EMPLOYEE BRANDING STRATEGIES IN

STRUGGLING COMPANIES

A Major Research Report File Submitted in

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement Award of

The Degree of

Master of Business Administration

Supervisor: Student Name:

Mrs. Varnika Tyagi Kapil Pal

Associate professor Roll No.-2306000012

FACULTY OF COMMERCE & BUSINESS STUDIES

MOTHERHOOD UNIVERSITY, ROORKEE

DISTRICT HARIDWAR,UTTRAKHAND

2024-2025
1
 Declaration

I KAPIL PAL hereby declare that the Project Report entitled A study on EMPLOYER
BRANDING STRATEGIES IN STRUGGLING COMPANIES, done by me under the guidance
of MRS. VARNIKA TYAGI , MOTHERHOOD UNIVERSITY ROORKEE , is submitted in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master of Business Administration degree.

DATE:

PLACE:

SIGNATURE OF THE CANDIDATE

2
3
 Acknowledgment

It is our privilege to express our deep sense of gratitude and indebtedness to our supervisor
MRS. VARNIKA TYAGI, faculty of commerce & business studies, MOTHERHOOD
UNIVERSITY, ROORKEE for giving me this opportunity to work on such an interesting topic
EMPLOYER BRANDING STRATEGIES IN STRUGGLING COMPANIES.
I also thankfully acknowledge the dean faculty of commerce & business studies, Prof, Dr. P.K
Agarwal who us their valuable suggestion from their busy schedule.
Our heartiest gratitude to our parents, family members for their continuous encouragement and
blessings , best wishes and moral support which was constant source of assurance , guidance ,
strength and aspiration to us.
Finally we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all mighty and thank her from the
bottom of our heart .

Place :
Date :………………… Kapil Pal

4
 Executive Summary

Employer branding is a relatively new discipline in which the organization creates a unique,
positive and recognizable position as an attractive workplace among present and future employees’
(Seldorf, 2008). According to Seldorf, ‘employer branding can be seen as a melting pot of HR
(employer) and marketing (branding). Like actual product branding, organizations have started to
invest employer branding as employees are the internal customers of the firm. The employer brand
builds an image confirming the organization as a good place to work. Today, an effective employer
brand is essential for competitive advantage. A recent Society for Human Resource Management
(SHRM) study on employer branding revealed that over 67% of organizations view employer
branding as a strategic recruiting tool to gain a competitive advantage to attract top talent, and 49%
identified the employer brand as one of the top five strategic initiatives for their firm in the next
year. Currently, the focus of Employer Branding research is mainly targeted towards recruiting.
However, Employer Branding also entails branding activities to existing employees and former
employees.

5
 List of Tables

Sr. No. Name of Table Pg No.

4.1 Age details 12

4.2 Gender details 13

4.3 Upbringing details 14

4.5 Interpretation 29

6
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TOPIC PAGE NO.

1 INTRODUCTION 1

 What is employer branding

 External & internal employer branding

2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 6

 Definitions
 Employer branding success factors
 Signaling theory
 Social identity theory
 Person – organization Fit

3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 10

 Research objective
 Research design
 Data collection
 Sample design
 Benefits of the study
 Limitations of the study

4 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETETION 12

5 RESULTS AND FINDINGS 30

6 CONCLUSION 31

1
2
3
 Ch-1 INTRODUCTION

In the era of ad insensitivity and universal access to the information, employers struggle to acquire
new talents. Employer branding is a part of the solution to this problem. Employer branding actions
display and highlight the perks of being employed in a certain organization. By giving a clear
statement to the potential and existing employees, a company creates its image as an employer in
their minds.

