
messages attract targeted talent.110 Brand message ought to be delivered at all the employees

Graph 9. Employer brand predictive model

Brand
People strategy
alignment

Differentiation
of Employee Employer brand
Value communication
Proposition

Target
candidates' and Employer Employer brand
employees' metrics
needs Brand

Talent
attraction and
retention

Source: own elaboration on the basis of Botha et al. (2011)

110
Botha A. et al. (2011), above quoted, p. 10.

43
touch-points111 and the channels through which it is expressed should fit the target audience
(for example internet, intranet, mass marketing, press releases, expos, career days, corporate
literature, meetings etc). The last phase to ensure employer brand success is its measurement.
Metrics are found to add value and support keeping workplace brand promises. They provide
the organization with a feedback that is essential in improvement processes – it is even more
important when considering the dynamics of 21st century environment being in continuous
change.

Implementation of the above steps, and ensuring their alignment, correlates positively
with talent attraction and retention.112

Another description of a successful employer brand is proposed by Sullivan (2004). The

author argues that it involves eight essential components:113

 Culture of knowledge sharing and permanent improvement,

 Balance between good management practices and emphasis on employees’
productivity,
 Public recognition of the company as a great place to work,
 Employees being workplace brand ambassadors (proactively telling stories about
an outstanding work environment),
 Getting talked about (presence in business press),
 Becoming a benchmark organization,
 Accurate communication of best practices to potential employees (in order to
increase their awareness),
 Brand evaluation and improvement over time.

The wide range of employer brand components, features and its success factors presented
above are reflected in brand equity. In terms of marketing, customer-based brand equity is the

111
Mosley (2007) applies the term “customer corridor” to employment experience and defines all the
employee touch-points (operational and personal) which include HR “products” and other components of
people management within an organization. The main touch-points are: recruitment process, employee
orientation, communication, shared services (e.g. HR and facilities management), performance management
and employee development, reward and recognition, measurement (e.g. satisfaction surveys, employee
engagement surveys etc.). See Mosley R.W. (2007), Customer experience, organisational culture and the
employer brand, in Brand Management, Vol. 15, Iss. 2, p. 131.
112
Botha A. et al. (2011), above quoted, p. 11.
113
Sullivan J. (2004), Eight elements of a successful employment brand, ER Daily, retrieved from
http://www.ere.net/2004/02/23/the-8-elements-of-a-successful-employment-brand/.

44
value added to a product/service by the brand – and this value, if positive, results in
consumer’s preference towards the branded product/service over an unbranded or
a differently branded one. Lassar et al. (1995) define it as the consumers’ perception of the
overall superiority of a product carrying that brand name when compared to other brands or,
in other words, the enhancement in the perceived utility and desirability a brand name
confers on a product.114 The main determinants of brand equity are brand knowledge
(associations), brand image and brand loyalty.

Employer brand equity, therefore, can be described as the effect of brand knowledge on
prospective and current employees of the company. The assumption is, once again, that
candidates and employees are treated as internal consumers, and employment experience is
the product offered to them. Individuals will react differently to similar attraction,115 selection
and retention activities of organizations because of the underlying employer brand equity
associated with those organizations.116

In conclusion, employer brand is a complex construct based on reputation of

an organization within its potential and present employees, as well as among other
stakeholders. It is the image of the company as an employer and its theoretical background is
rooted primarily it the field of marketing. Every organization has an employer brand, whether
they know it or not. The point is that to become an attractive workplace and to retain
outstanding staff, it should be carefully managed and aligned with HRM and business
strategies.

b) Strategic approach

Employer branding is an investment that requires much effort from company’s

executives, managers and HR department members – it implies a different mindset, focused
on people as partners and not as a means to the achievement of business goals. It is a long-

114
Lassar W., Mittal B., Sharma A. (1995), Measuring customer-based brand equity, in The Journal of
Consumer Marketing, Vol. 12, Iss. 5, p. 13.
115
Cable & Turban (2001) propose the concept of “recruitment equity”, based on the assumption that
organizational images are analogous to brands, and define it as “the value of job seekers’ employer
knowledge, which is derived from job seekers’ responses to recruiting organizations during and after the
recruitment process”. Recruitment equity may be seen as employer brand equity in the narrow sense of this
term. See Cable D.M., Turban D.B. (2001), Establishing the Dimensions, Sources and Value of Job Seekers’
Employer Knowledge During Recruitment, in Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, Vol.
20, p. 121.
116
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 504.

45
term investment which contributes significantly to organizational performance and
reputation, and enables gaining a sustained competitive advantage. Thus, a strategic approach
is indispensable.

The employer-branding mindset needs to embrace all the company’s activities, processes,
procedures, behaviours, as well as organizational culture and management style. Alignment
with other strategies is crucial to its successful implementation, as employer, product and
corporate brands are interdependent – thus a harmony between them is desired. Furthermore,
it has been demonstrated that employer branding contributes not only to employee-employer
relationship, but also to relations with other stakeholders. Sullivan (2004) includes this
strategy-related viewpoint in his definition of employer branding as a targeted, long-term
strategy to manage the awareness and perceptions of employees, potential employees, and
related stakeholders with regards to a particular firm (…) The net result of successful
employment branding is that (…) organization’s exposure and reputation increases, creating
consensus among (…) employees, magazine editors, managers in other organizations, and
high potential applicants that [the company is] one of the top employers of choice.117 Also
Collins (2001), citied by Mosley (2007), metaphorically demonstrates the strategic value of
the employer branding as a valid HRM strategy:

If (…) you need to get the right people on the bus to deliver your strategic intent, you
first need to ensure that you make your bus attractive to the right people118

However, strategic approach to human resources management has been already discussed
in Chapter I, and employer branding, being a framework for HRM119, by definition shall be
treated as a strategy.

c) Employee Value Proposition

The core element of employer branding strategy is employee value proposition (EVP) – it
defines what it is like to work for that particular company and what the company stands

117
Sullivan J. (2004), above quoted.
118
Collins J. (2001), Good to Great, Random House, quoted by Mosley R.W. (2007), above quoted, p. 130.
119
Backhaus & Tikoo (2004) suggest that employer branding can be used as “un umbrella under which
[managers] can channel different employee recruitment and retention activities into a coordinated human
resource strategy”. The authors argue that such integration of all HR activities would produce significant
synergies. See Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 513.

46
for.120 It is the employment “product” offered to potential and current employees by employer
and it includes a novel, compelling and credible message about organizational culture,
management practices, employee characteristics and company’s products.121 According to
CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) it is a clear picture of what [the]
organization stands for, offers and requires as an employer.122 The authors of McKinsey
research see an attractive EVP as a means to win the war for talent and define it as senior
management’s answer to why high-performance talents would want to join and stay with
their company instead of working with its competitors on the labour market.123 It is an honest
representation of what the organization offers to its people and it is embodied in employer
brand;124 it basically represents its attributes (tangible and intangible ones). Furthermore,
EVP makes part of psychological contract between an employee and an organization – it
includes promises and creates expectations regarding rewards, appreciation, promoted values,
attitudes, culture, job tasks, opportunities of development, rational as well as emotional
benefits and so on – and endures from pre-recruitment stage to the moment when employee
leaves the company (or even more – some companies support their ex-workers in various
ways).

To summarize, an overall definition of EVP by Michaels et al. (2001) is to be invoked:

An employee value proposition (EVP) is the holistic sum of everything people

experience and receive while they are part of a company – everything from the
intrinsic satisfaction of the work to the environment, leadership, colleagues,
compensation, and more. It’s about how well the company fulfills people’s needs,
their expectations, and even dreams. A strong EVP attracts great people like flowers
attract bees. A strong EVP excites people so that they recommit daily to give their
best (…) It is what people really experience in the company, day by day.125

120
Love L.F., Singh P. (2011), above quoted, p. 175.
121
Robertson A. (2013), Building the Employer Image: The HR Challenge, in Proceedings of the HR
Dialogue, Vol. 1, Iss. 1, p. 5.
122
CIPD Factsheet (2010), Employer Brand, retrieved from http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-
resources/factsheets/employer-brand.aspx.
123
Chambers E.G., Foulon M., Handfield-Jones H., Hankin S.M., Michaels E.G. (1998), The war for talent, in
The McKinsey Quarterly, No. 3, retrieved from
http://www.executivesondemand.net/managementsourcing/images/stories/artigos_pdf/gestao/The_war_for
_talent.pdf.
124
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 502.
125
Michaels E., Handfield-Jones H., Axelrod B. (2001), The war for talent, Harvard Business School Press,
Boston, MA, p. 43.

47
A unique and attractive EVP is therefore the means of strategic workplace branding in
creating an employer-of-choice image and in retaining high-quality employees. It is built not
only by HR department, but also by top and line managers and employees themselves (as
they contribute in defining organizational culture and creating work atmosphere).

Robertson (2013) argues that effectiveness of EVP depends on the following factors: 126

 CEO and senior management drive,

 Effective communication throughout the company,
 Structure that meets the needs of all departments (and different kinds of
employees) within the organization,
 Ability to set up a reasonable and satisfactory psychological contract between
employer and employees,
 Uniqueness over competitors.

Employee value proposition should be, in fact, aligned with the business strategy and
reflected in daily management practices – thus, it requires top management commitment. For
being attractive, it should first identify people’s needs and design an employment offering
that will meet these needs. Just like in case of consumer value proposition, the “employment
product” must be tailored to the specific desires, goals and expectations of different groups of
individuals.

Aware of this variety of people’s needs and purposes, numerous studies propose
segmentation of workforce – analogously to product market segmentation. Pokorny (2013)
suggests in his study that humans’ preferences and needs are guided by their values127 –
values being people’s primary lens that motivate their choices, also in terms of employee
value proposition offered by different organizations. Therefore, understanding and satisfying
them is essential when shaping a winning EVP. The author elaborates Employee Values
Study by Maritz Motivation Solution and as a result defines four value segments: Drivers,
Pioneers, Stabilizers and Altruists. Their descriptions and implications are presented in
Table 2.

126
Robertson A. (2013), above quoted, p. 6.
127
Pokorny M. (2013), Getting to Know Your Employees and What Motivates Them, in Employment
Relations Today, Vol. 39, Iss. 4, p. 47.

48
Table 2. Employee Value Segments

Segment name
% of employees Primary values Motto Description

Drivers Achievement and “Onward and  Consideration of their job as “part of their
power upward” identity”
24%  Motivated by success and self-
enhancement, driven by high-profile
projects, public praise and recognition
 Want to have overall and transparent
information about the business
 Often on managerial positions

Pioneers Self-direction and “What’s next?”  Motivated by learning, contributing ideas,

stimulation innovative initiatives
26%  Importance of two-directional
communication, they want to be
considered partners
 More often full-time employees
 More often single/not married

Stabilizers Tradition and “Stay the  Need of assurance and stability, no risks
conformity course”  More often have “predictable jobs”
33%  Preference of team-based reward and
recognition over competition
 Need of feedback, high attention paid to
atmosphere and relationships with
colleagues; importance of family

Altruists Universalism and “Make a  Willingness to contribute in a greater

benevolence difference” purpose and progress
17%  Rewarded by personal time, cultural
experiences, and “paying it forward”
 Preference of social, community
environments in which to collaborate
 More likely to agree their job is “just
something they do”
 Less often employed full-time

Source: own elaboration on the basis of Pokorny M. (2013), pp. 48-50

The conclusion stemming from the above classification is that employees driven by
different values and having different preferences and personal/professional goals will be
attracted and motivated by different value propositions. Most of the programs and

49
employment experiences are designed for Drivers in today’s companies.128 Instead, they
should match various segments – or the one that the organization wants to attract to
a particular department/job position. Aligning communication, leadership support and the
forms of reward and recognition will enhance motivation of distinct personal value types;
understanding what is meaningful to employees and optimizing employee value proposition
will attract, engage and retain the people wanted within organization.

The McKinsey study (1998) on attracting executive talents also highlights the importance
of tailoring the company’s offering to appeal to the specific people it desires to find and keep.
The authors identify four segments within so-called executive talent pool:129

 Go with a winner – individuals interested in growth and advancement in a highly

successful company;
 Big risk, big reward – talents who value compensation and career advancement, as
well as their personal development;
 Save the world – people looking for especially an inspiring mission and exciting
challenges, less focused on reward or self-development;
 Lifestyle – executives demanding flexibility and respect to their lifestyle, and
seeking fit with the boss.

Representatives of the above groups differ in terms of what they are looking for in
employment and they will be attracted by different employer offerings. Nonetheless, it is
possible to distinguish some core elements of a winning EVP addressed to managers.
Michaels et al. (2001), drawing upon another McKinsey & Company study (2000) reveal the
components considered essential by a large number of managers while choosing the company
to work for:130

a) Exciting work – challenging job they feel passionate about, rousing mission and
values;
b) Great company – inspiring leaders and an open, trusting and performance-oriented
culture;
c) Development – opportunities of personal and professional development that
enhance their employability;

128
Pokorny M. (2013), above quoted, p. 49.
129
Chambers E.G. et al., above quoted.
130
Michaels E. et al. (2001), above quoted, p. 45-61.

50
d) Rewards – financial individual recognition and intangible, symbolic gratification
e) Lifestyle – work-life balance, benefits for families;
f) Human side – enjoyable colleagues and inspiring, engaging work atmosphere.

The above authors also show the relationship between the delivery on some of those items
by current employer and managers’ satisfaction levels. Graph 10. reveals the percentage of
survey respondents satisfied with their workplace in relation to the perceived level of delivery
of EVP elements (poor/well delivered).

Graph 10. Effect of critical EVP elements on executives’ satisfaction

Source: Michaels et al. (2001), p. 46.

However, a further McKinsey paper (Guthridge et al., 2008) underlines that not only
should a company offer a powerful employee value proposition to attract talent, but it ought
to shape more than one employment offering. The reason for that lays in demographic and
other trends, as well as in marketplace segments with different values, ambitions and
expectations (for example older employees, female workers, generations X and Y, people
from specific cultural backgrounds).131 In addition, the authors argue, unlikely to the previous

131
Guthridge M., Komm A.B., Lawson E. (2008), Making talent a strategic priority, in The McKinsey
Quarterly, No. 1, p. 56.

51
McKinsey papers, that a more inclusive approach is needed – that is, not only executives
shall be considered as “A” players, critical to overall success. Instead, all levels of the
organization (frontline staff, technical specialists, managers, even indirect workforce) need
high-potential individuals and their needs ought to be addressed by employee value
proposition132 - or rather by a variant of it, as those distinguished groups of employees are
most probably driven by different factors.

Branham (2005) proposes another valid classification of EVP components.133 The author
claims that companies focus on pay-and-benefit practices instead of emphasizing intangible
elements which are considered of greater impact. The suggested grouping is depicted on
Graph 11.

Graph 11. Two-dimensional classification of EVP elements

Source: Branham L. (2005), p. 58.

Intangible and long-term elements of EVP (organizational culture, supervisor behaviour

and trust) seem to be the most difficult to imitate by competitors. Thus, they can significantly
contribute to maintaining sustainable competitive advantage trough people. However, they
need much time and effort to be successfully introduced and developed – they emerge from
executives’ mindset, company’s values and tradition. Organizational culture and its role in
employer branding strategy will be further discussed in section 4 of this chapter. Two other

132
Guthridge M. et al. (2008), above quoted, pp. 54-56.
133
The scholar names them “strategic employer-of-choice options”; however, they are aligned with what
is understood by EVP elements in this thesis. See Branham L. (2005), Planning to Become an Employer of
Choice, in Journal of Organizational Excellence, Vol. 24, Iss. 3, pp. 57-58.

52
noteworthy factors, not included within the above framework but widely recognized as
critical in employee’s long-term satisfaction, are job enrichment and opportunities of
development. They both increase the individual’s feelings of recognition and achievement,
provide opportunities for growth and career advancement.

