For many, the turn of the year is an opportune time to change jobs. Quite often, New Year’s resolutions are related to career development. For most people, this means fulfilling their goals through a new employer. As the new year approaches, the number of hits on job portals rises as rapidly as new registrations in gyms.

Even if the euphoria at the beginning of the year quickly dies down again – or perhaps precisely because of it: companies are currently questioning the impact of their employer branding and are looking for ways to differentiate themselves when competing for talent.

Promoting working conditions, tasks, and benefits in job advertisements often has a counterproductive effect on employer branding. This article demonstrates why it is better to take the time to develop an employee mission statement that is specific to the target group, rather than just polishing up the external image.

The labor market has changed dramatically since the turn of the millennium, especially in Germany and Western Europe. In the last century, potential employees were closely screened, while employers had to reveal little about themselves until hiring. Today, it’s the other way around: companies court the favor of specialists and managers and are required to convey value propositions to potential employees. These benefit and value propositions – employee value propositions – are also metaphorically referred to as the company’s application portfolio. They deliberately focus on different target groups and thus make a significant contribution to differentiated and distinctive employer branding.

A clearly defined employee value proposition focuses on the needs of the target groups that the corresponding employer brand aims to address. The following questions should be clarified before an employer brand can be developed and communicated:

The answers to these questions form the basis for an employer value proposition that is specific to the target group and provide the foundation for sustainably effective employer branding.

Develop a specific employee value proposition together with the human relations experts from S&P. We support you in professionalizing the employer branding of your organization and thus present the employer brand to potential and existing employees both in an attractive and realistic way.

We cannot eliminate the shortage of skilled workers, but we can develop the company’s positioning in the labor market. As a result, human resources development is put on a solid footing – despite the known bottlenecks. Qualified specialists and managers become loyal to the company in the long term. Furthermore, a lower fluctuation rate and more targeted personnel acquisition reduce the costs for recruiting and training.

A good employer brand clearly sets itself apart from the competition. Accordingly, it is not enough to praise the usual incentives. It is much more critical to emphasize what is really important to the people you want to attract and retain, and what you can offer them that competitors cannot or do not want to offer.

Are the remuneration, the corporate culture, the location, possibilities for work-life blending, career opportunities, varied activities, or clear work processes and fixed working hours convincing? The arguments can be complex and also contradictory when comparing different target groups.

Strategically successful employer branding builds on a solid employee value proposition and thus enables an attractive external presentation of the company as an employer and purposefully improves the quality of the employer from within.