Any organization operating on competitive market is assessed in many areas. Not only the products
and services offered by the company are evaluated, but also, increasingly, its image as an employer
(employer brand). If the image of the company is highly rated on the market, then it is seen as an
attractive place to work and becomes employer of choice. Possession of an attractive employer
image allows the organization to attract the most talented, aware of their values, employees. Thus,
the labor productivity as well as product innovativeness increase, which consequently leads to an
increase in the competitiveness of the organization. The company's image affects consumer
perception of its products. Therefore, entrepreneurs pay more attention to how they are perceived
by potential employees. To emerge victorious from the ‘war for talent’, it is necessary for
organizations to build the employer brand systematically. The concept of employer branding was
introduced in 90. of XX cent in works of Ambler and Barrow , who described it as the package of
functional, economic, and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the
employing company. Employer branding refers at least to two disciplines: human resources
management and marketing, witch mutually derive from their work . However, data collected from
global surveys during ongoing downturn show that employer branding is also closely related to
strategic management. Scientists trace the foundations of employer branding in management
concepts, such as: psychological contract and customer relationship management. However,
authors of the article consider necessary to perceive employer branding in more general context as
an important part of strategic human resource management, competitive market strategy and
successful leadership.

4
With some regional differences, employment levels in many developed economies are very high,
and competition for skilled staff is intense. Competitive labor markets aside, competition for
employees is likely to become an increasingly important issue as the population worldwide ages.
Employer branding has gained favor as a management tool over the last decade. Even as firms face
global economic conditions that are both difficult to forecast and subject to extreme variance, the
need to attract, retain and motivate staff remains. Attracting potential candidates is an important
issue in the recruitment process. Organizations need to attain differentiation and become more
competitive in attracting talented and especially young people through employer branding (EB)
initiatives. Understanding what attracts talented recruits to a company may provide important
insights for human resources managers. Examining the attributes of employer brand is relevant for
practitioners and researchers. Attractiveness is revealed when young people seek the opportunity
to participate in the selection process at a specific company. This study seeks to gain an
understanding of symbolic factors related to prospective applicants’ initial attraction to a company
as a place to work. First, we investigate how young people, business students in their fi nal year at
university, assess the personality traits of an ideal employer. Second, we examine how these
respondents use internet and especially company recruitment websites and company social media
to gain information about their future employer.

Branding has become an integral element in our daily lives. From deciding which brand of soft
drink to purchase, to which restaurant to visit, or sports shoes to buy branding plays a very vital
role in our decision making. Thus with the power of branding being so persuasive, it is no surprise
that it also plays an important role in which company we choose to work. Thus the strength of the
corporate/ product brand has an immediate effect on the employee branding. An organization with
a weaker employee branding will have to do a lot more work on its employee brand so as to attract
and retain key talent. Employee branding is an indirect branding effect in which communication
of the company employees serves to characterize their company‘s employee brand. ―Employee
branding may be understood to include the process of promoting the image of an employer through
his/her employee‖. Thus employee branding is considered as the “new mantra to build brand
loyalty”. “Employee branding is the image projected by employees through their behaviors,
attitudes and actions. This image is impacted on by employee’s attitude and engagement towards
the employer brand image promoted through the culture of the organization.” If we justify the topic

5
in a simple term then, employee branding means what an employee projects about himself and the
organization culture. He/she should be able to serve as a brand ambassador for his/her
organization. A strong sense of affiliation is seen of the employee towards his/her organization.
Thus the factors like – reason for joining the organization, long term stay of the employee, his/her
expertise or skills for the assigned work, enthusiasm for achieving his roles and responsibilities,
his consideration at managerial level decisions, importance of his ideas at the organizational levels,
able to co-ordinate organization and individual goals, maintaining ethics while working, delivering
100% etc. helps to shape more the employee branding.

External Branding Associations

The most active area of employer branding research over the past 10 years has focused on external
branding for the purpose of employee recruitment. The employer’s goal is to create positive
employer brand associations within the target population. A brand association is a feeling about a
brand. Employer brand associations drive employer image, the key to attracting new employees.

The employer image is also constructed to communicate the organization’s employment

personality. Perceptions of the employer image drive employer attraction among potential recruits
(Turban & Greening, 1997). A well- differentiated employer image enables job seekers to
understand the organization’s values and to find similarities between themselves and the
organization.

