Employer Branding in the IT Industry in Finland
Koivumäki, Johanna (2021)
2021
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202103032864
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202103032864
Tiivistelmä
This bachelor’s thesis examines employer branding in the IT industry. The objective of the study was to investigate how employer branding is organized in IT organizations in Finland, and what the needs and challenges with employer branding are, and what the current and future state of employer branding is like in IT organizations.
The outcomes of the thesis offer important information on the current state of employer branding inside companies, and on the factors that would enable IT organizations to evolve in tech employer branding in the future. The purpose was to provide an understanding of the maturity of employer branding management within IT organizations.
This thesis consists of a theory section and an empirical section. The theory section provides a thorough understanding of employer branding on the basis of relevant literature and online sources. The empirical part focuses on the results and provides valuable data about employer branding in the IT industry. The qualitative research was conducted in order to gain insights of the importance, functions, and goals of employer branding, and to gain a further understanding of the challenges and the development needs with employer branding in the IT industry. Moreover, various international aspects of employer branding are covered in the research.
The data was collected with qualitative semi-structured interviews. The sample included four management level employer branding professionals working in organizations operating in Finland, either in the IT sector or in organizations with a significant IT department. The total number of conducted interviews was four. The interviews were held remotely via Microsoft Teams video meetings due to Covid-19, and they were recorded with the interviewees’ permission.
The results showed that the importance of employer branding has recently become even more crucial in all of the companies interviewed. Especially internal employer branding was highlighted in the results. The results indicated that, in all the cases, companies aimed to go towards more strategic employer branding, and this requires continuous work. One of the most important development needs was continuous development work by providing advice and support to other departments, and getting employer branding to the agenda of executives.
The purpose of employer branding is to support a company in its growth to the direction of the business strategy. What to consider regarding employer branding activities is that everything that happens in the recruitment will also reflect the employer brand. The results suggest that it is important for a company to understand the current state of employer branding maturity, and the various activities on different employer branding maturity levels in order to succeed in employer branding development.
The outcomes of the thesis offer important information on the current state of employer branding inside companies, and on the factors that would enable IT organizations to evolve in tech employer branding in the future. The purpose was to provide an understanding of the maturity of employer branding management within IT organizations.
This thesis consists of a theory section and an empirical section. The theory section provides a thorough understanding of employer branding on the basis of relevant literature and online sources. The empirical part focuses on the results and provides valuable data about employer branding in the IT industry. The qualitative research was conducted in order to gain insights of the importance, functions, and goals of employer branding, and to gain a further understanding of the challenges and the development needs with employer branding in the IT industry. Moreover, various international aspects of employer branding are covered in the research.
The data was collected with qualitative semi-structured interviews. The sample included four management level employer branding professionals working in organizations operating in Finland, either in the IT sector or in organizations with a significant IT department. The total number of conducted interviews was four. The interviews were held remotely via Microsoft Teams video meetings due to Covid-19, and they were recorded with the interviewees’ permission.
The results showed that the importance of employer branding has recently become even more crucial in all of the companies interviewed. Especially internal employer branding was highlighted in the results. The results indicated that, in all the cases, companies aimed to go towards more strategic employer branding, and this requires continuous work. One of the most important development needs was continuous development work by providing advice and support to other departments, and getting employer branding to the agenda of executives.
The purpose of employer branding is to support a company in its growth to the direction of the business strategy. What to consider regarding employer branding activities is that everything that happens in the recruitment will also reflect the employer brand. The results suggest that it is important for a company to understand the current state of employer branding maturity, and the various activities on different employer branding maturity levels in order to succeed in employer branding development.