Also short-term intangibles are indispensible: work-life balance has been recently one of
the most demanded issue, especially by generation Y representatives for whom personal
fulfilment is at least as important as career. Also recruitment policy and practices are very
important since this first stage of employee-employer relationship strongly affects
psychological contract between the parties. Newcomers engagement has a significant role in
their commitment to the organization and relations with colleagues.

Tangible components of EVP became a standard nowadays. Especially the short-term

ones are considered as granted; they do not add value to an employer brand, but their absence
may have a strong negative impact and cause disqualification of a company as employer of
choice. Long-term tangibles like stock options or profit-sharing plans are seen as a good
motivator for executives but are rarely included in packages for other categories of
employees; in addition, their usability is limited to large, listed companies.

Branham (2005) concludes that the greatest, most enduring drivers of workforce
engagement and retention are intangible and relate to the way managers treat employees. 134
The author proposes an EVP cafeteria composed of 54 engagement practices which have
eight goals:

 Matching candidates’ expectations with work reality (brand consistency),

 Fitting the person to the job position,
 Matching the task to the person,
 Providing coaching and feedback,
 Providing career advancement and development opportunities,
 Making employees feel valued and recognized,
 Reducing stress from work-life imbalance and overwork,
 Inspiring trust and confidence in senior leaders.

134
Branham L (2005), above quoted, p. 58.

53
Annex 1. to this thesis contains the detailed checklist of realization of the above practices.
It can be seen as an extensive portfolio of components of a winning employee value
proposition. Those practices see managers as the key actors in building engagement; in fact,
they are in day-to-day contact with employees. However, it is important to underline that
creating and keeping promises of a successful EVP is a team task: team made of senior
leaders, human resources workers, managers and employees themselves.

One additional consideration is to be made: an employment offering will be successful

only if its components are highly valued by employees. De Vos & Meganck (2009)
conducted a research regarding the factors of retention seen from two perspectives: HR
managers’ view and employees’ view on what makes workers stay with a company and be
loyal. Their study applied the perspective of psychological contract. The findings suggest that
there are significant differences in the perceptions of both parties of which elements of EVP
are positively related to retention, and those differences might explain why some companies
succeed and others do not in their efforts to lower voluntary turnover.135 Table 3. contains
two rankings of retention factors: one based on HR managers reported practices and the
second one based on the regression of employee loyalty variables on the evaluation of EVP
elements.

Table 3. Rankings of retention determinants based on their importance for HR managers and
employees

HR managers Employees

1. Training 1. Career development opportunities

2. Career perspective 2. Social atmosphere
3. Financial rewards 3. Job content
4. Performance management 4. Financial rewards
5. Communication 5. Work-life balance

Source: De Vos A., Meganck A. (2007), p. 56.

According to the study, HR managers do not put enough attention to organizational

culture and atmosphere, job content (job enrichment initiatives included) and work-life

135
De Vos A., Meganck A. (2007), What HR managers do versus what employees value. Exploring both
parties’ views on retention management from a psychological contract perspective, in Personnel Review, Vol.
38, No. 1, p. 56.

54
balance. However, every organization and society whose it makes part of are different, thus
surveying employees’ needs and expectations and comparing them with HR practices could
help to close the gap.

In conclusion, while shaping company’s EVP, HR managers should take into account
what their employees value and how they assess their organization’s efforts towards making
them satisfied with their job and willing to stay.136

d) External branding. Building the image of employer of choice

External employer branding includes all the activities concerning formation of the outside
image of a company as an employer; its purpose is to make the organization become
an employer of choice – the one which is consciously chosen and preferred to its competitors.
Attracting talents is the first step to develop an outstanding workforce and ensure above-
average performance in a long-term perspective.

How to attract and hire the best employees? – this is probably the first question, after
planning issues, that HR managers struggle with. Recognized attractiveness and good
reputation of a workplace act as a magnet for talented people. Thus, the organization willing
to become an employer of choice has to develop a positive image among potential candidates,
the image that is based on non-experimental information such as advertising, word-of-mouth,
and the overall employer brand knowledge,137 stemming from brand associations138 (as
depicted on Graph 7., p. 35). As organization cannot control non-formal communication
channels, the messages transmitted via website, social networks, during career days, and in
other formal ways should be sufficient and appealing.

The attraction is gained through potential applicants’ expectations of the perceived

quality and value of an offered employment experience.139 In addition, the theory of person-
organization fit mentioned in Chapter I needs consideration at this point – to attract a certain
kind of candidates desired within the company, suitable brand associations should be created
– associations that are aligned with the target segment’s values and goals.

136
De Vos A., Meganck A. (2007), above quoted, p. 58.
137
Kim D., Sturman M. (2012), above quoted, p. 9.
138
Aaker (1991) defines brand associations as “anything linked in memory to a brand”. See Aaker D.A.
(1991), Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press, New York, NY, p. 109.
139
Ibidem.

55
Bonaiuto et al. (2013) make a distinction between ideal (but hypothetical, unexisting)
companies and the real employers, present on today’s labour market. In their paper the
authors claim that the previous studies on employer branding focus on real employers 140 and
neglect the attributes of an ideal workplace. Findings of their survey suggest that an ideal
employer is characterized by the following attributes:141

a) Innovativeness,
b) Valuing diversities,
c) Valuing employees’ skills and knowledge,
d) Offering different careers,
e) Freedom of opinion,
f) Ethically responsible profile,
g) Promotion of well-being of employees,
h) Good and stimulating motivation and creativity atmosphere.

Less significant, but still important attributes of an ideal workplace are:

i) Rewards,
j) Technical competence of the company,
k) Flexible hours.

The study came to the conclusion that the above attributes are not sufficiently provided or
communicated by real companies and at the same time are considered relevant to high-
potential, young candidates. Therefore, the authors suggest that including those lacking issues
in the employee value proposition may positively differentiate the organization from its
competitors and attract talented individuals.

The content of employee value proposition offered is definitely the most important
determinant of a company’s attractiveness. However, to be efficient, it needs to be properly
communicated – candidates ought to be aware of organization’s quest for becoming
an employer of choice. In the case of external branding it includes all the messages regarding
employment offer, transmitted to the outside stakeholders via formal and informal channels.
The latter ones cannot be directly managed (although successful internal marketing,
supporting organizational citizenship behaviours among employees, is a determinant of

140
Bonaiuto et al. (2013), above quoted, p. 782.
141
Bonaiuto et al. (2013), above quoted, p. 789.

56
positive word-of-mouth). Thus, managers should focus on formal communication: Website,
brochures, information sent to universities, social networks, information given during career
days and so on. The first channel, company’s “www”, seems to be the most powerful since it
can reach the widest audience. Therefore, a complete material about employee value
proposition should be included in Career tab: company’s mission and values, employment
offering, organizational culture, kind of people desired, open job positions and tasks on those
positions etc. There is no recipe for a perfect Website composition – basically, it should be
aligned with reality, complete and addressed to the right people. Its purpose is to support the
employer brand and to attract the target candidates.

Another considerable source of information about employers are business press and “Best
Workplace” rankings. They are often regarded as more trustworthy and objective than direct
organizations’ messages. Thus, taking part in “Best Employer” surveys and sharing best
practices, being available to reporters, increases public recognition and credibility142 of the
company on the labour market and within the industry. Love & Singh (2011) notice that
various “Best employer” surveys are widely distributed (reaching thousands of workplaces),
cover HR practices as well as employees’ opinions and the results receive finest media/press
attention.143 They shall be duly taken into account while implementing employer-of-choice
and employer branding strategy.

e) Internal branding. Employee as a client

Employer branding activities carried out within an organization predict a success or

a failure of this HRM strategy. External image may be excellent and attract talents, but if it is
not authentic and proved by the real employment experience, it will be quickly deteriorated.
Test of the workplace brand trustworthiness lays in whether the brand promises are delivered
or not – thus, it is “examined” internally; a positive result of the test strengthens the external
image and determines individual’s satisfaction. That is why effective internal employer
branding, related to organizational culture, organizational identity and to mediated by them
brand loyalty, is indispensable for company’s reputation on the labour market (associations
between those elements have been already shown on Graph 7., p. 35).

142
Sullivan J. (2004), above quoted.
143
Love L.F., Singh P. (2011), above quoted, p. 177.

57
Kim & Sturman (2012) identify internal branding with managing the company’s culture.
Numerous views on exceptional organizational culture’s features will be discussed in
Paragraph d) of the next section of this chapter. Thus, just a general framework is to be
presented below.

There are two main goals of managing an internal employer brand:

 Lowering turnover (enhancing employees’ loyalty and retention), and

 Keeping employees engaged (satisfied and motivated to contribute to the
organization) and encouraging them to live the brand144.

The degree of brand loyalty reflects how likely a customer (external or internal) will be to
switch to another brand, especially when the brand changes something. In employment
situation it means that a loyal employee will stay with the company despite temporary
difficulties, changes or an opportunity to work for another company, perhaps offering
a higher pay. This loyalty is related to emotional attachment with the organization and is
rooted in relational marketing tenets, social identity theory and the concepts of psychological
contract and person-organization fit. It is nurtured by day-to-day meeting the individual’s
expectations and keeping employment promises, alignment of both parties’ values and
positive exchange relationship stemming from reciprocal trust.145 The above determinants
ensure continuous satisfaction that in a long-term perspective evolves into employer brand
loyalty.

Therefore, retention can be seen as a consequence of loyalty. It means holding onto those
employees a company wishes to keep. That is, voluntary turnover is kept low and high-
potential individuals choose to stay, to constantly make “repeat purchase” decisions (whether
to remain within the organization or seek other workplace).146 For the company it generates
plenty advantages, starting from confirmation of a successful and consistent EVP and closing
with a sustained competitive advantage gained through outstanding and inimitable workforce.

It is not sufficient that employees stay with the company if they do not do their best and
put just a minimum effort to complete the tasks and keep the job position. They add a real
value only if they are engaged. Engagement is seen as an individual’s choice to participate
144
Raj A., Jyothi P. (2011), Internal branding: exploring the employee perspective, in Journal of Economic
Development, Management, IT, Finance and Marketing, Vol. 3, Iss. 2, p. 9.
145
Morgan R.M., Hunt S.D. (1994), above quoted, p. 23.
146
Kim D., Sturman M. (2012), above quoted, p. 10.

58
actively, or even proactively in a project, to immerse and involve oneself totally in an activity
or a relationship. Kahn (1990), considered to be the first scholar applying engagement theory
to employment situation, defines it as follows:

(…) personal engagement [is] the harnessing of organization members' selves to their
work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically,
cognitively, and emotionally during role performances.147

The above author claims that numerous factors influence human’s engagement ,and they
are all related to psychological experience of work driving one’s attitudes and behaviours.
What shapes this psychological experience, is the multiple levels of powers – individual,
interpersonal, group, intergroup, and organizational conditions and predispositions.148 Those
determinants affect the degree of attachment, loyalty and commitment to the company that
are regarded as engagement sources.149 According to Francis & Reddington (2011),
the varying degrees of engagement are influenced by what an individual receives from the
organization – and this condition of engagement forms part of the social exchange between
employee and employer.150 The more employees receive from the company, the more obliged
they feel to bring themselves deeply into their role performances as repayment for the
benefits received.151 It is supposed that a high level of engagement causes superior individual
and organizational performance; hence, developing a culture of involvement and motivation
is one of the employer branding goals.

One more aspect of internal branding needs attention at this point: measurement of its
results. Assessment of the individuals’ perception of employer brand within the company is
fundamental to verify effectiveness of the undertaken efforts. Satisfaction or engagement
surveys among employees can help executives and HR managers in monitoring the actual
outcome of internal workplace branding; this, in consequence, would lead them to continuous
improvement of the offered “product” and alignment of its attributes with internal clients’
needs and expectations.

147
Kahn W.A. (1990), Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work, in
The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 33, No. 4, p. 694.
148
Kahn W.A. (1990), above quoted, p. 719.
149
Robertson-Smith G., Marwick C. (2009), Employee Engagement: A review of current thinking, Institute
for Employment Studies, Brighton, UK, p. 9.
150
Francis H., Reddington M. (2011), above quoted, p. 272.
151
Saks A.M. (2006), Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement, in Journal of Managerial
Psychology, Vol. 21, No. 7, p. 603.

59
3. Employer branding strategy and HRM functions

Being a human resources management strategy, employer branding affects all its
subfunctions (depicted on Graph 3., p. 20): recruitment & selection, development, rewards
and employee relations management. Brief summaries of implications for all of them are to
be presented in this section; a more extensive analysis of employee relations is provided
because of its crucial role in employer branding activities.

a) Recruitment & selection

Branding is a way to attract company’s external customers of products – and analogously

employer branding is a method to attract and select “internal clients”: employees.152
Therefore, recruitment and selection of high-potential candidates with skills and attitudes
needed within the organization is one of workplace branding main goals and the first step in
formation of the company crew, able and willing to contribute to sustainable competitive
advantage.

Company’s employer brand and reputation, and the labour market perceptions of them are
often the main reason behind applying for a job in a certain organization, especially for
talents. They choose those workplaces which seem to meet best their expectations and that
can offer them an EVP they are seeking. Kim & Sturman (2012) describe in their paper the
implications of employer branding strategy for recruitment and selection processes; their
main conclusions are provided in Table 4.

Table 4. Attraction & selection under employer branding “umbrella” – benefits and
implications

Employer branding Attraction Selection

impact on:
 Helps ensuring that the right  Supports ensuring that the person-
candidates (in terms of organization fit is checked before hiring
organization-person fit,  Candidates with a good organizational
expectations, skills possessed etc.) match are more likely to accept job
Benefits apply for job positions offers (because of the factors other than
 Exceptional organizational culture tangible remuneration)
and effective internal branding  Effective communication of EVP
help attracting many valuable, increases the likelihood that the selected
qualified candidates candidate will accept a job offer

152
Kim D., Sturman M. (2012), above quoted, pp. 6-7.

60
 Company’s employer brand should  Underlining the characteristics of job
be clearly communicated to those position and the general employment
who it wants to attract experience during every touch-point with
 Open message that the company candidates (in order to influence the job
desires to portray as an employer selection decision)
Implications
of choice  Clarifying requirements for the job
for HRM
 Ensuring that the employer image position
is aligned with the actual  Ensuring that candidates and employees
employment experience fully comprehend company’s values and
organization culture

Source: own elaboration based on Kim & Sturman (2012), p. 8, 11.

Effective recruitment and selection process aligned with employer branding strategy
ought to be carefully planned – it should reach the right individuals, using appropriate
channels and messages, and ensure choosing those with preferable skills, values and attitudes.
Leary-Joyce (2004) suggests five steps to ensure that exceptional people get hired. Those
steps are:153

1. Aligning essential components of organizational culture, requirements of the job

vacancy and the long-term needs of the company;
2. Understanding the kind of person who fits into the culture;
3. Making job advertising (requirements and offering) clear;
4. Finding out as much as possible during the interview – identifying candidate’s
attitude and potential early on, to ensure a high probability they will stay;154
5. Asking team’s opinion – letting the team meet the candidate to check if they
match one another.

It has been already demonstrated in this thesis that attraction to a workplace brand is
based on brand associations, image and reputation, formed by many formal and informal
communication channels, as well as direct or indirect experiences of individuals. Therefore,
this topic is not to be debated again at this point.

153
Leary-Joyce J. (2004), Becoming an Employer of Choice: Make Your Own Organisation a Place where
People Want to Do Great Work, CIPD Publishing, pp. 91-94.
154
The author claims that most employee losses occur during the first six months of employment; if they
stay longer than that, they are generally likely to remain for the long term. See Leary-Joyce J. (2004), above
quoted, p. 93.