The need for job seekers to have accurate and accessible information about potential employers is
key to reducing the risks involved in accepting employment and reducing information asymmetry
What is the optimal employer brand? A number of studies have been conducted to find which
employer brand attributes are most attractive or most effective in yielding strong employer
attractiveness. organization being considered a first choice brand, but that the emotions attached
to those associations were a central antecedent to perceptions of first choice brands. Another study
found that the employer brand of choice image was driven by organizational attributes that have
long been associated with organizational attractiveness, including attractive remuneration,
relationships, opportunities for growth, recognition and corporate image.

6
Internal branding

Internal employer branding or internal marketing, as it is often described, is a second important

aspect of the employer branding framework. Employer branding feeds perceptions of organization
identity and organizational culture, which leads to employee brand loyalty and ultimately
employee productivity .

The employer brand message is developed by the organization to create a positive image of the
organization not only to outsiders, but also to organizational insiders. Employer brand messages
impact organizational identity by shaping how insiders form an understanding of the features that
make the organization unique. Organizational identity may be reaffirmed by the employer brand
message, or may be altered over time as insiders revise their interpretations .

Messages that are inconsistent with organizational identity may destabilize it, requiring insiders to
rethink and reconsider the way they understand the organization. For newcomers joining the
organization, inconsistencies between the brand promise and reality can lead to violations of the
psychological contract. Research on psychological contract emphasizes the importance of accurate
messaging, because contract breach has been demonstrated to be associated with turnover,
intentions to quit and other negative organizational outcomes.

Employer branding messages also impact organizational culture through the process of self-
selection and similarity attraction .A strongly differentiated brand message conveys to job seekers
a picture of life in the organization and can attract like- minded applicants who, as new employees,
will strengthen the culture. Employees who feel a sense of value congruence with their new
company are more likely to stay with the organization, continuing to reinforce theculture.

Employer brand messages that are inconsistent with the culture tend to have more negative
outcomes. Attempting culture change by promoting an aspirational employer brand message is
risky, as those who were attracted by the new brand will be disappointed to find a different situation
in the organization than the brand had suggested to them .

7
The trust that is developed between employee and employer is akin to organizational commitment
and manifests as an eagerness to engage in work, to remain with the firm and to accept the firms’
values and goals. The model takes it one step further, positing that employer brand loyalty is
connected to employee productivity. customer satisfaction and ultimately, better profits. Empirical
evidence has demonstrated that the service profit chain does positively affect sales revenue and
profit .

8
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

9
 Ch – 2 Review of literature

The process of intentional development of the employer brand is called employer branding. In the
literature employer branding is defined as:

 Development and communication of an organization's culture as an employer in the

marketplace. It is the package of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided
by employment and identified with the employing company (Ambler & Barrow, 1996)
 A targeted long term strategy to manage awareness and perceptions of employees, potential
employees and related stakeholders with regards to a particular firm (Sullivan, 2004);
 A process of building an identifiable and unique identity of the employer (Backhous &
Tikoo, 2004); - The efforts of the organization in communicating internal and external
stakeholders of what makes it both desirable and distinctive employer (Jenner & Taylor,
2008, p. 7);
 Attracting talented people to the organization and ensuring that both existing and potential
employees will identify with the company (its brand, mission) and deliver the desired by
the company results (Martin, 2008, p. 19);
 An agreement under which the offer of the employer (manifested in organizational goals,
values and initiatives that build trust in the employees) and counteroffer from employees
(in the form of a high level of engagement and low retention) are matched (Matin and
others, 2005, p. 78).

Employer branding success factors

Cultivation of employer brand of the organization has become a way of attracting and
retaining the most desirable employees – those who will be able to ensure continuity of the
organization and its profitability (Moroko & Uncles, 2008, p. 160).

