Employer Branding - Measuring the practical effects of a theoretically sound EVP : A Case Study of ABB Sweden

Sammanfattning: This study was developed during the Swedish spring semester of 2013 for the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration of the now graduates Rafael Moser and Thor-Björn Käck. The students, authors of this research, were selected by ABB Sweden for a research internship on the field of Employer Branding (EB). Employer Branding (EB) is an increasingly popular practice within multinationals. It is applied to develop in the minds of current and potential employees, brand associations related to the organization as an employer. The research problem identified by the authors relates to the lack of reliable measurement of the employer branding process. Therefore, this study consisted of creating a set of indicators or measures of the process’ performance. To do so, the authors relied on theoretical support as well as consistent feedback from Joakim Forsberg, employer branding manager at ABB Sweden. A conceptual model of the employer branding process was developed and internal measures, or Key Performance Indicators (KPI), were placed in the context of the three stage model. The KPI’s were proposed as a solution for the lack of internal measurement of the EB process, and were developed based on the objectives of each stage of the process as well as in Human Resources and Marketing theory. Once the model was developed to the point where internal measures could be incorporated into the EB process, an empirical study was executed and respondents were asked to scrutinize the applicability of the proposed solution in current business environment as well as the applicability of certain KPI’s. Among different findings, results from the empirical study point to a variety of issues that currently inhibit the development of employer branding and consequently its measurement i.e. lack of managerial autonomy, poor integration and communication among departments, misguided resource allocation within EB, etc. Nevertheless, as the experts and professionals interviewed in this research point out, solving the problem discussed in this research with the solution proposed is considered to be the future of employer branding.