The use of Employer Branding to attract high quality candidates : the case of IBM France and its recruitment website

Abstract

Employer Branding is a fashion phenomenon for the last 15 years but is still a vague concept nowadays. This phenomenon takes more and more place in the companies’ strategies and particularly for the Human Resources department. This department has now a strategic role to develop and maintain the employer image of a company. It is very important nowadays due to the employment context in which finding high quality candidates can be a real difficulty. Due to the inceasingly popularity of this concept, some companies dedicate specific jobs to the question of Employer Branding and they have employees who are in charge of the development of their Employer Brand. Employer Branding can be a solution to help a company in attracting more easily the high quality candidates it wants. However, Employer Branding can also provide some limits and has to be carefully developed.

The objective of the study is to analyse the role of Employer Branding in the objective of attracting the best candidates. The thesis has collaborated with IBM France to understand the place of Employer Branding in the company and to verify if the theories regarding Employer Branding can be applied in a real context. The thesis process was implemented by a qualitative research with an interview answered by the Head of the Recruitment of IBM France and her recruitment marketing & communications collaborator. An observation work has also been made to identify how some of the IBM France strategies can be developed through an example of a communication support which is its recruitment website.