The questions arise, what are the success factors of employer branding, and what principles
should be observed in the process of employer branding construction and development? According
to J. H. Menor, some rules must be followed in order to attract and retain talented employees
(Menor, 2010):

10
1. Balance work and personal life – work-life balance is becoming more and more important
for building employees’ loyalty and results in higher level of their retention.
2. Competitive compensation package – to make employees feel appropriately and fairly paid
for the work they do, HR specialists should investigate what other organizations offer their
employees in terms of salary and benefits, as well as in terms of compensation package
and benefits for the particular position.
3. Treat each employee with respect and as an individual – each employee expects respect
and recognition of the team member’s contribution in the success of the organization.
4. Positive work environment – the best way to build positive work environment and retain
the best employees in the company is to make it as easy as possible for people to do their
jobs.
5. Eradicate favoritism – favoring certain employees cause dissatisfaction among team
members, decrease their morale and productivity, which is reflected in the results of the
company Therefore equal treatment of all employees and avoiding favoritism is essential
for the retention of key employees in the organization.
6. Communication and availability – active listening to employee’s and clear communication
of expectations, goals and rules to be followed, give them honest feedback and helps them
to feel recognized and important.
7. Employee empowerment – employees who have a sense of responsibility and ownership,
and which ideas are often recognized, feel important to the organization, work harder, less
complain and are willing to stay in this company for longer.
8. Placing the right talent for the right job – employees should be placed in environment that
they can be truly useful, making the world around them a better place for all stakeholders
of their organizations.
9. Celebrate successes and make the workplace fun – sharing small successes with
employees’ is a great way of making the workplace fun.
10. Workplace flexibility – it is hard to manage workplace flexibility (which means giving
employees the option to work flexible hours), therefore flexibility policy should be well
defined and implemented accordingly.

11
 According to L. Griffin and T. Clarke factors that seems to be critical to successful
employer branding, are (Griffin & Clarke, 2008, pp. 2–3):

A. Definition – to be successful with employer branding, a company must first

understand what it means, and what its current and aspirational brand is.
B. Execution – includes activities such as: developing a plan, securing resources and
working the plan.
C. Engagement – the brand of the organization is resonating among its current
employees, when they report the company as a great place to work, they are
recruiting employees for the organization and they can point to the attributes that
make the organization an employer of choice.
D. Achievement – it is necessary to give an answer to the question of whether the
employer branding pays off as regard concrete organization.

Signaling theory

All organizational activities are perceived as signals sent by the organization. During job-seeking
processes, potential employees need the organization to signal its characteristics as an employer,
to bridge asymmetries in information (i.e., the potential employer knows more than the potential
employee). The potential employees can use this information to form their opinions about what it
would be like to work for that organization (Greening & Turban, 2000; Celani & Singh, 2011).
According to signaling theory, integrating Sustainable HRM into the employer brand thus might
be a promising approach to position the employer in the labor market and enhance employer
attractiveness. By communicating Sustainable HRM, the firm enables potential employees to
interpret the signal of a substance-oriented understanding of the employment relationship. In turn,
more high-quality employees are likely to perceive the firm as a great place to work. Therefore,
we propose that integrating Sustainable HRM into the employer brand leads to sustained
competitive advantage

12
Social Identity theory

Social identity theory indicates that a person’s self-concept depends on their membership in
different social organizations (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). An employee’s selfconcept is strongly
influenced by the image and reputation of the employing organization (Greening & Turban, 2000).
Employees can enhance their self-concept by comparing their organization against other, less
favorable organizations. Therefore, an organization’s positive image and reputation contribute to
individual self-concepts (Ashforth & Mael, 1989; Mael & Ashforth, 1992; Backhaus & Tikoo,
2004; Lievens et al., 2007). In particular, employees can use the employer brand to compare
organizations, in which case the employer brand affects their self-concepts. Because Sustainable
HRM should add value for employees and thus contribute to the individual self-concept,
organizations should integrate Sustainable HRM into their employer brand. Such an integration
also should enable organizations to positively differentiate themselves from competitors, which
further enhances an employee’s self-concept. High-quality employees should be attracted to and
retained by the firm, which means that integrating Sustainable HRM into the employer brand can
lead to a sustained competitive advantage. These arguments lead to our next proposition