61
After completion of the hiring process, a newcomer who enters an unknown work
environment has to be introduced to the organization, the team, other colleagues and the tasks
required on the job position. Induction courses and activities (called also orientation
programmes) ought to be carefully planned to ensure that a consistent and complete message
is presented to employees about what the company represents and what is expected from the
newcomer.155 Their main goal is to help individuals to adapt to organizational rules – in other
words, to enable their organizational socialization (a process by which an individual
employee takes on board the attitudes, behaviour and knowledge needed to participate as an
employee156). Other purposes of newcomers induction are:157

 Reduction of startup-costs (associated with learning the job),

 Decreasing anxiety that results from entering into an unknown situation,
 Reduction of employee turnover by demonstrating that organization values the
newcomer,
 Saving the time of supervisor and colleagues,
 Development of realistic expectations and positive attitudes, and shaping the
ground for job satisfaction.

Orientation programmes have a key role in building commitment and shaping

psychological contract between the two parties. They should be aligned with and support the
employer brand – first months of work include employee’s verification of the consistency of
external employer brand with the actual employment experience. Therefore, an appropriate
understanding of organizational culture and job requirements, both in harmony with
company’s external image, are essential for employee’s trust and further performance. The
principle of this process is honesty – a new worker experiences the organization day by day
so any information given during introduction phase will be verified – and if that information
is not congruent with reality, the unsatisfied employee is likely to leave soon.

155
Edwards M.R. (2009), Employer and Employee Branding: HR or PR? in Bach S. (2009), Managing Human
Resources: Personnel Management in Transition, John Wiley & Sons, p. 275.
156
Edwards M.R. (2009), above quoted, p. 276.
157
Brown J. (2005), Employee Orientation - Keeping New Employees on Board, retrieved from http://ipma-
hr.org/sites/default/files/pdf/hrcenter/Employee%20Orientation/cpr_eo_Overview.pdf.

62
b) Opportunities of training and development

Training and development programmes within organizations aim primarily to internally

provide the workforce with skills, competencies and attitudes needed to achieve business
goals and to enable growth and innovation. However, because of new trends on the labour
market and changes in psychological contract158 between employees and organizations,
training and development became also a strong motivator attracting individuals to
a workplace. In the past, individuals expected to have a long-life relationship with their
employers; nowadays they expect the company to serve them in terms of giving development
and fulfilment opportunities and providing with resources.159 In exchange for effort and
flexibility, employees expect their workplace to enhance their employability by providing
them with marketable skills.160 The impossibility of companies to offer a long-term career of
secure employment made it necessary to create a new EVP based on opportunities for
development to merit their commitment (which became conditioned, due to social exchange
rules).161 In addition, these programmes may be integrated with reward systems: some
companies reward employees with extensive training programmes for outstanding
performance.162

Benefits of extensive training, thus, are related to organizational and individual

performance – but not only. They regard also positive attitudes stemming from enhanced job
satisfaction, loyalty to the company and increased trust in management.163 Participation in
valuable training sessions can make employees feel appreciated by the organization and
enrich their employment experience; as mentioned above, such trainings may be considered
an intangible reward. These outcomes are also addressed by employer branding strategy; the
conclusion is that training and development opportunities form an important component of
a winning EVP and contribute to the company’s image on the labour market.

Mentoring programs, strictly connected to development, are another tool enhancing

workplace attractiveness. Allen & O’Brien (2006) demonstrate in their study that job seekers

158
These changes of psychological contract were presented in the beginning of this chapter (see Table 1,
p. 25).
159
Baruch Y. (2004), Transforming careers: from linear to multidirectional career paths. Organizational and
individual perspectives, in Career Development International, Vol. 9, Iss. 1, p. 59.
160
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 504.
161
Baruch Y. (2004), above quoted, p. 59.
162
Wilson J.P. (1999), Human Resource Development: learning & training for individuals and organizations,
Kogan Page, London, p. 18.
163
Bansal H.S. et al. (2001), above quoted, pp. 67-68.

63
(especially the high-potential ones, with greater learning goal orientation) are more attracted
to the companies that offer formal mentoring than to the ones that do not.164 The reasons
behind it may be related to the symbolic message sent to potential employees that the
organization cares about its employees and wants to invest in them.

Therefore, not only do the training & development and mentoring programmes determine
company’s performance, but they also contribute to company’s employer brand:
an organization offering such opportunities is considered a more attractive employer.
Especially young candidates find them essential due to their lack of experience and
willingness to learn on-the-job. Opportunities of development and formal mentoring ought to
be clearly communicated through EVP, having in mind the key role of consistency between
declared brand promise and its delivery.

c) Rewards

Employer brand, according to Bergstrom & Anderson (2001), unifies a total rewards
system by supporting an organization to manage and market the overall impact of its total
employment experience and by discovering and developing the most valuable motivating
factors.165 The main function of rewards, thus, is to motivate potential and current employees
to join, engage and stay within the company.

Workforce rewards are composed of tangible (financial, remuneration & benefits) and
intangible (symbolic, recognition) elements. Salary and tangible benefits are important
factors motivating talents to choose and support their workplace – they represent an
economic value to individuals. However, intrinsic rewards, such as praises, public
recognition, status and promotion, are supposed to have a greater impact on employee
retention; they address the humans’ need of esteem and create a basis for job satisfaction.
Furthermore, they are embedded in organizational culture and reflect senior managers’
attitude to managing people. Both dimensions of rewards ought to be thoroughly considered
when building a company’s EVP.

164
Allen T.D., O’Brien K.E. (2006), Formal Mentoring Programs and Organizational Attraction, in Human
Resource Development Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 1, p. 53.
165
Bergstrom K.. Anderson M. (2001), Delivering on promises to the marketplace: using employment
branding to build employee satisfaction, in Journal of Integrated Communications, 2000-2001 Issue, pp. 52-53.

64
As depicted on Graph 11., p. 52, tangible remuneration may include: base salary, yearly
incentives, health insurance, stock options, profit-sharing plans and pension. Other benefits,
such as gym pass or interest-free loans, also match this category. There is no consensus
among scholars about the impact of financial rewards on a successful EVP. Some of them
(e.g. Pfeffer & Veiga, 1999, Bansal et al., 2001) suggest that employer of choice offers
an above-average salary and pay contingent on performance to enhance the psychological
contract between employee and organization, increase levels of organizational commitment,
upgrade productivity, lower turnover and, in consequence, improve profitability.166 High
remuneration is considered to be positively related to job satisfaction, loyalty and trust in
management.

On the other hand, numerous studies show that loyal employees and the ones who share
company’s values and identify themselves with the organization, decide to remain even when
work conditions are not as good as the ones offered by competitors.167 The findings of
Kucherov & Zavyalova’s (2011) survey confirm this statement and reveal that companies
with a strong employer brand can offer a lower salary to employees in comparison with
employers without a developed brand (the acceptable pay is 26% lower).168 This implies that
a well-established workplace brand enables organization to attract talents at lower
compensation level.169 The reason of this phenomenon may be found in employees’ priorities
when considering an EVP. Financial rewards are necessary but do not present the most
important factor of retention from the employees’ point of view. Career development
opportunities, social atmosphere and job content have a more significant relationship with
employee outcomes (as shown in Table 3, p. 54); thus, if these three determinants deeply
satisfy employees’ expectations, they are more likely to accept a lower salary (however, it
should not be lower than an average pay on this job position). An inferior level of
remuneration acceptable is analogous to premium price that is paid for a better product.
Exceptional organizational culture, prestige, leaders’ behaviours, job content or ideological
issues legitimate this premium price and make employees remain with the company despite

166
Bansal H.S., Mendelson M.B., Sharma B. (2001), The impact of internal marketing activities on external
marketing outcomes, in Journal of Quality Management, Vol. 6, p. 68.
167
Backhaus K., Tikoo S. (2004), above quoted, p. 509.
168
Kucherov D., Zavyalova E. (2012), HRD practices and talent management in the companies with the
employer brand, in European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 36, Iss. 1, p. 101.
169
Park H.J., Zhou P. (2013), Is There a Correlation for Companies With a Strong Employment Brand
Between Employee Engagement Levels and Bottom Line Results?, retrieved from Cornell University, ILR School
site: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/student/24/.

65
possibility to find a better paid job but within another organization, whose workplace brand is
considered less attractive.

Intangible rewards have a great motivational power stemming from basic human need of
being acknowledged and appreciated. If employees feel important for the company, they are
more likely to engage in their jobs. There are many practices used for symbolic
compensation:170 assignment of interesting job tasks (job enrichment), providing complete
information and constructive feedback, involvement in decision-making processes,
autonomy, flexibility, public recognition, career advancement, or yearly praises are some of
them worth mentioning. Their usage is deeply entrenched in organizational culture and style
of leadership, thus a harmonious HRM under employer branding “umbrella” is considered to
be an effective integrative approach to workforce management. The role of line managers is
crucial in employees’ recognition.

d) Employee relations. Organizational culture & work-life balance initiatives

Previous sections of this thesis broadly explained the key role of employees and
company’s relationship with this stakeholder in building a sustainable competitive advantage.
Managing employee relations is a great challenge for executives and HR workers. The
complexity of associations and bonds that arise among people working together, their
individual characteristics, personalities, beliefs and private lives, influenced by internal and
external environment, is the origin of a relative unpredictability of their behaviours and of
potential conflicts. Setting goals and objectives is necessary, but not sufficient to ensure
achievement of business success. Employees ought to be a crew and not just a sum of
individuals.

Therefore, appropriate conditions need to be created to enable people to do their best and
to contribute effectively to an above-average performance. Organizational culture, through
common values, beliefs, management practices and promoted attitudes, plays an essential role
in employee relations management. It is influenced by HR practices and embraces all HR
subfunctions, however it cannot be imposed from the top, since too many actors and variables
take part of its formation. Organizational culture is being built day by day by all members of
a company.

170
Nelson B. (1996), Secrets of Successful Employee Recognition, retrieved from http://www.quality-
digest.com/aug/nelson.html.

66
McKinsey study (1998) found “values and culture” an absolutely crucial motivating
factor attracting managerial talents who find them matching their own principles.171 Shaping
organizational culture means developing long-lasting relationships (analogous to relationship
marketing rules applied to products’ customers) based on common values, commitment and
trust. Kim & Sturman (2012) argue that a necessary pre-requisite of a strong culture is
leaders’ and managers’ support, responsibility and conformity of their behaviours with
declared values. They serve as an example of desired attitudes and practices.172 Furthermore,
the scholars suggest that employer brand is embedded in organizational culture. Creating
an on-culture employer brand has impact on the employees behaviours’ fit to the business
goals, since they become deeply rooted in the brand ethos.173

How to create and nurture an exceptional organizational culture acting in synergy with
employer brand? There are numerous suggestions provided by academic and popular
business literature. However, every organization’s culture is different and unique, and it
cannot be said that one culture is good and another is not – they are basically different and fit
another kind of people; that is why individuals choose the workplaces and cultures that are
most comfortable for them: those that are most congruent with what they seek in work
environments.174 Thus, as Herman & Gioia (2001) suggest, it is important to have in mind
while considering various best practices that there is no one right way of developing a perfect
culture. Companies should focus on and promote these elements and practices which suit best
the organization and its goals. Several views on exemplary organization culture are to be
described to show a variety of possible solutions.

Pfeffer & Veiga (1999), for instance, provide us with a set of seven practices to develop
a culture of enhanced involvement and commitment which, in consequence, would increase
organizational performance. The proposed implements are:175

a) Providing employment security – it enhances knowledge sharing, innovativeness

and productivity; it also decreases probability to lose employees during difficult
times for the company;

171
Chambers E.G. et al. (1998), above quoted.
172
Kim D., Sturman M. (2012), above quoted, pp. 13-14.
173
Kim D., Sturman M. (2012), above quoted, p. 14.
174
Herman R.E., Gioia J.L. (2001), Helping Your Organization Become an Employer of Choice, in
Employment Relations Today, Vol. 28, Iss. 2, p. 68.
175
Pfeffer J., Veiga J.F. (1999), Putting people first for organizational success, in Academy of Management
Executive, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 40-44.

67
b) Ensuring selective hiring – recruiting the right people with skills needed, cultural
fit and value congruence;
c) Team-based work organization and decentralization – increased self-control of
teams, or peer-based control and elevated sense of responsibility; enhancing
creativity through knowledge sharing;
d) Comparatively high remuneration contingent on organizational performance –
a deeply motivating factor;
e) Extensive training – shaping a skilled, high-quality workforce open to change;
focus on development is an essential component of high performance work
systems;
f) Reduction of status differences – to make all the employees feel important and
committed, and to enhance the sense of fairness of company’s procedures;
g) Culture of information sharing – in other words, adapting the philosophy of open-
book management to increase cooperation and transparency.

Similarly, Herman & Gioia (2001) propose in their paper a cafeteria of best practices that
can be adapted and applied to create and maintain a unique culture within a company willing
to become an employer of choice. According to the authors, great workplace’s culture is
determined by a mix of the following rules and practices:176

a) High standards
 in terms of fairness, mutual respect, open and honest communication,
honouring older workers and supporting diversity initiatives;
b) Encouraging entertainment in and out of the office
 celebrating special occasions: birthdays, anniversary dates of employment,
company’s anniversary, and small as well as big successes: individual and
team achievements, launching new products etc.,
 bringing fun to work makes people enjoy it more and be excited, and in
consequence more satisfied;
c) Fostering collaboration and support
 through providing employees with sufficient knowledge and resources;
d) Using technology
 to make the job easier, faster, more efficient and more enjoyable;

176
Herman R.E., Gioia J.L. (2001), above quoted, pp. 68-74.

68
e) Removing status barriers
 to make employees work together on partnership basis,
 eliminating formal dress codes, the parking hierarchy, providing access to
information and evaluating space status;
f) Creating a culture of success
 to enhance enthusiasm and commitment to the leaders
 encouraging public recognition, company spirit (e.g. corporate-branded
clothing and gadgets to enable people to demonstrate their connection to
the employer) and traditions, expecting high performance, welcoming
innovation and valuing research and development;
g) Focus on an open, two-way communication
 sharing information assertively and being highly responsive to questions
that may arise; demanding strong communication between departments;
h) Enlightened leadership
 placing visionary, charismatic people on leadership positions; people who
are visible and accessible to all employees, who deliver an open and
honest feedback,
 creating an environment of caring, coaching and mentoring, inspiring
servant leadership.177

The topic of excellent organizational culture contributing in high performance has been
also developed by popular business and management press. In a Harvard Business Review
article (2013) the authors unravel the tools to create the best workplace on Earth, based on
a three-years study among executives from all over the world. The findings show that there
are six main principles of ideal organizations:178 1) valuing individual differences (letting
people be themselves, rejecting the conformity culture); 2) honest information (regarding
strategic decisions and policies) and transparency towards all employees; 3) investing in
employees, developing their strengths (instead of merely extracting value from them);
4) meaningful mission (making employees believe in what they do, share values and live the

177
As Herman and Gioia (2001) explain, “servant leadership is defined as a style in which the leader
considers himself a servant and a support to other employees. Under this concept, the role of the leader is to
serve all employees so they can perform their jobs and fulfil their responsibilities.” See Herman R.E., Gioia J.L.
(2001), above quoted, p. 78.
178
Goffee R., Jones G. (2013), Creating the Best Workplace on Earth, retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2013/05/creating-the-best-workplace-on-earth.

69
brand); 5) meaningful jobs (giving responsibility to employees and showing the sense and
input of their daily work to the general mission realization); 6) setting only legitimate rules,
without creating a rigid bureaucracy (focus on a sense of moral authority based on
a conviction that people want to do good work; providing them with a certain degree of
autonomy). It is suggested in the paper that such organizational structure allows people to
express the authentic selves and leads them to higher levels of organizational commitment,
individual performance, and propensity to help others.179 However, as the authors point out, it
is difficult if not impossible to implement all the principles at the same time, as they may
conflict with one another. They can be seen as guidelines or inspirations to create
an exceptional workplace.

