Is There a Correlation for Companies With a Strong Employment Brand Between Employee Engagement Levels and Bottom Line Results?

Abstract

The concept of employer brand was first introduced in 1996, where the authors defined “employer brand” as “the package of functional, economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the employing company” (Amber & Barrow, 1996). Initial application of employer brand in human resource management focused heavily on attracting and recruiting talents; However, a recent survey by People in Business Co. found that 42% of the 104 survey participants (organizations that are currently developing employer brands) focus as much internal as external (People in Business, 2010). Employer brand is recognized as a powerful tool to help employees to internalize corporate values (The Conference Board, 2001), to shape corporate culture (Backhaus & Tikoo, 2004), to engage employees, and to align talent management with business strategies (Kunerth & Mosley, 2011). SHRM’s survey in 2008 found that 61% of surveyed companies have had an employer brand, and that 25% were either developing or planning to do so within the next 12 months (SHRM, 2008).