Person organization fit

Person–organization fit might help explain the effect of Sustainable HRM within the employer
brand; it proposes that job seekers match their personal characteristics and values with the
organization’s culture and identity to achieve congruence or a best possible fit (Cable & Judge,
1996 Cable & DeRue, 2002). If an individual perceives fit with the organization, they are more
likely to pursue employment there. We assume that employees are interested in preserving their
personal resources (such as their employability or health) and therefore prefer to be treated
according to a substance-oriented understanding of Sustainable HRM. Integrating Sustainable
HRM might enable organizations to achieve congruence for both potential and existing employees
with the organization. Furthermore, CSP literature suggests that person– organization fit is
particularly pertinent for high-quality employees, because they tend to value these less material
benefits (Albinger & Freeman, 2000). The overlaps between CSP and Sustainable HRM suggest
similar effects in our setting, namely, that in- tegrating Sustainable HRM into the employer brand
can lead to a sustained competitive advantage.

13
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN

14
15
 Ch – 3 Research Methodology

For the purpose of this study an exploratory research design was used. The purpose of
the research was to understand the employer branding from management student’s perspective.
Primary data was collected from the respondents through predesigned questionnaires.

The Chapters have been divided under following heads

 Research objective
 Research design
 Data collection
 Sample design
 Benefits of the study
 Limitations of the study

Research objective
 To identify the attributes of the organizations that are most significant in attracting
business students
 To study the important factors affecting employer branding
 To provide a framework for organizational recruitment planning

Research design
For the purpose of this research the descriptive research design was used and
a Questionnaire was used to achieve the objectives of the research.
As the questionnaire is predesigned it was modified into easy language for the better
understanding of the students.
The questionnaire was designed by Berthorn also known as Employee Attractiveness
Scale.

16
Data collection
To meet the objectives of the study, primary data was collected through
predesigned questionnaire. Various studies were reviewed to have understanding about various
parameters to be included in questionnaires and were designed to collect information from the
respondents. Respondents were asked various scale based questions. For scale based questions,
respondents were given a scale from not important to extremely important. Before filling the
questionnaire, main objective of the research was explained.

Primary data : Survey of students

Secondary data : Government websites, articles from certified sources, magazines,journals etc
Tool for data collection : Questionnaire

Sample design
Sampling Method : Convenience sampling
Sample size : 127

Benefits of the study

 This study will be useful to the students for doing further research in same area as
secondary data.
 This study will be helpful to me in developing my overall skills and knowledge.
 This study will provide me more knowledge in area of human resources

Limitations of the study

1. Lack of expertise and professionalism
2. Less number of sources
3. Primary information provided by respondents may not be completely true.

17
 CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

18
19
 Ch – 4 Data Analysis & Interpretation

1) Age Detailes :
Particulars Frequency Percentage
21 years 17 13.38
22 years 48 37.79
23 years 33 25.98
24 years 17 13.38
25 years 9 7.08
26 years 3 2.36
127 100

(Table 4.1)

AGE
5 6
1
7%
2 14

4
13

2
38
3
26

Interpretation
The highest number of responses are from 22 years old and the lowest number of
responses are from 26 years.

20
 2) Gender details :

Particulars Frequency Percentage

Male 84 34%
Female 43 66%
Total 127 100

(Table 4.2)

Femal
e
34%

Male
66
%

Interpretation
 The result shows that the numbers of male in the total sample was 83 and the numbers of
female was 43.

21
 3) How was your upbringing?

Particulars Frequency Percentage

Urban 102 80%
Rural 25 20%
Total 127 100

(Table 4.3)

Rura
l
20%

Urba
n
80%

Interpretation
 The result shows that the numbers of people who brought up in urban area of the total
sample was 102 and the numbers of people who brought up in rural area of the total
sample was 25.