To conclude, it is important to highlight that the key condition to enable formation of

an excellent, people-oriented organizational culture is an active support of senior managers
and leaders. They ought to promote core values of the company, such as honesty, respect,
integrity, collaboration, trust, and provide permanently transparent communication to all
employees.180

Work-life balance is another significant concept related to employee-employer

relationship and it is becoming increasingly demanded by high-potential young workers.
Work-life programs aim helping employees to manage the interface between work and
personal life activities, including family.181 They are based on the assumption that conflicts
between work and family life may cause individual’s turnover and withdrawal or decreased
productivity; therefore, the initiatives reducing this conflict are considered useful in retention
of valuable workers. They make part of an attractive EVP for many categories of candidates,
especially women and professionals.182 These initiatives may include various solutions, such
as on-site day-care for children or flexible working hours and parental leaves, as well as

179
Ibidem.
180
Love L.F., Singh P. (2011), above quoted, p. 178.
181
Konrad A.M., Mangel R. (2000), The impact of work-life programs on firm productivity. Research notes
and commentaries, in Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 21, p. 1225.
182
Konrad & Mangel (2000) argue that those two categories of employees are particularly interested in
work-life balance programs offered by companies: female workers because of their traditional in-family role of
taking care of children; professionals because of many years dedicated to education, delayed family formation
and coincidence in time of their peak productive years and decision to start a family, as well as because of the
high level of autonomy enjoyed by professionals (thus, flexible hours are very appreciated by them). See
Konrad A.M., Mangel R. (2000), above quoted, pp. 1227-1235.

70
organization of pro-family events (e.g. family picnics or bringing children to workplace on
Children’s Day).

There are numerous benefits stemming from implementation of work-life balance

initiatives, for both employees and the company. In terms of recruitment activities, they
become an appealing and often demanded component of a successful EVP. Individuals,
especially those who represent Y generation, have in mind a future desire to form a family
and they see work-life balance practices as a signal that the organization cares about
employees and they will not have to change or lose their job if they decide to have children.
The perceptions of anticipated organizational support among job seekers are enhanced and
they are more likely to apply to a company that includes these practices in its employment
offering.183

Work-life balance initiatives have also a positive impact on current employees – lost
productivity due to distraction, lateness and absenteeism (caused by work-family conflicts) is
reduced and work effort is increased to avoid losing a job that provides them with the
flexibility they desire. In terms of social exchange between the two parties, employees feel
obliged to put more effort, give more to an organization which understands their needs – it
represents a symbolic value of these activities, a signal that the company cares about
employees’ well-being.

Summarizing, it seems clear that work-life balance initiatives have a positive impact on
long-lasting, trust-based relationships between a company and its employees. They should be
considered as a useful tool in building employee loyalty and increasing the retention of top-
performers; if the target candidates and workers need this kind of support, it ought to be
included in EVP in order to create a winning employer brand.

183
Beauregard T.A., Henry L.C. (2009). Making the link between work-life balance practices and
organizational performance, in Human Resource Management Review, Vol. 19, pp. 9-22, retrieved from
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/25224/1/Making_the_link_between_work_life_balance_practices_and_organizational
_performance_%28LSERO_version%29.pdf, p. 30.

71
4. Impact of a successful employer branding strategy on organizational
performance

Numerous benefits of employer branding strategy implementation have been shown in the
preceding sections. They are to be summarised at this point, grouped into two main
categories: internal and external outcomes; both influence organizational performance and
contribute to the creation of a sustainable competitive advantage through people.

a) Internal benefits

Positive results of a successful employer branding on organizational functions culture are

the following ones:

 Recruitment costs are diminished and more candidates apply for job positions;
 Voluntary turnover is lowered and employee loyalty is enhanced;
 Employees are more satisfied, emotionally attached to the organization and
engaged in their jobs; the desire to keep their jobs makes employees put more
effort in making a good work – thus, their performance is greater;
 Employees have less stress and enjoy their job more because of the focus on
a good atmosphere among colleagues and managers;
 Individuals trust more184 the leaders and colleagues and they feel obliged to
reciprocate when they feel that the company cares about them;
 Strategic planning is easier due to the continuity of workforce;
 Organizational culture is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to imitate –
therefore it can provide a special and sustainable competitive advantage;
 A ground for innovativeness and creativity is developed – only in a culture of
openness, knowledge sharing and trust there is enough space for them;
 Corporate citizenship behaviours among employees are more common.

184
The importance of trust in organizations is highlighted by Rotter (1967): “One of the most salient
factors in the effectiveness of (…) complex social organization is the willingness of one or more individuals in
a social unit to trust others. The efficiency, adjustment, and even survival of any social group depends upon
the presence or absence of such trust.”. See Rotter J.B. (1967), A new scale for the measurement of
interpersonal trust, in Journal of Personality, Vol. 35, Iss. 4, p. 651. Indeed, in any organization the trust is the
ground of relationships among its members. Organizational culture supported by employer branding activities
is, indeed, based on reciprocal trust.

72
b) External benefits

A winning EVP and effective employer branding have also helpful impact on external
image and reputation. The primary external benefits for the company are enlisted below:

 Improved reputation among potential employees, consumers, shareholders and

other stakeholders;
 Company becomes more attractive to investors due to perceived stability;
 Organization gains wider exposure if it is considered an employer of choice – the
corporate, product and employer brand awareness are increased;
 The overall performance is greater thanks to the sustained competitive advantage
achieved.

To conclude the above considerations, an ethical issue is to be raised. Employer branding

strategy, such as other business strategies, has as the main purpose profit gain: greater
revenue, lower costs, higher quality, better products or services. However, it goes beyond
economic goals – it is related to the social responsibility of a company. Treating employees
as internal clients and not just as resources includes understanding and satisfying their needs
– thus, they are put in the heart of organization’s interest. Recognizing humans in employees
ought to be the key principle of employer branding strategy implementation; businesses
should move beyond profit maximizations and economic priority and instead focus on
making equal priorities among all stakeholders.185

In the next chapter an exceptional employer is to be analysed and described – a Polish

organization with an excellent reputation on the labour market, as well as on the consumer
market. Rooted in the owners’ intrinsic beliefs and values, through an extraordinary
organizational culture, Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories gained a successful employer
brand in Poland. The success can be measured by the fact that despite Soviet occupation and,
stemming from it, economic limitations to setting up and developing a business in Poland, the
company founded in 1983 as a local small cottage industry not only did survive the
competition of multinational corporations after opening markets in 1989; it kept on growing
and is still doing so, exporting products to around 40 countries and being considered one of

185
Aggerholm H.K., Andersen S.E., Thomsen Ch. (2011), Conceptualising employer branding in sustainable
organisations, in Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. 16, No. 2, p. 109.

73
the most significant producers on the national level. Moreover, Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic
Laboratories is considered a great place to work by its employees and external stakeholders –
and this will be the topic of Chapter III.

74
III. Case study: Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories

Dr Irena Eris group is guided by respect for people,

promoting their individuality and cooperation. (…) We are clear about our values:
we focus on people; we promote cooperation; we value individuality;
and we respect tradition as it gives our company a “soul”.

Irena Eris, founder and owner of Dr Irena Eris S.A.

There are many employees that really care about doing their best at work.
It’s good to work with this kind of people.

Employee, GPTW survey, 2013

In my department there is a friendly and family-like atmosphere (…)

I like coming to work even if sometimes there are difficulties.
To answer the question if there is anything particular… I say PEOPLE. The greatest
value of this company are PEOPLE.

Employee, GPTW survey, 2012

Dr Irena Eric Cosmetic Laboratories is a Polish company producing cosmetics and being
a great place to work – according to its employees. An exceptional organizational culture,
being built since the company’s foundation and based on transparent communication,
tradition and respect, enables people to do their best and lets them be themselves in the
workplace. A sustained competitive advantage achieved through people is the topic of this
case study. Based on the theoretical background provided in previous chapters, an analysis of
company’s culture and of its internal and external image as an employer (including EVP and
employer brand) is to be conducted.

Section 1. describes Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories – the company’s structure, fields
of activity, portfolio of brands, the level of annual sales and a brief overview of the cosmetics
industry in Poland.

The company’s human resources management strategy and practices will be characterized
in Section 2. The values driving the owners, senior managers and HR workers in their attitude

75
and behaviour toward employees are illustrated and their impact on organizational culture is
explained. Furthermore, this section provides a description of organization’s recruitment
& selection methods and workforce structure (both based on no-discrimination policy), and
the concept of Management by Objectives, being a key “lens” while considering employees’
performance management, staff development and in general the work settings present in Dr
Irena Eris CL.

Section 3. focuses on the company’s employee value proposition – its six components are
described in detail; furthermore, some suggestions, based on direct observation and analysis,
on a more distinguished EVP will be provided by the author of this thesis. Finally, the
communication channels with potential and current employees are presented.

In Section 4. the findings of case study analysis will be shown: the research concerned the
company’s internal and external employer brand (based on both primary data: a focus group
session conducted by the author, and secondary data: company’s reports regarding Great
Place To Work survey, Universum Student survey rankings on ideal employers). Some
implications of these results on Dr Irena Eris CL’s employer brand will be further explained.

Finally, Section 5. illustrates the impact of HRM strategy and of company’s employer
brand on performance. Particular attention is given to sales growth over time, employees
retention, turnover rate benchmarked to its level on the national and European labour market.
In addition, its contribution to corporate reputation is mentioned.

1. About the company

Dr Irena Eris is one of the most recognisable Polish cosmetic brands. It was created by
Irena Eris and her husband Henryk Orfinger; the company’s history began in 1983 from
a local small cottage industry, when Eris was employing one employee and producing 3.000
packages of single type of cream per month. In a soviet reality of Poland’s 1980s, it was
difficult to produce but easy to sell (demand much higher than supply, governmental
limitations), so a national brand quickly acquired first clients. In 1986, the demand for
cosmetics increased and as the result the company rapidly grew. After the political and
business reforms in 1989 new opportunities of growth arose. In 1993, a new facility was
launched in Piaseczno near Warsaw, where the company is based now.

76
Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories (hereafter Dr Irena Eris CL), whose case study is to
be developed, makes part of a group of companies with Dr Irena Eris S.A. as the head of the
group. Their structures, connections and brief characteristics are described in following
paragraphs.

a) Dr Irena Eris S.A.

Today’s Dr Irena Eris S.A.,186 significantly grown over past years, is a well-managed and
modern company employing over 1.180 employees and producing 20 million items a year,
exported to over 40 markets worldwide. It is a parent company of a group of companies; the
structure of connections is depicted on Graph 12.187

Graph 12. Organisational structure of Dr Irena Eris S.A.

Dr Irena Eris S.A.

6 employees

Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Dr Irena Eris SPA Dr Irena Eris Skin Care
Laboratories Sp. z o.o. Hotels Sp. z o.o. Institutes Sp. z o.o.

398 employees 57 employees

Lirene Ucraine Dylewskie Wzgórza Krynica Zdrój Polanica

Dr Irena Eris SPA Hotel Dr Irena Eris SPA Hotel Dr Irena Eris SPA Hotel
6 employees ~150 employees ~150 employees ~130 employees

Source: own elaboration on the basis of company’s data

Dr Irena Eris is a precursor of the holistic approach to cosmetics & wellness industries –
an attitude which is based on production of innovative cosmetics, its own Centre for Science
and Research (both units making part of Dr Irena Eris CL), a network of professional Skin
Care Institutes and exclusive five-star Spa Hotels. Cooperation between these four pillars

186
The abbreviation S.A. stands for “Spółka akcyjna” – a public limited-liability company; Sp. z o.o.,
instead, stands for “Spółka z ograniczoną odpowiedzialnością”, that is, a private limited-liability company.
187
The three SPA hotels are not distinct legal entities, they are a part of one company, Dr Irena Eris SPA
Hotels Sp. z o.o.

77
over many years has consistently allowed development of a unique luxurious brand. To
enhance this exclusive image and more intensely associate the brand with luxury, since 2007
Dr Irena Eris organizes annually an international golf tournament for women, the Dr Irena
Eris Ladies’ Golf Cup. The tournament is currently one of the most prestigious and best
women’s golf tournaments in Europe.

Dr Irena Eris Skin Care Institutes offer professional beauty treatments. Three departments
of the Skin Care Institutes are located in SPA Hotels of the group, while other Institutes work
on the basis of franchising model and are managed by external parties.

Dr Irena Eris SPA Hotels are the most luxury facilities in Poland, the two of them are the
only Polish members of the elite organization, the International SPA Association and
Premium SPA Resorts. In 2014, National Geographic Traveller issued a ranking of the best
luxury SPAs in which the best SPA from around the world are presented, including – as the
only two from Poland – the Dr Irena Eris SPA Hotels in Dylewskie Wzgórza and Krynica
Zdrój.

Furthermore, in 2012 Dr Irena Eris was invited as the only non-French cosmetic brand to
the prestigious Comité Colbert (corresponding to the Italian Fondazione Altagamma) – an
association of the most luxurious brands, among which one can find, for instance, Chanel,
Dior or Louis Vuitton. Until recently, this elite organization was open only to exclusive
French companies. Members of the Comité must be synonyms of luxury, reliability and high
quality, and Dr Irena Eris has been associated for many years with exclusiveness,
effectiveness and innovation. Admission of Dr Irena Eris as a member of the Comité Colbert
was an exceptional distinction for the brand and affirmation of its international success. Not
only were the cosmetics appreciated as being of excellent quality, but also the philosophy
adopted was recognized – an approach which establishes the direction of the business for the
future: respect for tradition, ethics in business, aspirations for excellence, implementation of
the holistic approach to beauty and innovation.188

Dr Irena Eris S.A. is a family-based company and the founders actively participate in
organizational life.

188
Company’s press release.

78
b) Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories Sp. z o. o.

Dr Irena Eris CL whose case is a part of this thesis, is a manufacturing company and the
core business of the holding. From the early stage of research and development in the Centre
for Science and Research, through production to marketing and sales, the company internally
exercises all the business processes demanded. The organizational chart of various functions
is presented below (Graph 13.).

Graph 13. Organizational structure of Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories Sp. z o. o.

Chef Executive Officer

Department
of Marketing Financial Department
& International Markets

Centre for Science

Sales Department
& Research

Department of Logistics Department of Human

& Production Resources

Department of Quality Department

Management of Communication

Source: company’s data

Dr Irena Eris CL is now one of the few producers of cosmetics not only in Europe but
also throughout the world, that has its own Centre for Science and Research (and the only one
in Poland) – which conducts advanced in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo tests. The results of
analyses carried out within the unit are presented at international conferences and published
in prestigious scientific periodicals.

79
The portfolio of Dr Irena Eris CL products (over 300, mainly skin-care and body-care
cosmetics and, recently launched, make-up cosmetics) is addressed to various segments and it
is composed of the following brands:

 Premium brands: the core brand Dr Irena Eris (exclusive cosmetics, upper segment),
professional cosmetics Prosystem, including Prosystem Home Care (an individual skin care
programme, recommended on the basis of a previous skin diagnosis at each of Dr Irena Eris
Skin Care Institutes);
 Make-up brand Provoke (upper segment);
 Dermocosmetics: Pharmaceris, a brand distributed at pharmacies and dedicated to
a range of skin problems (thirteen product lines);
 Economic brands: Lirene and dedicated to young skin Under Twenty.

