Improving the employer brand image of Company X amongst students in Finland
Boyko, Rebecca (2014)
Boyko, Rebecca
HAAGA-HELIA ammattikorkeakoulu
2014
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201404305507
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201404305507
Tiivistelmä
The following report was a research-oriented thesis commissioned by a case company, whose name will not be revealed, thus referred to as Company X.
The aim of this thesis was to provide Company X with improvement suggestions on how it could enhance its employer brand image among students in Finland. In order to do so, the company’s current employer brand practices were examined and the employer brand image of Company X was analyzed amongst students in Finland.
The concept of employer branding was studied through its various components such as employee value proposition (EVP), employment experience and employer brand image. Because employer branding is a fairly new area of study, there is a limited amount of theoretical information and models. Therefore, several high quality theories and models were analyzed and combined with personal insight to create a tailor-made model for the case company, which served as a backbone to the student survey framework.
The research design included a qualitative management workshop with the case company and a quantitative survey for business students in Finland. The thesis had an international perspective analyzing the case company’s employer brand practices in the Nordic countries.
Through the research, it was found that Company X’s employer brand practices were at the early stages of development and thus its employer brand had not been actively communicated externally. The student survey revealed that many students were already familiar with Company X as an employer, and most would consider it as their future employer. Nevertheless, students’ employer knowledge was lacking and only a few respondents had applied to Company X before. Therefore, the main improvement suggestion for Company X to enhance its employer brand image amongst students in Finland was to increase communication between students and the firm.
The proposed key findings and improvement suggestions confirmed to be beneficial and useful for the case company.
The aim of this thesis was to provide Company X with improvement suggestions on how it could enhance its employer brand image among students in Finland. In order to do so, the company’s current employer brand practices were examined and the employer brand image of Company X was analyzed amongst students in Finland.
The concept of employer branding was studied through its various components such as employee value proposition (EVP), employment experience and employer brand image. Because employer branding is a fairly new area of study, there is a limited amount of theoretical information and models. Therefore, several high quality theories and models were analyzed and combined with personal insight to create a tailor-made model for the case company, which served as a backbone to the student survey framework.
The research design included a qualitative management workshop with the case company and a quantitative survey for business students in Finland. The thesis had an international perspective analyzing the case company’s employer brand practices in the Nordic countries.
Through the research, it was found that Company X’s employer brand practices were at the early stages of development and thus its employer brand had not been actively communicated externally. The student survey revealed that many students were already familiar with Company X as an employer, and most would consider it as their future employer. Nevertheless, students’ employer knowledge was lacking and only a few respondents had applied to Company X before. Therefore, the main improvement suggestion for Company X to enhance its employer brand image amongst students in Finland was to increase communication between students and the firm.
The proposed key findings and improvement suggestions confirmed to be beneficial and useful for the case company.