22
 4) Recognition from Management

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not Important slightly Moderately Very Extremely
important important important important

Interpretation : The recognition of management is extremely important for highest 42

candidates and slightly important for lowest 6 candidates.

5) A fun working environment

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Very important
importan important important

Interpretation : The fun working environment is extremely important for highest 40 candidates
and slightly important for lowest 6 candidates.

23
 6) Provides opportunity for better jobs in future

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Very important
importan important important

Interpretation : The opportunity for better jobs in future is extremely important for highest 39
candidates and slightly important for lowest 6 candidates.

7) Feeling good about yourself as a result of working for the organization

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not Important slightly Moderately Very
Extremely important important
important important

Interpretation : The feeling good about yourself as a result of working for the organization
very important for highest 44 candidates and slightly important for lowest 7 candidates

24
8) Feeling more self - confident as a result of working for the organization

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not Important slightly Moderately Very important
Extremely important
important important

Interpretation : The factor of feeling self confident as a result of working for the
organization is very important for highest 47 candidates and slightly important for lowest 5
candidates

9) Gaining experience that will help your career

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Very important
importan important important

Interpretation : The factor of gaining experience that will help your career is very important
for highest 43 candidates and slightly important for lowest 3 candidate

25
10) Having good relations with your superior

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Very
Extremely Important important
important important important

Interpretation : The factor of having good relations with your superior is extremely
important for highest 43 candidates and slightly important for lowest 8 candidate

11) Having good relationship with your colleagues

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Very
Extremely Important important
important important important

Interpretation The factor of having good relations with your collegues is extremely
important for highest 43 candidates and not important for lowest 9 candidate

26
12) Supportive colleagues

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Not slightly Moderately Very important

importan important important

Interpretation The factor of having supportive collegues is extremely important for highest
44 candidates and not important for lowest 3 candidate

13) Working in exciting environment

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Not Important slightly Moderately Very important

important Extremely

Interpretation The factor of working in exciting environment is very important for highest
40 candidates and not important for lowest 6 candidate

27
14) Innovative employer - new work practices and ideas

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
Not Important slightly Moderately Very
Extremely important important
important important

Interpretation The factor of having innovative employer is very important for highest 49
candidates and not important for lowest 5 candidate

15) The organization produces high quality products and services

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not Important slightly Moderately Very
Extremely important important
important important

Interpretation The factor of organization producing high quality products and services is
very important for highest 42 candidates and not important for lowest 6 candidates.

28
16) Socially responsible organization

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not Important slightly Moderately Very Extremely
important important important important

Interpretation The factor of having socially responsible organization is extremely important

for highest 44 candidates and not important for lowest 5 candidates

17) Opportunity to apply what was learned at university

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Very
Extremely Important important
important important important

Interpretation The factor of having opportunity to apply what was learned at university is
very important for highest 43 candidates and not important for lowest 8 candidate

29
18) Acceptance and belonging

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Very
Extremely Important important
important important important

Interpretation The factor of having feeling of acceptance and belonging is very important
for highest 38 candidates and not important for lowest 9 candidate

19) The organization is customer oriented

60

50

40

30

20

10

Not slightly Moderately Extremel

Importan important important important y

Interpretation The factor of having customer oriented organization is extremely important

for highest 48 candidates and not important for lowest 5 candidates

30
20) Job security within the organization

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Not slightly Moderately Extremel

Importan important important important y

Interpretation The factor of having job security within the organization is very important
for highest 44 candidates and not important for lowest 7 candidates

21) Can gain experience in a range of departments

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Not slightly Moderately Extremel

Importan important important important y

Interpretation The factor of having able to gain experience in range of departments is

extremely important for highest 45 candidates and not important for lowest 5 candidates

31
22) An above average basic salary

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Extremel
Importan important important important y

Interpretation The factor of having an above average salary is extremely important for
highest 37 candidates and not important for lowest 9 candidates

23) A profitable organization

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Extremel
Importan important important important y

Interpretation The factor of having a profitable organization is very important for highest
40 candidates and not important for lowest 10 candidates