The company’s sales and their growth over years are presented on Graph 14. As
demonstrated, despite the financial crisis the sales did not decrease; what is more, they have
been constantly increasing which is a proof of a successful strategy.

c) Polish cosmetics industry – an overview

The cosmetics industry in Poland is a developed market with a long tradition. It is created
by around one hundred big and medium-sized companies and over three hundred small and
micro ones. Some globally known brands have their roots in Poland: Helena Rubinstein or
Max Factor were born in this country. Furthermore, Poland is the only country in Europe,
apart from Lithuania, where cosmetology is taught at university level.

The value of the Polish cosmetics market in 2011 was 3,3 billion Euro, giving this
country the 6th place in Europe (with regards to both the home market and exports).189 After
1989 when free market was established, international concerns entered to the game and the
national companies had a challenging task to remain competitive. Some of them achieved that
goal and in effect, 50% of the Polish market of body and face care cosmetics belong to local
Polish brands. What is more, cosmetics export rates are growing every year by 25% (more
than a half of the cosmetic products made in Poland go to foreign markets; the country is the

189
The Polish Cosmetics Industry (2012), retrieved from http://www.polishcosmetics.pl/folder-en-
internet.pdf.

80
Graph 14. Annual sales of Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories
(Source: own elaboration on the basis of company’s data)

* Until 2010 the performance contains Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories’ and Skin Care Institutes’ sales. After 2010 Skin Care Institutes
are separate entities.
** In 2012 the legal form of Dr Irena Eris CL was changed (from S.A – a stock company, to Sp. z o.o. – a private limited liability company).
*** Data from 2014 is a business review from September 2014.

Net Sales = Sales - Commercial Costs

81
6th exporter of cosmetics in Europe).190 In addition, according to Euromonitor International,
the growth rate of Polish cosmetics market is one of the highest in Europe (around 5%, while
Germany 2,8%, Great Britain 4%, France 1%, Italy less than 1%). In the ten-years period
from 2001 to 2011, the value of export within this industry raised over five times.191

The industry is represented by the following companies, being the biggest and best known
players: Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories, Soraya, Dax Cosmetics, Ziaja, Kolastyna,
Oceanic, Dermika, Bielenda, Joanna and Inglot. Their international competitors are mainly:
L’Oréal, Beiersdorf, Coty. As already mentioned above, the local brands cover around half of
the Polish market; Dr Irena Eris CL plays an important role among them.

2. Specificity of HRM and organizational culture

Human resources management has always had a significant place in Dr Irena Eris CL’s
strategy – it is clearly demonstrated in the mission and values that people are in the heart of
its processes and policies:

In all its activities, the Dr Irena Eris group is guided by respect for people, promoting
their individuality and cooperation. Our care for other people’s wellbeing is reflected
both by the top-quality cosmetics and services and by the high quality of interpersonal
relationships within the company and outside. We are clear about our values: we
focus on people; we promote cooperation; we value individuality; and we respect
tradition as it gives our company a “soul”. Adhering to these values would not be
possible without developing a common human resources policy based on equal rights
and equal responsibilities, regardless of gender, age, or professional experience.192

This respect for employees stems from the owners’ intrinsic values and mindset – Irena
Eris often underlines that the success achieved by the company is their merit. That is why
transparent communication, care of employees’ well-being, attractive employment offering
and good atmosphere since the beginning have been promoted and nurtured by the owners
and top managers.

190
Ibidem.
191
Ibidem.
192
Retrieved from http://drirenaeris.com/en/careers.

82
For thirty years of company’s existence there had never been established an explicit
employer branding strategy; just in 2014 for the first time HR department defined expressly
the employee value proposition and focused on company’s external employer image among
various categories of potential employees. Until then, the distinguished employer brand
created was the result of human resources management principles such as respect and trust;
a kind of positive “side-effect”. The HR strategy for 2015 contains explicit employer
branding activities. The fact that the priority given to people and focus on creating
an attractive workplace are embedded in organizational culture creates a great value to the
company – a unique and inimitable culture is one of the main sources of competitive
advantage sustained by Dr Irena Eris CL. It has been built for 32 years and its attractiveness
is confirmed by employees’ satisfaction surveys, retention rate (some workers’ tenure is
thirty years – they have stayed with the company from the very beginning) and the overall
performance over years, characterized by continuous growth despite financial crisis and other
environmental determinants.

Irena Eris has always been passionate about her business and she wants to transmit her
passion to employees, giving their work a meaning, such important for young high-potential
candidates. Asked about what keeps her going forward, she says:

It gives me joy. Not only me, but other people as well. There’s a lot of talk about
human capital and that’s really the key for successful business, for development. Our
business is not just about data, it’s about intuition, imagination, respect and being
honest. This is what’s important, this is what makes us happy and what makes us want
to go forward.193

HRM strategy is integrated with the business strategy through Management by Objectives
(MBO) culture. As defined by Odiorne (1965), MBO is a process whereby the superior and
subordinate managers of an organization jointly identify its common goals, define each
individual's major areas of responsibility in terms of the results expected of him, and use
these measures as guides for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each of its
members.194 The main outcome of implementation of this approach is a higher motivation –
the individual goals are internalized by employees, thus they put more effort to achieve them.

193
Danet J.B., Liddell N., Dobney L., Allen T., MacKenzie D. (2013), Party Marketing, LID Editorial, London,
p. 2003.
194
Odiorne G. (1965), Management by objectives: A system of management leadership, Pitman, New York,
pp. 55-56.

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Furthermore it results in improving management performance as it enables managers to focus
on the key activities, promotes better delegation and accountability, develops their
involvement and enhances managers’ commitment to their jobs. 195 MBO has also
a significant input in promoting innovation within an organization: employees are encouraged
to express their opinion about certain goals and to propose their own solutions, and they are
not mere executors of imposed from the top activities.

Therefore, managers of Dr Irena Eris CL set their goals with their supervisors, agreeing
about the targets, priorities and deadlines for achieving particular goals contributing to
corporate purposes and mission. Annually, periodic meetings of each manager with their
supervisor are conducted to review goals achievement, evaluate individuals’ performance,
competences and efforts and specify the weaknesses (called “areas to improve”). The
outcomes of such discussions generate the basis for employee’s annual bonus and training &
development plan. Not only are managers assessed during such meetings, but they also set
their goals for the following year. Thus, progression and continuous improvement are
ensured.

Culture of information sharing and a flat organizational structure additionally strengthen

company’s culture. Employees are secure of their employment and as a result, knowledge
sharing attitudes, innovation and productivity are enhanced (theoretical background of those
associations was explained in Chapter II). These features of organizational culture are
essential in case of Dr Irena Eris CL – innovation is the key determinant of success in
cosmetics industry. Moreover, as it will be described in the following sections, the company
cares about employees, giving raise to their feeling of obligation to reciprocate, according to
the social exchange theory.

In conclusion, employee participation is the key principle of human resources

management in Dr Irena Eris CL. This participation and involvement are reflected in EVP
and day-to-day activities. Its roots lay in organizational culture characterized by reciprocal
trust. Furthermore, this culture enabled intuitive formation of an exceptional employer brand
– the brand that today gives an indisputable reputation of Dr Irena Eris CL on both labour and
consumer markets.

195
Humble J.W. (1967), Improving Business Results, Management Centre Europe, Brussels, pp. 45-49.

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Another issue worth mentioning at this point regards recruitment & selection process in
Dr Irena Eris CL. Both internal and external candidatures are taken into account, that is, for
some positions the job offers are posted on the intranet site and current employees may apply.
The process consists of two or three stages and contains analytical tests, DISC personality
tests, competences examination and in some cases Assessment Center (especially in selection
of participants of Talents’ Laboratory). Recruitment and selection for top managerial
positions are usually carried out by external entities, that is by recruitment agencies, or
internally via career advancement. Newcomers are introduced to the company through
training on-the-job, meetings with various workers representing different departments, team’s
support and, in case of Talents’ Laboratory participants, assignment of a mentor.

Dr Irena Eris CL offers also internships for students and traineeships for recent graduates.
In the period from June to September every year, students can join the company (mainly the
Center for Science and Research or Department of Quality Management) for an unpaid
internship; in average six interns per month are enabled to practice and develop their skills on
the job. Furthermore, since the company supports equal employment opportunities to persons
with disabilities, traineeships for them are available under the program Disabled persons,
equally able workers. The topic of equal opportunities and diversities in Dr Irena Eris CL is
to be widely discussed below.

In Dr Irena Eris CL there is a belief in equal employment opportunities. It means that the
company’s employment policies and procedures are designed to ensure that no employee and
no candidate receives less favorable treatment than another, especially on the grounds of their
gender. The efforts made by the company in this field are externally appreciated as in 2006 it
received Gender Index196 prize – a Company of Equal Opportunities award (1st place in the
category of big enterprises). Gender Index is an indicator that shows to what extent
companies fulfil gender equality rules in their HR policy.197

In 2006 Dr Irena Eris CL had the following employment structure:

196
The Gender Index was a project of United Nations (United Nations Development Program) as an
answer to the problem of discrimination against women on labour market. Its goal was to elaborate and
promote an effective business management model having regard to the gender equality policy.
197
The analysed fields were seven: recruitment policy, promotion opportunities, protection from
dismissal, training opportunities, remuneration, protection from sexual harassment and mobbing, possibility to
reconcile family and work commitments.
The methodology applied in the research was a questionnaire survey with 38 characteristics regarding all
the fields. There were three target groups taking part of the survey: HR departments (questionnaire for HR),
employees (questionnaire for employees, both men and women) and employers (questionnaire for employer).

85
 62% women and 38% men,
 Managerial positions (34% of all job positions) covered in 50% by men and 50% by
women,
 Women covering managerial positions of all levels (1st line, 2nd line and top
management).

According to the majority of employees the company was providing men and women
with equal promotion and training opportunities, gender did not affect recruitment process
and they had convenient working hours.

In 2014 not much has changed. Table 5. shows the current employment structure (as at 23
September 2014).

Table 5. The workforce structure in Dr Irena Eris CL (2014)

Category of employees Number of Including women % of

employees women
Directors 8 5 62,5%
Managers 28 17 61%
Office workers 120 81 67,5%
Sales & Marketing 60 45 75%
workers
Production workers 159 74 46,5%
SUM 375 222 59%

Source: company’s data

Employees are not discriminated because of gender; among female workers maternity is
not only accepted, but even promoted (in 2012 eight female employees were on maternity
leave, in 2013 this number doubled and in 2014 there were nineteen women on maternity
leave). After return they are protected against dismissal and while being on leave they can
apply for vacancies in internal recruitment. Furthermore, the company is open to candidates
of various age – the average age of employees is 42,4 years. The HRM strategy for 2015 is to
attract young talents since, because of a very low turnover rate, Dr Irena Eris CL’s workforce
is aging and a wider diversity of perspectives, skills and fresh point of view are desired.

In conclusion, human resources management strategy in Dr Irena Eris CL, reflected in

organizational culture, is characterized by transparent communication, partnership,
participation, reciprocal trust, equal opportunities policy and openness. These principles

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contribute significantly to the company’s employer brand. In addition, the company received
several awards in the field of human resources, reaffirming best practices adopted; the prizes
received are: 1st award in Gender Index 2006 (Company of Equal Opportunities), already
mentioned, 8th place in Great Place To Work Poland 2013 ranking (category: enterprises with
less than 500 employees), 5th place in Universum Ideal Employer Poland 2014 ranking in two
categories: Medicine & Pharmacy and Sciences. The latter two recognitions will be further
described in the following sections.

The specificity of Dr Irena Eris CL’s culture and HRM mindset are undisputable assets of
the company, contributing significantly to the competitive advantage achieved. Being rooted
in tradition and being built since the company’s foundation, they are impossible to imitate,
rare, unique and therefore, they can be called critical resources of Dr Irena Eris CL.

3. Employee Value Proposition

The company’s EVP has been defined explicitly recently. The current (as at December
2014) EVP in Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories consists of the elements depicted on
Graph 15.

Graph 15. Employee Value Proposition in Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories

Development Information

Atmosphere Employee
& Value Remuneration
Relations
Proposition

Work-life
Benefits
balance

Source: company’s data

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Description of the above elements is provided in the following paragraphs. Afterwards,
some suggestions on a more successful and distinguished EVP, based on company’s existing
but perhaps not appreciated intangible assets, are proposed.

It is necessary to underline that the EVP presented on Graph 15. is not fully
communicated on company’s careers website or in other communication channels. Thus,
before having a direct contact with employees or HR workers, potential employees may be
unaware about the characteristics of the employment experience offered and about its
distinction from competitors within the industry and in general within Polish labour market.
Current employees may also not know about some details of EVP. According to the report on
Employer Brand Love Index, the following elements are communicated in job offers (the
percentage indicates the market average of the item’s presence in communicated EVP):198

 Good atmosphere/Teamwork (73%),

 Stability of employment (52%),
 Non-financial benefits (42%),
 Corporate brand (35%),
 Training opportunities (32%),
 Possibility to implement one’s own ideas (28%).

The above elements are the most common ones communicated on the labour market by
employers (the only item not revealed in Dr Irena Eris CL’s advertisements and passed on by
other companies is Interesting tasks – 36%). The conclusion stemming from this fact is that
in messages addressed to would-be employees and to the present workforce, the company
does not highlight what distinguishes its employee value proposition from its competitors;
however, the organization equals the others and matches the common trends, not being left
behind. It is suggested that Dr Irena Eris CL undervalues some of its strengths which could
be shown in EVP, making it more distinguished and attractive to potential applicants (some
propositions will be described in Paragraph g) of this section).

As an explicit employer branding strategy is under development process, the complete

and accurate EVP shall be included in company’s messages towards its internal and external
stakeholders.

198
Company’s data.

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a) Information

Transparent information is an undisputed motivational factor. The access to the

company’s strategic goals, understanding of individual and team objectives, and of their
impact on strategy implementation, detailed information about individual and team
performance are crucial for employees’ involvement and for a strong identification with the
organisation and with its goals. Employees can feel safe and have a sense of solidarity with
colleagues only if the communication is transparent and clear. What is more, in case of
difficult times employees better understand the decisions made on the top (e.g. lack of salary
increase).

The internal communication in Dr Irena Eris CL is carried out mainly in four ways:

 Intranet and communications via e-mail;

 Management by objectives and performance management process (periodical
meetings between employee and his or her supervisor: setting periodical goals and
evaluation of individual performance within team’s and company’s performance);
 Employee Forum which forms a communication platform for employees’
representatives and top management – they can discuss potential problems and
proposed solutions with directors, express their opinion on the changes being
implemented etc. (it is an equivalent of trade union); another purpose of this
institution is to promote a bottom-up communication and to spread information
regarding strategy, policies and changes among all employees (through
representatives being a kind of “communication channel”)
 Informal talks.

As discussed in Chapter II, culture of knowledge sharing and providing access to

information foster collaboration (Pfeffer & Veiga, 1999) and help to remove status barriers
(Herman & Gioia, 2001). Honest information is also considered a tool to create “the best
workplace on Earth” according to Harvard Business Review. Therefore, including transparent
information in company’s EVP has a positive impact on employer brand (unless the term
information may evoke a one-way communication; in fact, the organization internally
promotes and supports two-way communication instead, thus the term information might be
misunderstood).

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b) Remuneration

In Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories the remuneration structure is based on Hay’s

evaluation of jobs position. Employees receive a market-based salary suitable to their
competences and experience. What is more, their variable remuneration is strictly connected
to their performance, since they also have a possibility to get a bonus from achieving their
individual and team goals (within MBO approach). The consciousness of direct impact they
have on salary enhances perceived justice and causes more involvement and better results for
the company.

There are two motivational systems addressed to different categories of employees:

Managerial System and Motivational Bonus. They build the remuneration structure drawn up
in Table 5.

