When competing to attract qualified employees, companies are increasingly bringing social media into the mix, particularly as a way of targeting students. According to a study conducted by the University of Liechtenstein, these communication channels could be used even more successfully for employer branding.
When competing to attract qualified employees, companies are increasingly bringing social media into the mix, particularly as a way of targeting students. According to a study conducted by the University of Liechtenstein, these communication channels could be used even more successfully for employer branding.
The aim of employer branding activities is for companies to be seen as attractive employers in the battle to recruit young graduates in particular. However, such efforts in social media are not as successful as they could be. According to a study by the Wiesbaden Business School, the magazine Personalwirtschaft and the recruitment consultant website Talential.com, only nine per cent of employer branding activities in social media actually reach the desired target group.
A recently published research study conducted by the University of Liechtenstein focused on the reasons behind this and how such activities could be improved. Dr. Susanne Durst, assistant professor at the Chair in International Management, and Master’s student Christoph Hinteregger led the study, which asked 214 business administration students from the University of Liechtenstein and the Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences to rate the effectiveness of social media in relation to employer branding activities.
From reluctant to very keen
One of the key questions in the survey related to sources of information. Where do students find out about potential employers? An analysis of the responses clearly revealed that a student’s job status has a significant influence on their choice of information source.
The three categories, “employed”, “not in employment” and “looking for work” play a crucial role in the usage patterns of the students taking part in the study. Students who are employed were very reluctant (16 per cent) to consult social media before commencing their current job. This is partly due to the fact that social media were not actively developed during their job search, or were not widely known about. Students looking for work, on the other hand, use social media much more intensively, with just under 50 per cent referring to them as a source of information, and 60 per cent of students who were not pursuing a job or looking for work said that they would use social media in future to obtain information. Among all students who use social media as a source of information, Facebook is the number one choice, ahead of Xing.
As reasons for the low levels of social media use in some cases, students cited doubts about the credibility of content published by companies via social media and the fact that they would only use social media for private purposes. Many also believe that social media offer hardly any information of relevance.
One clear finding from the study is that all students – whether employed, looking for work or not in employment – continue to refer primarily to corporate websites and private and professional contacts ahead of magazines, daily newspapers, job portals and social media as sources of information.
Feel-good factor a plus point
The second topic of the study focused on the question of what makes an attractive employer. At the top of the students’ wish lists were the feel-good factor, enjoying going to work and the opportunity to gain career-enhancing experience. Good relationships with colleagues and line managers were also cited as important employer qualities.
At the same time, students have very specific expectations regarding the content provided by employers via social media, and these do not correspond to the list of most attractive employer qualities. Employers should only offer information when it is a question of wanting to gain career-enhancing experience and wanting to be promoted in a company. Otherwise, information is expected on the company’s corporate social responsibility activities, quality, innovation and the type of product or service the company offers. Students are also keen to know whether the company employs innovative ways of working and ideas.
The need to be versatile
The study’s authors believe the survey results have various consequences for employer branding activities. On the one hand it reveals that social media continue to play a subordinate role as an information source in this field, as people still tend to resort to the traditional channels first. There is a trend towards social media, however, so things need to start moving in this direction.
Experts recommend that fundamentally, companies should not limit themselves to individual factors when it comes to their external image, but should instead aim to create a “coherent overall picture”, since all of the top employer qualities were rated almost equally by the students participating in the study.
Companies should present themselves authentically and credibly on social media, preferably by using their employees as ambassadors and by getting management involved too. For example, films can be posted on YouTube showing everyday life at a company, or employer information can be provided through a Facebook fan page.
According to experts, the need for social interaction should also be met, for instance with applicant chats or other types of interaction. Interaction is also needed on the company’s website in particular.
The authors of the study from the University of Liechtenstein:
Dr. Susanne Durst, assistant professor at the Chair in International Management, and Master’s student Christoph Hinteregger.