32
24) A large company

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Very
Extremely Important important
important important important

Interpretation The factor of having a large company is not important for highest 37
candidates and moderately important for lowest 14 candidates

25) A company is well known through media exposure

50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Not slightly Moderately Very

Important important important important important

Interpretation The factor of having a company that is well known through media exposure
is very important for highest 45 candidates and not important for lowest 8 candidates

33
26) The type of product produced by the organization

35

30

25

20

15

10

Not slightly Very Extremely

Importan important important important important

Interpretation The factor of type of product produced by company is not important for
highest 33 candidates and Extremely important for lowest 15 candidates

27) The quality of management

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not slightly Moderately Very
Extremely Important important
important important important

Interpretation The factor of quality of management of a company is extremely important for

highest 38 candidates and slightly important for lowest 6 candidates

34
28) The organization is known for honesty and fairness

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not Important slightly Moderately Very
Extremely important important
important important

Interpretation The factor of working in a company that is known for honesty and fairness is
extremely important for highest 38 candidates and slightly important for lowest 6 candidates

35
 Importance of factors while deciding future employer.

Particulars Not slightly Moderately Very Extremely

Important important important important important

Recognition from Management 10 6 31 38 42

A fun working environment 10 6 25 43 40

Provides opportunity for better jobs
in future 11 6 30 37 39
Feeling good about yourself as a
result of working for the
organization 9 7 31 44 33
Feeling more self - confident as a
result of working for the
organization 9 5 15 47 47
Gaining experience that will help
your career 9 3 30 41 40
Having good relations with your
superior 7 8 25 41 43
Having good relationship with your
colleagues 8 9 21 43 43

Supportive colleagues 3 8 29 39 44

Working in exciting environment 6 9 31 40 38

Innovative employer - new work

practices and ideas 5 10 18 49 42
The organization produces high
quality products and services 6 15 26 42 35

Socially responsible organization 5 10 22 42 44

Opportunity to apply what was

learned at university 8 12 21 43 40

Acceptance and belonging 9 12 27 38 38

The organization is customer
oriented 5 13 16 42 48
Job security within the organization
7 11 21 44 40

36
Can gain experience in a range of
departments 5 12 18 44 45
An above average basic salary
9 16 25 36 37
A profitable organization
10 14 28 40 31
A large company
37 26 14 22 15
A company is well known through
media exposure 8 15 22 45 34

The type of product produced by

the organization 33 27 23 26 15
The quality of management
13 15 24 40 32
The Oraganization is known for its
safety & honesty 7 13 33 43 28

(Table 4.4)

Interpretation
In the table given above in the particulars column there are factors which were given to
candidates in questionnaire while deciding future employer. The rating of candidates are shown
in the table. The range was decided for importance of factors and from that the most preferred
and least preferred factor were taken into account.

Most Preferred Least preferred

Recognition from Management The quality of management

Feeling more self - confident as a result of working for A profitable organization

the organization
The organization is customer oriented The Type of product produced by the organization

Can gain experience in a range of departments A Large company

Socially responsible organization The organization is customer oriented

(Table 4.5)

37
 CHAPTER 5

RESULTS AND FINDINGS

38
39
 Ch-5 Results and Findings

This study was attempted to investigate the perspectives of business students towards employer
branding.
The 26 items were used in a trial of the EmpAt scale administered to the final year business
students at an Australian university and the results are included as a comparison. It should be noted
that the terminology of some questions was changed to make them more easily understood by
students, many of whom come from a background where English is not used in everyday parlance.
The results of most preferred and least preferred factors are almost same except 3 factors.
 Innovative employer
 Applying university knowledge
 Fun working environment
These three factors are least preferred factors as per the study on Australian students but here these
three factors are among most preferred factors
One factor that is commonly least preferred in both studies are,
 Customer oriented organization.

It is also seen that, the gender and the upbringing does not affect these students perspective as the
results were same.
 The difference between the results of male and female candidates were a little only as the
correlation coefficient was 0.927. So it can be said that the gender does not affect the
perspectives of business students while choosing future employer.