Table 5. Financial remuneration structure in Dr Irena Eris CL

MANAGERIAL SYSTEM199

Group Bonus for net Bonus for Bonus for Bonus

profit sales individual goals SUM
g4 Marketing & Sales 6% 13% 6% 25%
g3 Top management 12,5% n/a 12,5% 25%
g2 2nd line management 9% n/a 9% 18%
g1 Specialists & 1st line 6% n/a 6% 12%
management

MOTIVATIONAL BONUS200
Production workers n/a n/a n/a 25%

Source: company’s data

Linking individual salary with individual goals achievement and overall organizational
performance has two important effects, already explained in previous chapter: it enhances
psychological contract and relates positively to organizational commitment, job satisfaction
and loyalty. What is more, direct impact on remuneration through respective goals (set

199
Managerial system covers around 150 employees out of 399 as at 31.12.2014.
200
Motivational bonus is addressed to production workers and it is given to each employee that meets the
expectations regarding: employee attendance, efficiency (timely completion of production target), quality of
work (lack of errors). Each parameter is correlated to a percentage of the bonus.

90
together with supervisor, thus more likely perceived as one’s own objectives) strongly
motivates employees to put more effort in their realization.

In conclusion, such remuneration structure is beneficial to both parties of employment

situation. Potential and present employees’ awareness and comprehension of their impact is
crucial, thus it ought to be clearly communicated through EVP (and, indeed, it is included in
Dr Irena Eris CL’s employment proposition).

c) Work-life balance

Respect and encouragement of decision of motherhood201, psychological support, free day

on Christmas Eve or reduced working hours on some special days like New Year’s Eve, pro-
family events (e.g. Children’s Day in the offices – bringing children by employees with them
and organizing entertainment activities for the families) are some examples of how Dr Irena
Eris Cosmetic Laboratories implements its work-life balance policy. The goal is to enable
employees to reconcile work and private life as a ground of their satisfaction and loyalty and
in fact, the company’s image is strongly influenced by these pro-family policies. Dr Irena
Eris is considered to be a workplace with tradition and respect for family.

Also sports teams (yoga, running team, sailing team, cycling team) are examples of how
the company integrates employees’ personal goals and passions with the work environment
Spouses or children usually have a possibility to participate or become team members so this
kind of activities not only does integrate colleagues and work-team members, but it also
integrates whole families, strengthening emotional bond between employees and
organization. Support for sports teams is also a sign to potential candidates and other
stakeholders that the company is a place for people with passions and that it cares about their
entertainment and fulfilment, not only from professional point of view. In addition, the
consumer brands are also promoted since sports teams participate in numerous competitions.
They represent the company and the brands, thus their exposure to the public is increased.

201
Employees being on maternity leave can participate in internal recruitment processes. What is more,
there is a possibility to establish convenient rules of cooperation during the period of absence or after return
from maternity leave (flexible working hours, part-time contract, working from home).

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d) Benefits

Benefits package offered by Dr Irena Eris CL to its employees is abundant. The tangible,
non-financial benefits are:

 company clinic;
 external medical package with health insurance; sports discount card (Benefit
Systems), financial support of post-graduate studies, language courses, trainings
and other educational, as well as cultural activities;
 canteen with co-financed meals;
 50% discount on products and discounts on services of other companies of the
group (stay in SPA hotels and treatments in Cosmetic Institutes);
 personal computer;
 company car (just for some categories of workers);
 co-financing holidays for children (on the basis of family income);
 bonus for employment anniversary (5 years, 10, 15 etc);
 interest-free loans.

Intangible rewards, instead, contain primarily:

 involvement in decision-making process;

 partnership approach among owners, managers and employees;
 constructive feedback and access to complete information;
 care of employees;
 public recognition of teams in the end of every year;
 possibility to be selected to ARO development program (described in the
following paragraph);
 employee forum (possibility to express opinions and negotiate various issues);
 prestige stemming from being an member of Dr Irena Eris CL (having a very
appreciated and highly-valued corporate brand, especially on the Polish market).

As demonstrated above, there portfolio of benefits offered by Dr Irena Eris CL is rich and
contributes significantly to the employee experience. In 2013, according to Great Place To
Work survey, 81% of employees declared that the organization provides them with
outstanding benefits (employees of the top fourteen employers agreed with this statement

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only in 72%).202 Therefore, extraordinary non-financial benefits distinguish the company
from its competitors in employees’ perception. It makes them feel gratitude towards
employer (the ground for the exchange in employment relationship) and be loyal, they want
to stay within the company. Also in this case, communication of complete package of
benefits is crucial for talent attraction and present employees higher involvement and
retention.

e) Development

Employee development policy in Dr Irena Eris CL contains the following elements:

annual training plan based on employee evaluation system and on individual/team needs, co-
financing post-degree studies and courses, mentoring, coaching, ARO project and
Laboratorium Talentów (Talents’ Laboratory) project.

The annual training plan is partially made and financed by HR department (50% of funds
dedicated to group trainings) and partially shaped by respective departments (resting 50% of
funds dedicated to individual training courses and to conferences). During annual evaluation
of each employee’s performance, respective manager examines potential training needs for
the following year and reports on them to the HR department. On the basis of overall
workforce training needs the plan is set up in order to improve the key competences of
employees.

Furthermore, some employees can attend a co-financed post-degree studies if it can

enable them to develop skills needed on their job position and add value to their work and to
the organisation (respective manager’s request is needed). Also language courses can be co-
financed, in fact many employees attend English language course.

When needed, there is a possibility of coaching sessions for employees (mostly on

managerial positions) or teams (especially in case of conflicts). Mentoring is another
appreciated option offered to newcomers – especially the ones selected to Talents’
Laboratory project (described below).

ARO (Akademia Rozwoju Osobistego, Personal Development Academy) is a 18-months

project designed in September 2014, characterized best with its motto: Get to know yourself,

202
Report on Great Place To Work 2013, company’s data.

93
get to know your company. The assumptions of this pilot project are that Dr Irena Eris is
a family-run company based on tradition with a very low turnover rate and a very high level
of self-identification of employees with the organization. They are highly motivated to keep
their jobs and are conservative rather than change-makers, there is a big fear of making
errors. What is more, because of a flat organizational structure there are not many
possibilities of promotion or job rotation. ARO is created for high-potential employees who
are growth-oriented and open to change – they have a chance to develop their skills and they
are the main beneficiaries of the project. However, it is supposed that a flow of a new energy
and inspirations may be brought into the company to make it more flexible, innovative and
open to change. People who can be selected to the project are the ones with high
communication skills, open to change, with ability of influencing others, as they are supposed
to widespread change seeds and be intrapreneurs. ARO has three stages: preparatory phase,
implementation of a business project and individual personal development of each
participant. The first stage aims to widen self-consciousness and awareness of creating
impact on the organisation. The second phase has as a goal completing a business project that
goes beyond one’s department and regular job tasks. All the projects are aimed to reinforce
and improve the company by people who have a fresh point of view and who could stimulate
positive changes on company level. The third stage contains planning by each participant
an individual development path and consolidation of changes emerging from the second
stage.

What does ARO communicate to the employees? It means that they can develop
themselves professionally and personally within the company and that they can have
an active impact on the organisation, they have a power of change. It is significant benefit in
a company where there are few opportunities of career advancement because of a flat
structure. It has a value to those who want to grow inside the company and to make it grow at
the same time, to those who want to go beyond carrying out their tasks by participating in
change which is essential to company’s sustainable development. Furthermore, it enhances
individual’s job satisfaction and retention.

Talents’ Laboratory is a project with quite similar objectives to ARO but it is addressed to
a different target group: potential candidates without labour experience, stakeholders outside
the company. Since 2009 graduates can apply to take part of this 2-years program that is
based on project management and aims to make the selected candidate(s) familiar with the

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company’s processes and to make them participate in its growth. One or two newcomers have
their own projects to plan and implement with a mentor’s support. After two years, if their
performance satisfies or exceeds the expectations, there is a big chance that they get
employed. Talent’s Laboratory focuses on young, passionate and determined people with no
experience – it is a signal to the labour market that Dr Irena Eris CL is open to graduates and
able to train them internally.

In conclusion, opportunities of development form an essential component of Dr Irena Eris

CL’s employee value proposition and they include a wide range of possibilities for
employees. Such approach is aligned with labour market needs and expectations regarding
an attractive workplace; in addition, training and development opportunities enhance
employability of individuals, such important on today’s dynamic markets where no life-long
job contracting can be guaranteed (although Dr Irena Eris CL seems to be rather a long-term
employer; however, high-potential young workers not rarely prefer to change their
workplaces in the beginning of their careers – in their case development possibility is as
important as for more loyal employees, exactly because of its impact on employability).

f) Atmosphere & relations

For many people colleagues are the second family or at least some of them are friends
also outside the office. The key determinants of good atmosphere in a workplace are common
values and transparent communication, whose role has been already described in this thesis.
The culture of information sharing has been already discussed in Paragraph a) of this section.
Dr Irena Eris CL’s organizational culture, being the primary factor shaping atmosphere and
relations among employees, as well as employee-employer relation, is rooted in tradition and
is people-oriented; it is explicitly stated in company’s values where people have an essential
place next to brands and tradition.
As the 2013 report of Great Place To Work203 shows, colleagues and atmosphere are the
most appreciated element of their employment experience. Graph 16. portrays employees’
perceptions of company’s strengths in terms of its EVP.

203
The outcomes of Great Place To Work surveys and their interpretations are in detail described in
Section 4, Paragraph a) of this thesis.

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Graph 16. Strengths of Dr Irena Eris CL in employees' comments, GPTW report, 2013

Career opportunities,
11, 7%
Sense of security, 11,
7%
Colleagues and
atmosphere, 48, 29%
Care of employees,
13, 8%

Products/Brands/Com
pany's image, 14, 8%

Managers, 15, 9%
Owners/Directors, 24,
14%

Workplace/Offices, 15,
9% Benefits and social
facilities, 16, 9%

Source: own elaboration on the basis of company’s data

In their comments, employees expressed their opinion of what makes Dr Irena Eris CL
a special workplace. The appointed elements related to organizational culture were:
colleagues and atmosphere (29% of comments), owners and directors behaviours (14%),
cares about employees (almost 14%) and sense of security (7%). In Chapter II. numerous best
practices in creating an extraordinary organizational culture have been presented and they did
include the following practices that characterize also Dr Irena Eris CL’s culture:

 culture based on mutual respect and honest, two-way communication,

 fostering collaboration,
 providing employment security (most of the contracts are permanent, for
an indefinite period of time),
 reducing status differences,
 support from the top and accessibility of top managers to all employees,
 celebrating special occasions (employees’ employment anniversaries and
birthdays, company’s anniversary, some holidays like Christmas),
 encouraging entertainment outside the office (sports teams, yoga),

96
 environment of caring (e.g. through work-life balance initiatives, helping one
another).

The above practices contribute most significantly to this EVP element (Atmosphere
& relations) in Dr Irena Eris CL. Below some comments of employees, revealed in Great
Place To Work surveys, are quoted to better reflect their feelings towards the organization:

At the company there is a friendly atmosphere, making coming to work a pleasure. I can always count
on my colleagues’ help. I feel comfortable here and I like my job, while the company creates good work
environment. (GPTW 2013)

There are many employees that really care about doing their best at work. It’s good to work with this
kind of people. (GPTW 2013)

The atmosphere is wonderful, one wants to work! (GPTW 2010)

I appreciate work in this company for its high-level organizational culture, for not imposing rules that
could be contrary to my system of values, for the right to make mistakes. (GPTW 2010)

It’s my second home and colleagues from my department are my family. I’m proud to be a member of
this family, I trust them and I can count on them even though, like in every family, there are ups and
downs. (GPTW 2010)

In my department there is a friendly and family-like atmosphere, we spend 8 hours per day together,
sometimes more, we celebrate our small occasions and we remember about the big ones, we support
each other in difficult times, but is common to each department? I don’t know. Everyone that comes to
visit us feels good here. I like coming to work even if sometimes there are difficulties. To answer the
question if there is anything particular… I say PEOPLE. The greatest value of this company are
PEOPLE. (GPTW 2012)

These testimonials describe best the atmosphere and relations in Dr Irena Eris CL since
employees directly create and experience it day by day. It makes the company an attractive
workplace, therefore communicating this element through EVP is indispensable to make
potential candidates aware of the uniqueness of organization’s employer brand. Support
coming from the owners and senior managers to this mindset, putting people in the heart of
Dr Irena Eris CL’s strategy, is the key factor of a successful workplace brand.

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g) Other company’s strengths – suggestions on EVP

The six elements presented above compose the employee value proposition defined by
HR department. From direct observation of the author of this thesis it is suggested that Dr
Irena Eris CL is characterized by several elements which are underestimated. These elements
might add value to the employer brand by distinguishing the organization from its
competitors or meeting the needs of more high-potential individuals. The proposed
components of EVP are:

 Equal opportunities policy

Gender or disabled people discrimination still take place in many companies, although
most of them declare they value diversity and implement the equal opportunities policy.
However, in reality not always do they succeed. Dr Irena Eris CL is a company where 59% of
employees and 61% managers are female – they did succeed and these data demonstrate that
it is a workplace where both men and women have equal chances to be hired. What is more,
there are 33 workers with disabilities employed. Furthermore, age diversity of the workforce
is another form of diversity promotion within the organization.

Highlighting equal opportunities policy in employment offering could contribute to its

attractiveness and to current employees’ awareness.

 Business ethics & Community

According to 93% of employees the company is leaded in an ethical manner. Today’s

businesses often implement CSR activities to create an image of socially responsible
company or demonstrate that they care about communities and environment. It is often
suggested that such initiatives have primarily marketing scopes, thus they are seen as not
fully credible.

In fact, at Dr Irena Eris CL they do not like to speak about their actions supporting
communities or about the moral aspect of business. They are socially responsible because
they believe that it is the only correct way of running a business, and not with a goal to use it
as a tool to promote the corporate brand. Although employees often participate in voluntary
activities and the way they work (including top management) is guided by honesty and ethics,
the company does not communicate its CSR initiatives,. The workers experience it “back-
office” and the fact that in GPTW survey (2013) 93% of them agreed that the company

98
adopts the business ethics principles is the most credible manifestation of Dr Irena Eris CL’s
social responsibility.

For many potential and current employees business ethics and support of local
communities are important from the ideological point of view. That is why signalling this
laudable attitude to the labour market (e.g. through employees’ testimonials) might have
a significant impact on company’s attractiveness as employer.

 Tradition

Tradition is one of Dr Irena Eris CL’s values (next to People and Brands). It is
communicated in corporate messages and contributes to the overall company’s image;
however, it is not underlined in employee value proposition. It is argued that this value could
distinguish the company from other employers and attract the right kind of individuals who
fit the organizational culture, give meaning to and support tradition.

 Work with a meaning

Contributing to a meaningful mission (believing in what one does) and having

a meaningful job (being given a wide responsibility and understanding the sense and input of
daily work to the mission realization) are strong motivators, especially to young employees
who pay more attention to the ideological issues. They also want to know how their work
affects company’s performance and strategies.

The fact that employees of Dr Irena Eris CL are given a wide range of responsibilities
(according to 87% employees in GPTW 2013 survey, compared to 81% respondents in top 14
workplaces) means that most of them feel they do something important – thus, their jobs have
a meaning. The company’s mission also has a meaning: to help women feel more beautiful
and to enable them to achieve their personal goals. What is more, Dermocosmetics produced
by Dr Irena Eris CL help people with skin problems. Portraying this meaningfulness of
mission and individual and team jobs in EVP could make them more aware about how they
serve others. It could become an attractiveness factor for talents who do not want to be just
“cogs in the machine”.

