Employer branding for Gen Z: Here is how to develop and strengthen your employer brand

Definition, targets, strategy and proactive development of measures. We show you how to set up and direct your employer branding to reach Generation Z and retain them as employees. 

A recent Adobe survey of 5,500 workers found that 56% of Gen Z ages 18–24 say they are planning to switch jobs in the next year. In particular, Generation Z tends to change employer every two years or so. The solution: having effective employer branding helps companies gain the right students and recent graduates and retain them as employees. 

To survive in the War for Talents and in the face of a shortage of skilled staff, companies need to work on how and where they position their employer brand. This article aims to highlight how you can build your employer brand and how you can strengthen it. And in particular how you can create a long-term bond with employees from Gen Z. 

• What is employer branding?
• What is the difference between employer branding and personnel marketing?
• What are the aims and objectives of employer branding?
• How do I develop my own employer brand?
• How do I construct a successful employer branding campaign?
• What is internal employer branding? 

What is employer branding? 

An employer brand defines how your employees or competitors perceive your company. Strategic measures that help to position your company as an attractive employer for current employees or applicants are called employer branding. 

All of the experience and interactions that a person gains in association with your company count towards this notion of external perception. Many aspects and factors can play a role in this. For example, the advertising of job vacancies, social networks, careers sites or employer evaluations. 

Through employer branding, you therefore build up and develop the reputation of your company. Especially at the present time, in which active discussions take place over various digital channels and on social media, all outside your own direct control, employer branding should become one of the most important elements of your recruiting efforts. 

What is the difference between employer branding and personnel marketing?

Often the phrases employer branding and personnel marketing are used as synonyms, but they do not actually mean the same thing. Employer branding is a strategic tool. Personnel marketing is an operational one. In other words,  employer branding deals in particular with the message that you want to communicate to (potential) employees to persuade them that they should join your company. Personnel marketing however ‘only’ deals with the measures you employ to make contact with candidates and communicate with them. With employer branding you lay the groundwork for whom you want to reach in future and where, how and with which message you reach them with your personnel marketing. 

What are the aims and objectives of employer branding? 

There are two main objectives in employer branding: Gaining & retaining employees. 

Goal 1 Gaining employees 

What sets my company apart from others? Why is a candidate more likely to choose me, rather than my competitors? In the process of gaining employees, the employer brand should be positioned attractively through employer branding to appeal to potential applicants. Here, a distinction must be made between measures aimed at Young Professionals or at Seniors. 

Goal 2 Retaining employees

Employer branding is not only relevant to the recruiting process, but also to gaining the loyalty of and retaining existing employees. You should therefore have internal as well as external employer branding measures. This enables you to contribute to the satisfaction, and therefore the loyalty, of your employees. This, in turn, has a positive impact on the way you are perceived externally as an employer. 

How do I develop my own employer brand?

To develop and continue to build upon your own employer brand, you need a well thought-out strategy and a concept for a properly constructed employer branding process. After all, building an employer brand is a marathon, not a sprint. Isolated measures do not deliver the stamina needed and contribute little towards a long-term change in the overall impression made by your company on an external audience.  

The first thing to do when devising your employer branding strategy is to analyse your employer brand. As perceived from inside your company as well as from outside. The following questions may assist you with this: 

• What are the characteristic features of my employer brand?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses?
• What are the needs and requirements of potential employees?

Next, you should devise your actual employer branding strategy. Here the employer brand should be enriched with personnel-specific aspects and should be fine-tuned to reflect the needs of potential employees. The important thing is to come up with a clear message that answers the following question: Why should applicants choose my company over all other contenders to be their employer? The strategy you devise should be closely related to your own target group. 

If you want to reach Generation Z, it may for example be advisable to position yourself as a helpful guide. If you support potential applicants from this generation with appropriate content to help them navigate the job market, you will be perceived as a considerate employer, and as one who looks after its employees. An appropriate employer branding measure for Gen Z takes the form of university recruiting. It is especially during this phase that many students are still on the look-out – for information, guidance and prospects. In addition, you are moving within an environment that is familiar to those students, and in which they feel comfortable. Which makes it easier for you to get into dialogue with these talented young people. Moreover,  in this way, you are positioning yourself at an early stage as an attractive employer and can place your clear employer message at the self-same point where you want to attract these students and recent graduates. 

There are tools that can assist you in this endeavour. With the employer branding profile from JobTeaser, you can, for example, place your employer brand on the intranet of up to 700 schools and universities. This gives students all the information about you as an employer at a single location, all arranged clearly, e.g. job vacancies and recruitment events. We have produced a free guide containing a summary of all the other options available with tips for recruiting at schools and universities.

Based on your strategy, you can also devise an employer branding concept in which you define the precise measures you want to employ to position yourself as an employer.

Tips and tricks to create the perfect employer branding strategy

How do I construct a successful employer branding campaign?

Once you have devised a strategy and perhaps even an initial concept for possible action to take, you can then progress to your first employer branding campaign. Here too, the aim is to focus very accurately on the people you want to reach. There is a difference between devising employer branding as an SME or as a start-up because the messages will likely differ substantially. As such, the mix of appropriate measures and the timing of your campaign will also be different. 

If your recruitment campaign aims to appeal to Gen Z, you should definitely consider employer branding on social media. Alongside their own university, that is an environment in which Gen Z spends a large proportion of its time. The social networks therefore constitute an essential component. A good example of employer branding on TikTok is the Dortmund University Clinic. The personnel there take visitors into their working day and behind the scenes in an entertaining and somewhat unexpected manner. With resounding success. 

Internal employer branding should also form part of a successful strategy.

What is internal employer branding? 

Internal employer branding counts towards the second objective: that of retaining employees. Strategic measures should increase the satisfaction level of existing employees. After all, the more satisfied employees are, the more likely it is that they will stay with the company. Corporate Influencers are a good way of communicating this satisfaction in an authentic and transparent manner. Inwards as well as outwards, through various channels such as LinkedIn.

At times when there is an increasing shortage of skilled specialists and while the War for Talents rages on, potential employees no longer apply to companies. Instead, the reverse is now true. Effective employer branding helps you to be present in the right places and at the right time as an attractive employer. Provided that... you have understood the requirements of your potential applicants and employees and can direct your own clear employer messages at them. Then, with the right strategy and appropriate measures, you can gain suitable talent and retain it within your company on a long-term basis.