40
 CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION

41
42
43
 Ch-6 Conclusion

This study has thrown light on the preferred employer attributes of graduating business degree students
through the use of a modified version of the Australian-developed EmpAt scale.

Demographic changes in many countries together with an ever-increasing competitive business

environment will necessitate greater attention by companies of all types towards attracting the most suitable
employees required for organizational success. A greater understanding of what factors influence the
employment preferences of job applicants is a fundamental and necessary prerequisite for both a
recruitment strategy and the development of an employer brand. There is little academic research to support.
This study has presented a profile of the employer attributes that attract business graduate students. A viable
measurement mechanism has been identified and tested, and relevant influencing factors and segmentation
variables investigated. From this basis, it should now be possible to extend the research based on the
following four sectors,

1. Students from a wider range of courses and universities

2. Experienced employees
3. Middle and upper-level managers and executives
4. Human resource management personnel, in relation to what attributes they believe their
organization has, to attract new employees. This could be compared with the perceptions of job
seekers.

In all instances some modification to the questionnaire items would be required. A longitudinal study of
changing perceptions of job seekers in relation to their preferred employer attributes, both general and
related to specific industries and organizations, may also reveal trends at both a macro and micro level.

44
 Bibliography

1. Ambler T and Barrow S (1996), “The Employer Brand”, The Journal of Brand
Management
2. Backhaus K and Tikoo S (2004), “Conceptualising and Researching Employer Branding”,
Career Development International
3. Ambler T and Barrow S (1996), “The Employer Brand”, The Journal of Brand
Management
4. Backhaus K and Tikoo S (2004), “Conceptualising and Researching Employer Branding”,
Career Development International
5. Davies G J (2008), “Employer Branding and Its Influence on Managers”, European Journal
of Marketing
6. Collins J (2001), Good to Great, Random House, London
7. Hieronimus F, Schaefer K and Schroder J (2005), “Using Branding to Attract Talent”,
McKinsey Quarterly
8. Johnson M and Roberts P (2006), “Rules of Attraction: Recruit and Retain the Best Staff
with Employer Branding”, Marketing Health Services.
9. Lloyd S (2002), “Branding from the Inside Out”, Management Journal
10. Meglino B M and Ravlin E (1999), When are Realistic Job Previews Most Effective,
Academy of Management, Chicago, Illinois.

45
 Annexure

Questionnaire

Hello Management Students,

My name is Shachi Sutariya. I am pursuing MBA from Department of Business & Industrial
Management,VNSGU. I request you to fill out this survey form which will only take your few
minutes. The topic is “Business students perspective towards Employer Branding”. .The
responses are anonymous, and the response data will be used for management research paper for
the DBIM. If you have any questions, please sent an email to sshachi163@[Link]

1) Age :
2) Gender :
 Male
 Female
3) How was your upbringing?
 Urban
 Rural
4) How important are the following to you when considering potential employers?
Not Slightly Moderatel Very Extremel
important important y important y
important important
Recognition/appreciation from
management
A fun working environment
Provides opportunity for better jobs in
the future
Feeling good about yourself as a result
of working for the organization
Feeling more self-confident as a result
of working for the organization
Gaining experience that will help your
career
Having a good relationship with your
superiors

46
Having a good relationship with your
colleagues
Supportive and encouraging colleagues
Working in an exciting environment
Innovative employer—new work
practices and ideas
The organization values and makes use
of your creativity
The organization produces high quality
products and services
Good promotion opportunities within
the organization
Socially responsible organization
Opportunity to apply what was learned
at university
Acceptance and belonging
The organization is customer-oriented
Job security within the organization
Can gain experience in a range of
departments
An above average basic salary
A very profitable organization
A large company
Company is well-known through
advertising and media exposure
The type of product and/or service
produced by the organization
The quality of the management
The organization is known for its
honesty and fairness

47
Thank You

48