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e) EVP communication channels

The channels through which Dr Irena Eris CL communicate with the labour market and
engage them in the relation employee-employer include both internal and external ones, that
is, addressed to current and potential workers. According to the report on Employer Brand
Love Index, HR workers use the following tools to interact with them (the percentage refers
to how many employers use this tool):
 External communication channels:
o Job portals (85%),
o Career tab on company’s website (74%),
o Conferences (24%);
 Internal tools to inform and engage employees:
o Corporate events (77%),
o E-mail (72%),
o Intranet (68%).

Several channels that are used by many companies are not adopted by Dr Irena Eris CL;
these channels are mainly: social media (71%), job fairs (66%), leaflets, posters, gadgets
(60%), Presentations/meetings at universities (51%); corporate newsletter (64%), information
boards (49%). It is suggested that, in order to enhance employer brand awareness, more
communication channels ought to be exploited – in fact, within the HRM strategy for 2015,
the company wants to reach more potential employees and attract talents, thus
communication tools will be developed.

In fact, an appropriate, complete and honest EVP communication is essential in employer

branding activities. Only then it creates the desired brand associations and brand image, and
only then the company can become an employer of choice. Furthermore, as regards present
employees, they can feel prouder of being a member of the organization and be more aware
of its uniqueness and distinction. In addition, newcomers understand more rapidly the
organizational principles and values if they are explicitly expressed.

In conclusion, it is suggested that in order to attract more talents and strengthen

employees’ engagement, Dr Irena Eris CL ought to expand their tools of communication with
the labour market.

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4. Research findings

In order to measure the exact employer brand equity of Dr Irena Eris CL, its two
dimensions are to be analysed in this section: internal and external outcomes of HRM
policies’ and organizational culture’s impact on this workplace’s image. The analysis
includes the trust index survey, carried out in the company by Great Place To Work for four
consecutive years (2010-2013), Universum student survey rankings and an own research on
Dr Irena Eris CL’s image in relation to an ideal employer among young individuals.

a) Internal employer brand: survey on employees Trust Index and satisfaction

The Trust Index Employee Survey, built and conducted by Great Place To Work
(hereafter referred to as GPTW),204 is an extensive employee survey that measures employee
engagement by surveying opinions, attitudes and perceptions on the level of trust between
colleagues and between management and employees. Also comments are collected from
open-ended questions to provide the surveyed company with the employees’ perceptions of
how it is like to work there, 205 what are organization’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of
employment experience.

According to the organization, great workplaces are built through relationships that
employees experience, not a checklist of programs and benefits. The key factor in these
relationships is trust. As Great Place to Work suggests, a great workplace from the
employees’ perspective is one where they:

 trust the people they work for;

 are proud about what they do; and
 enjoy the colleagues.

Trust is created through management’s credibility, the respect with which employees feel
they are treated, and the extent to which employees expect to be treated fairly. The degree of
pride and levels of authentic connection employees feel with each other are additional
important elements. The dimensions of a great workplace are depicted on Graph 17.

204
Great Place to Work is a global human resources consulting, research and training company specializing
in organizational trust. The Great Place to Work Model is built on 25 years of research and data collected
through the company’s Trust Index Employee Survey. The organisation was founded in the USA and has its
offices in 44 countries. See http://www.greatplacetowork.com/about-us/our-company.
205
http://www.greatplacetowork.com/our-services/assess-your-organization

101
Graph 17. Dimensions of a Great Place To Work

Source: http://www.thegreatworkplaceonline.com/model.html

The survey is composed by 58 statements206 to be responded and two open questions. The
opinions are expressed using a five-point Likert scale; respondents have to specify the extent
to which they agree with each statement. An example declaration and its interpretation for
measuring Trust Index is presented on Graph 18.

Graph 18. An example statement and interpretation in Trust Index survey (GPTW)

The managers keep the promises.

Never/Almost Sometimes yes, Always/Almost
Rarely Often
never sometimes no always

Low trust High trust

Source: company’s data

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The 58 statements can be grouped in five categories regarding various dimensions, mentioned above:
credibility, respect, fairness, pride, camaraderie. What is more, the results of the survey can be grouped in
various departments of the company.

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The index takes into account only positive replies (Often; Always/Almost always) for the
58 statements. Missing replies are not considered. The open questions relate to employees’
opinions regarding a special aspect that makes the company a great workplace and what
should be changed (Is there anything in particular that makes this company a great place to
work? Please give some examples; If you could change one thing that could make this
company a better workplace, what would it be?).

The Trust Index survey in Dr Irena Eris CL was organized four times: in 2010 (319
employees took part of the survey – 84,65%), 2011 (351 employees – 81%), 2012 (310
employees – 81%) and 2013 (327 employees – 87,2%). Its results were positive since the first
survey and the Trust Index grew significantly over time. The Trust Index and the overall
satisfaction rate (as replies to a direct statement: In general, I think my company is a great
place to work) in Dr Irena Eris CL, with reference to nationwide survey and top fourteen
workplaces in Poland, are presented on Graph 19. and Graph 20.

Graph 19 . Trust Index in Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories (2010-2013)

90%

80% 78%
73%
70% 71% 69% 75%
69%
60% 62%
60%
50%
49% 46%
40% 46%
38%
30%

20%

10%

0%
2010 2011 2012 2013

Dr Irena Eris CL Top 14 Poland Nationwide Survey

Source: own elaboration on the basis of company’s data

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Graph 20. Overall satisfaction rate (“In general, I think my company is a great place to
work”), 2010-2013

90% 81%
80% 75% 79%
68% 69%
70%
73%
60%
63% 63%
50%

40% 45% 41%

42%
30%
30%
20%

10%

0%
2010 2011 2012 2013

Dr Irena Eris CL Top 14 Poland Nationwide Survey

Source: own elaboration on the basis of company’s data

It can be observed that both indicators were constantly growing; that means that
employees’ satisfaction and loyalty to employer brand was increasing in the considered
period. In the thesis a particular emphasis is put on the last survey conveyed in 2013 since it
best illustrates the recent degree of employees’ satisfaction in the company.

The results of that survey found that 81% of employees consider Dr Irena Eris CL a great
workplace (this score exceeds top fourteen employers in Poland and approximately doubles
the nationwide survey outcome) and the Trust Index is equal to 75% . The number of
participants was 327 that comprised 87,2% of invited to participate employees. The structure
of the sample is presented in Table 6.

Table 6. Trust Index survey sample structure in Dr Irena Eris CL (2013)

Aspect Groups of employees Number of employees

Non-managerial 246
Position 1st and 2nd line management 61
Top management 10
Female 191
Gender
Male 122
Age Until 25 8

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26-34 73
35-44 122
45-54 78
55 and more 24
Less than 2 years 25
2-5 78
6-10 99
Years of employment
11-15 30
16-20 64
More than 20 14
Full time 319
Form of employment
Part-time 2

Source: company’s data

Slight differences in Trust Index and overall satisfaction can be observed in various
groups of employees. These discrepancies among employees having a different job position,
gender, age and years of employment are shown on Graphs 21.-24. (all of them regarding
data from GPTW 2013 survey).

Graph 21. Position in the company Graph 22. Gender

88% 87% 90% 82% 82%

90% 81% 80%
80% 74%
74% 80%
80%
70% 70%
60% 60%
50% 50%
40%
40%
30%
30%
20%
20%
10%
0% 10%
Trust Index In general, I think my 0%
company is a great Trust Index In general, I think
place to work my company is a
great place to work
Non-managerial Line management
Top management Female Male

Source: company’s data

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Graph 23. Age
100% 100%
100% 90% 90% 90%
90% 80% 81%
72% 72% 73%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
until 25 26-34 35-44 45-54 55 and more

Trust Index In general, I think my company is a great place to work

Source: company’s data

Graph 24. Years of employment

100%
100% 92% 94% 91%
86% 81%
90%
75% 79% 79% 80%
80% 72% 71%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
less than 2 2 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 more than
20

Trust Index In general, I think my company is a great place to work

Source: company’s data

These findings show that employees on managerial positions are more satisfied with their
work and organization than the ones carrying out the non-managerial jobs, and as their level
in company’s hierarchy goes up, Trust Index and satisfaction grow as well. There is no
difference in male and female workers’ overall satisfaction, although Trust Index is higher for
men. Another important observation is that newcomers show a very high degree of trust and
satisfaction; both rates decrease for employees having 2-5-years period of employment and
after they grow proportionally to individual’s age and years of employment.

Great Place To Work report reveals also the main strengths of Dr Irena Eris CL in relation
to the best fourteen employers in Poland (according to the ranking). They are presented in
Table 7.

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Table 7. Strengths of Dr Irena Eris CL’s employee value proposition
Dr Irena Top 14
Trust Index statements Eris CL Poland Gap
2013 2013
1. The company provides us with outstanding benefits 81% 72% +9%
2. People here celebrate special occasions 80% 72% +8%
3. Employees have a wide range of responsibilities 87% 81% +6%
4. Directors lead the company in an honest and ethical manner 93% 87% +6%
5. I believe that the directors would decide to dismiss employees 79% 74% +5%
only as a last resort
6. The company’s matters are our common cause 84% 79% +5%
7. I like the way we support society 86% 82% +4%
8. The workplaces arrangement creates good working conditions 86% 82% +4%
9. The company creates working conditions that are safe for human 92% 89% +3%
health
10. Directors manage the company competently 86% 84% +2%

Source: company’s data

Therefore, benefits, culture of celebrating special occasions, employee empowerment,

business ethics, security of employment, colleagues’ solidarity, support of communities and
some other practices are the most appreciated by employees components of company’s EVP.
They distinguish Dr Irena Eris CL from other workplaces and contribute to its attractive
internal employer brand. Alignment with the external message and brand associations should
be developed by the organization.

The following section aims to check the consistency of the actual employment experience
with external image.

b) External employer brand: focus group session & Universum Student Survey

The goal of this paragraph is to figure out the perceptions of external labour market
concerning Dr Irena Eris CL in terms of its image as a workplace. For this purpose, two
studies are to be analyzed: an own focus group meeting conducted and a Universum survey
outcomes regarding ideal employers.

Focus group “Image of an ideal employer and Dr Irena Eris CL’s employer image”

The subjects of the focus group session carried out in January 2015 were: the image of
a desired employer and the image of Dr Irena Eris CL as an employer in perception of young,

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business-related people (graduates/first job employees, 25-27 years old and one participant at
the age of 42) on the Polish labour market. The goal was to identify the employer’s image
gap: unfamiliarity with Dr Irena Eris CL’s employee value proposition and of its actual
attractiveness as employer. The hypothesis of candidates’ unawareness was assumed by the
author after discussions with present workers, direct observation and past personal
experience.

The first phase of the meeting concerned general characteristics of a great workplace in
participants’ opinion. The sample persons were divided into two groups and they were asked,
applying projection techniques, to draw their ideal employer visualizing the desired
characteristics and after to explain their works in detail. The findings show that an ideal
employer should have the following features:

 Stability on the market of the core business and stability of work (full-time
contracts and not civil contracts that do not guarantee a long-term employment),
 Gives opportunities of development and stimulates to creative thinking,
 Cares about employees and appreciates them. Adequate remuneration and benefits
( some of them conferred also on family members),
 Work-life balance,
 Nice atmosphere and colleagues,
 Has a trustful relationship with employees,
 Gives a certain level of autonomy and sets transparent rules and job position tasks,
 Positive attitude (not based on continuous control) towards employees,
 Innovative employer that provides individuals and teams with a possibility to
implement own ideas, and that allows for creativity,
 Metaphor of employer as a mirror – organization treats its employees just as they
are: like individuals, like normal persons who have their needs and problems, not
like untiring machines,
 Flexible,
 Trustworthy, providing a sense of security.

The second part of the session focused on Dr Irena Eris CL’s image as an employer. The
participants associated that workplace with the following characteristics:

 Innovation, work with a high quality products, professionalism,

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 Diversified activity, multiple development, likely to offer many possibilities of
growth,
 Tradition,
 Stability,
 Sterility,
 Strong personal brand of Irena Eris, the owner and founder,
 Family and pro-family business,
 Lack of recruitment advertisements,
 Negative perception of cosmetics industry in general (because of past experiences
in another company),
 The corporate image is associated to products rather than to company’s role as
an employer (no or few associations with the organization as a workplace),
 Limited information about Dr Irena Eris CL from the labour market; participants
did not have many associations with this workplace,
 The company is seen as a workplace for chemists, pharmacists etc. and not for
business-related people; for women rather than for men,
 Company producing just for the national market,
 The name of the company might be misleading (a laboratory).

During the following part of the meeting, HR policies and practices, EVP and the results
of Great Place To Work surveys (2010-2013) were presented to the group. After that they
were asked the question: if and how the employer brand presented (and reaffirmed by
employees in GPTW surveys) was related with an ideal workplace. The sample persons
confirmed that Dr Irena Eris CL’s employer brand is largely consistent with their desired
employment experience. Most of the participants admitted that they had not been aware about
company’s EVP and had not had brand associations leading to the image demonstrated in the
third part of the meeting.

The conclusion is that there is a communication gap regarding organization’s employer

brand and a significant inconsistency between internal and external image of the company on
the business-related labour market. Despite offering an attractive employment proposition, Dr
Irena Eris CL does not evoke strong employer brand associations. It is suggested that this

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problem is an implication of insufficient communication of company’s EVP to the potential
employees.

Universum Student Survey – Universum Top100 Poland 2014

Every year the Universum Student Survey Poland reveals the best (in students’ opinion)
employers in the country in various categories (Business, IT, Engineering, Humanities,
Medicine & Pharmacy, Sciences, Law).207 The study conducted in 2014 included 23 599
students from 71 universities, with an average age of 22,4 years.

Dr Irena Eris CL was placed on 5th position in two categories of the Universum Student
Survey Poland 2014: Medicine & Pharmacy Top 50 and Sciences Top 50. The partial
outcomes of the insight are presented in Table 8.

Table 8. Ideal employers ranking by Universum: Medicine & Pharmacy Top 50 and Sciences
Top 50

Medicine & Pharmacy Top 50 Poland Sciences Top 50 Poland

1. Medical Center ENEL-MED 1. Bayer
2. Centrum Medycyny Sportowej 2. Polpharma
3. Medicover 3. Nestle Poland
4. Lux Med Group 4. L’Oreal Poland
5. Dr Irena Eris 5. Dr Irena Eris
6. Bayer 6. Google Poland
7. Polpharma 7. Danone
8. Swissmed Medical Center 8. Nivea Poland
9. EMC Medical Institute 9. IMGW
10. Carolina Medical Center 10. PGE

Source: Universum Student Survey Poland 2014

A high position of Dr Irena Eris in two categories of the survey is a confirmation of the
company’s positive image among these target groups. Students, being future specialists and

207
Universum is an international corporation specializing in employer branding that provides Ideal
Employer research and consulting services to more than 1 200 clients globally. Universum conducts a career
survey targeting students and professionals around the world. Students select the companies they would like
to work for and then they choose their (maximum) five ideal employers. The rankings are created in the basis
of the number of “votes” for a company as an ideal employer. The Ideal Employer ranking is developed in
more than 40 countries and involves around 700 000 students every year. See
http://universumglobal.com/about/.

110
potential candidates, consider the organization a great workplace; the one which they would
like to work for. However, the company is considered attractive just in the two categories that
are connected primarily to research & development activities, and is not a desirable
workplace among students with a business background (category Business Top 100) which
are also a crucial target group for the company, since managers and office workers form
a major part of the staff. HR employees realized this and in 2015 they aim to attract more
talents to the company, not just from pharmaceutical/medical/chemistry/biotechnological
areas but also competent and outstanding candidates with economic/managerial/social/etc.
background for leadership positions, sales, marketing, finance, HR and other departments.

Also the focus group study, conducted for the purposes of this thesis and described in the
previous paragraph, confirmed an existing unawareness regarding Dr Irena Eris CL’s
employee value proposition.

c) Implications for employer brand

The above considerations lead to the conclusion that Dr Irena Eris CL has an attractive
employer brand and EVP highly appreciated by employees. However, not all target
candidates are aware about the employer’s uniqueness and distinction. Therefore, internally
the employer brand is successful, but externally it is not fully appreciated. Moroko & Uncles
(2008) defined this phenomena as “communication breakdown” – it has been already
described in this thesis (Chapter II, Section 2, Paragraph a)) and it can be in part applied to Dr
Irena Eris CL (in part, because the organization reaches some categories of desired
employees). Company has all the attributes of an attractive workplace, but it is suggested that
some of its target candidates are not attracted because of lacking knowledge of its employer
brand.

The company’s HR strategy for 2015 has as a goal becoming an employer of choice for
all target groups of employees, in order to strengthen the organization by attracting and
keeping more talents and to increase sustained competitive advantage achieved through
people. The key role in this process shall be given to external communication of EVP in order
to cover the communication gap observed.

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5. Impact on company's performance

The company’s HRM strategy and policies, employer brand and organizational culture
contribute significantly to the success achieved. Despite insufficient communication of the
workplace brand to external stakeholders, it does exist and is attractive, and influence both
individuals’ satisfaction and performance, and the company’s overall outcomes. They are to
be presented in this section. The main focus is put on sales growth rate, employees turnover
and retention.

Over last ten years, Dr Irena Eris CL’s sales increased almost four times – annual growth
rates of company’s sales and of GDP Poland and the cumulative increase of both indicators in
the period 1996-2014 and are shown on Graph 25. and Graph 26. 208

Graph 25. GDP growth rate and sales growth rate in Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories
(annual rates, 1996-2014)
35.00%

30.00%

25.00%

20.00%

15.00%

10.00%

5.00%

0.00%

-5.00%

-10.00%

GDP annual growth [%] Sales annual growth [%] Net sales annual growth [%]

Source: own elaboration on the basis of company’s data and http://countryeconomy.com/gdp/poland

208
*Until 2010 the performance contains Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories’ and Skin Care Institutes’ sales.
After 2010 Skin Care Institutes are separate entities.
**In 2012 the legal form of Dr Irena Eris CL was changed (from S.A – a stock company, to Sp. z o.o. – a limited
liability company).
***Data from 2014 is a business review from September 2014.
Net Sales = Sales - Commercial costs
Cumulative rates are calculated in relation to GDP and sales in 1995.

112
Graph 26. Cumulative growth rates for GDP Poland and Dr Irena Eris CL sales (1995-2014)
350%

300%

250%

200%

150%

100%

50%

0%

GDP Poland cumulative real growth rate Dr Irena Eris cumulative sales growth rate
Dr Irena Eris cumulative net sales growth rate

Source: own elaboration on the basis of company’s data and http://countryeconomy.com/gdp/poland

As Graph 25. presents, during the last ten years only two times company’s sales
decreased (in 2001 and 2011). Furthermore, the sales growth rate in most cases was much
higher than GDP increase rate. The cumulative sales growth rate show, in addition, that in the
period considered (1995-2014) Dr Irena Eris CL increased the level of sales by four times
(279,4 percentage points grow in relation to sales in 1995). At the same time, Polish GDP
approximately doubled. Thus, development of company’s affairs has been two times faster
than national economic growth.

Turnover rate

In Dr Irena Eris CL the employee turnover is very low – in 2014 this rate was below 6%.
This number is a rare exception to the global trend of reduction of the length of the period of
employment. The findings of Randstad Poland’s research Labour Market Monitor in 2014
show that the average turnover rate in European Union member states in 2013 was 18%. In
Poland this index was the highest in Europe and reached the level of 25%. Turnover rates in
Poland and other European countries are shown on Graph 27.

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Graph 27. Turnover rate in European countries (2014)
25%
24%
22% 22% 22%
20%
19% 19%
18% 18% 18% 18%
17% 17%
16%
15% 15% 15%

11%

Source: Labour Market Monitor, 18th ed., Randstad Poland, 2014

In Poland this ratio had been rather constant until 2014 – in December 2010 turnover rate
was equal to 17%, in 2011 – 19%, in 2012 – 17% and in 2013 – 17%. In 2014 it increased
significantly to 25%. In Dr Irena Eris, instead, turnover rate has been decreasing over time
and in 2014 was equal to 5,8%. The data on turnover regarding the company and the country
in the period 2010-2014 are depicted on Graph 28.

Graph 28. Turnover rate in Dr Irena Eris CL in relation to national turnover (2010-2014)

25%
25%
19%
20% 17% 17% 17%
15.5%

15%
9.3%
10% 6.1%
5.7% 5.8%

5%

0%
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Turnover rate in Poland Turnover rate in Dr Irena Eris CL

Source: own elaboration on the basis of company’s data and Labour Market Monitor,18th ed., Randstad Poland 2014

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Turnover rate at Dr Irena Eris CL is very low if benchmarked to the national indicator,
especially in 2014. It is related to employer brand loyalty, stemming from employees’
satisfaction, commitment and emotional attachment to the company. The structure of rotation
is depicted in Table 9.209

Table 9. Employee turnover rate in Dr Irena Eris CL (2010-2014)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Turnover rate 15,5% 9,3% 5,7% 6,1% 5,8%
Wanted 10,9% 4,4% 2,3% 3,05% 2,5%
Unwanted 4,6% 4,5% 3,4% 3,05% 3,3%

Source: company’s data

The undesirable turnover, caused by employees’ decision or death, represents only 3-

4,5% of overall turnover rate. This fact provides a clear evidence that employees are satisfied
with their jobs and organization and they want to stay within the company. The next
paragraph provides some complementary data regarding retention of employees.

Retention

Employee retention rate, inversely proportionate to turnover, is high in Dr Irena Eris CL;
the average work experience is over 9,5 years. As it has been discussed in Chapter II, today’s
businesses are facing a trend of reducing an average period of employment in one company.
Employees from Y generation are generally not loyal to the organization they work for, they
want to enhance their self-esteem by changing company often and facing new challenges.
The consequence of this trend is reduced retention rate in developed countries. However,
keeping visionary managers, knowledge workers and other employees with high potential is
crucial to a long-term success of a company.

In Dr Irena Eris CL the average seniority of employees is around nine years and a half,
while years of employment on the present job position on average slightly exceed seven
years. Detailed data (as at December 2014) is presented in Table 10.

209
Wanted turnover refers to dismissals and expiries of temporary contracts, while unwanted turnover
refers to employee’s voluntary terminations, retirements, death.

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Table 10. Employee retention in Dr Irena Eris CL [years]

Category of employees Average seniority

Average seniority
on the job position
Directors 11 8
Managers 12 10
Office & Administration 9 6
workers
Sales & Marketing workers 5 4
Production workers 11 8

SUM 9,6 7,2

Source: company’s data

Retention rate (as well as turnover) is strongly related to HRM strategy and practices.
Perceived organizational support theory, explained already in Chapter II, Section 1, confirms
that the extent to which employees feel taken care about, appreciated and fairly rewarded
(extrinsically and intrinsically) determines their commitment to the organization, loyalty and,
in consequence, retention. Furthermore, the organizational culture and the person-
organization fit lower voluntary turnover and increase retention rate. Perceived beneficial
treatment and support provided by employer and supervisor to an employee, as well as values
match, enhance individual’s satisfaction. In addition, numerous studies confirm the positive
correlation of employee satisfaction with retention. In conclusion, high retention and low
turnover rate in Dr Irena Eris CL are considered to have roots in company’s successful HRM
strategy, policies and practices, as well as in an attractive EVP and, in general, strong
employer brand.

Not only do low turnover and high employees retention contribute to labour cost
reduction, better continuity of business strategy implementation and to above-average
performance; a positive image of the company as a workplace has also a significant impact
on overall corporate reputation. Dr Irena Eris CL’s reputation is excellent among various
stakeholders: communities, business press, consumers and employees. The prestige stemming
from such good opinion influences itself the level of sales, clients’ loyalty (regarding both
internal and external dimension; corporate, product and employer brand), relations with press
and business environment and employees’ pride of being members of this organization. Not
to mention the fact that such image ensures a wider public exposure of the company and

116
access to numerous communication channels; in consequence, marketing costs get reduced
and the credibility of business press articles increase (as they are not sponsored by the
company). The corporate image’s reliability is improved as well.

Dr Irena Eris CL’s intuitive approach to managing people and shaping organizational
culture based on high standards resulted in an appealing employer brand, appreciated by its
employees and other stakeholders. Its authenticity and, stemming from it, staff loyalty
significantly contribute to implementation of strategies and achievement of company’s long-
term business goals. Furthermore, these policies contribute to communities; the organization
is socially responsible not only via volunteering actions or taking care of environment, but
also through respecting and treating well its employees and the community they make part of.
Finding competitive advantage in people is one of the few sustainable sources of success; it is
a critical success factor for a company – and for the described company, Dr Irena Eris
Cosmetic Laboratories, as it has been demonstrated in this case study.

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Summary

This thesis aimed to review the literature on employer branding strategy and its
background, and to demonstrate its utility in building a sustainable competitive advantage
and achieving success. Supported by an analysis of a case study, it attempted to show
practical implications of this human resources management strategy for organizational
culture, performance and reputation of a company.

The conclusions stemming from the study confirm that employer branding strategy,
focusing on humans and organizational culture as critical resources, contributes significantly
to company’s success. Creation of an innovative work environment, based on reciprocal trust,
transparent communication, collaboration and respect, can increase employees’ and
organizational performance by reducing turnover, enhancing employee engagement and
loyalty and making the company become a great workplace and an employer of choice. The
considerations undertaken in this thesis showed that a successful employer branding strategy
aims attention at an attractive and accurate employer brand, including employee value
proposition (the promise given to an employee or employment offering), brand associations,
brand image and brand loyalty. This workplace brand ought to be aligned with the business
strategy and integrated internally, in order to be authentic to external stakeholders. The main
outcomes resulting from a well-implemented employer branding strategy are: attraction,
engagement and retention of high-performance employees, lowered turnover rate, reduced
recruitment costs, improved reputation on both consumer and labour market, enhanced
innovation of the workforce and knowledge sharing, and others. An above-average
performance and a significant contribution to the company’s success are the final
consequences of this strategy.

Apart from the economic and financial benefits, applying the employer branding policies
contains also an ethical issue – that is, caring about employees’ well-being and trusting them
is the right thing to do from the moral point of view. People shall be given respect and the
high standards (in terms of values driving managers’ and other workers’ behaviours) set
within an organization are crucial from the ethical perspective.

The case study concerned the image of Dr Irena Eris Cosmetic Laboratories on the labour
market and included an analysis of the company’s employer brand (internal and external) and
organizational culture. The employee value proposition offered by this employer is composed
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of six elements: Information, Development, Atmosphere & relations, Work/life balance,
Remuneration and Benefits. As Great Place To Work surveys on Trust Index show, it is
considered to be very attractive and appreciated by current staff (81% of employees view
their company as a great place to work). However, external stakeholders are not fully aware
of the employment proposition offered by Dr Irena Eris CL. Although the workplace is
believed to be attractive among young people related to biotechnology/chemistry/pharmacy
fields (as confirmed by Universum studies), it is not known among potential business-related
candidates with economic/managerial/social background. The focus group session conducted
for the purposes of this thesis confirmed a low degree of employer brand awareness. It is
suggested that the reason behind this phenomenon can be associated to the communication
gap between internal and external image of the company as a workplace.

Despite the insufficient communication of the organization’s employer brand, the study
suggests that Dr Irena Eris CL has a great potential to attract more above-average performers
in all business areas. The present workforce’s engagement and retention, as well as the
company’s overall performance and growth, confirm the strength and attractiveness of its
EVP and HRM policies. Thus, a better alignment of internal and external employer brand is
recommended in order to entirely profit from this important asset, being the key success
factor for the company.

In conclusion, the present thesis did attempt to demonstrate the positive impact of
a certain mindset in strategic management of people within organizations – a mindset based
on trust, reciprocity, respect and honesty, as well as on the concept of employee as an internal
client. This attitude, embraced by employer branding strategy, is considered to enable
employees to work better, fully exploit their potential and be more satisfied with their jobs.
The case study of Dr Irena Eris CL illustrated the accuracy of the above statement.

At this point, I would like to thank the company’s Human Resources Team for their
support, knowledge sharing and warm welcome. The undertaken traineeship was a great
experience that will indubitably have a significant impact on my future professional choices.

Moreover, I would like to thank the supervisor of my thesis, Prof. Antonio Corvino, for
the guidance and a highly appreciated autonomy given while working on this study.

119
Annex 1. Cafeteria of Employee Value Proposition elements

To match candidates’ expectations with work 26. Create alternatives to traditional career ladders.
realities: 27. Keep employees informed about the company’s
1. Conduct realistic job previews with every job strategy, direction, and talent need forecasts.
candidate. 28. Build and maintain a fair and efficient internal job-
2. Hire from pool of temp, adjunct staff, interns, and posting process.
part-time workers. 29. Show clear preference for hiring from within.
3. Hire candidates referred by current employees. 30. Eliminate HR policies and management practices
4. Create a realistic job description with a short list that block internal movement.
of most critical competencies. 31. Create a strong mentoring culture.
5. Allow team members to interview candidates. 32. Keep career development and performance appraisal
6. Hire from pool of current employees. processes separate.
7. Create a way for candidates to “sample” the work 33. Build an effective talent review and succession
experience. management process.
8. Survey or interview new hires to find out how to 34. Maintain a strong commitment to employee training.
minimize new hire surprises in the future.
To make employees feel valued and recognized:
To match the person to the job: 35. Offer competitive base pay linked to value creation.
9. Make a strong commitment to the continuous 36. Reward results with variable pay aligned with
upgrading of talent. business goals.
10. See that all hiring managers perform talent 37. Reward employees at a high enough level to
forecasting and success-factor analysis. motivate higher performance.
11. Cast a wide recruiting net to expand the universe of 38. Use cash payouts for on-the-spot recognition.
best-fit candidates. 39. Involve employees and encourage two-way
12. Follow a purposeful and rigorous interview process. communication when designing new pay systems.
13. Track measures of hiring success. 40. Monitor the pay system to ensure fairness,
efficiency, consistency, and accuracy.
To match the task to the person: 41. Create a culture of informal recognition founded on
14. Conduct “entrance interviews” with all new hires. sincere appreciation.
15. Work to enrich the jobs of all employees. 42. Make new hires feel welcome and important.
16. Delegate tasks to challenge employees and enrich 43. Ask for employee input, then listen, and respond.
jobs. 44. Keep employees in the loop.
45. Provide the right tools and resources.
To provide coaching and feedback: 46. Keep the physical environment fit to work in.
17. Provide intensive feedback and coaching to new
hires. To reduce stress from work-life imbalance and
18. Create a culture of continuous feedback and overwork:
coaching. 47. Initiate a culture of “giving-before-getting.”
19. Train managers in performance coaching. 48. Tailor the “culture of giving” to the needs of key
20. Make performance management process less talent.
controlling and more of a partnership. 49. Build a culture that values spontaneous acts of
21. Terminate nonperformers when best efforts to coach caring.
or reassign don’t pay off. 50. Build social connectedness and cohesion among
22. Hold managers accountable for coaching and giving employees.
feedback. 51. Encourage fun in the workplace.
1.
To provide career advancement and growth 2. To inspire trust and confidence in senior leaders:
opportunities: 52. Inspire confidence in a clear vision, a workable plan,
23. Provide self-assessment tools and career and the competence to achieve it.
selfmanagement training for all employees. 53. Back up words with actions.
24. Offer career coaching tools and training for all 54. Place your trust and confidence in your workforce.
managers.
25. Provide readily accessible information on career
paths and competency requirements.

Source: Branham L. (2005), p. 59.

120
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