Applying employer brand management to employee engagement

Published date19 April 2011
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/14754391111121874
Date19 April 2011
Pages19-26
AuthorBernard Kunerth,Richard Mosley
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour
Applying employer brand management to
employee engagement
Bernard Kunerth and Richard Mosley
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the degree to which employer brand management is being
deployed to support internal employee engagement, in addition to its more common application in
external image building and talent acquisition.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents findings from an international benchmark
survey conducted among 104 companies actively involved in employer brand development, alongside
a more detailed examination of the development process and measures of success applied by one of
the benchmark participants, Coca-Cola Hellenic.
Findings – This paper demonstrates a trend towards organizations taking a more integrated
internal/external approach to employer brand development and management, with practical case study
material detailing how a major European soft drinks company,Coca-Cola Hellenic, created an employee
value proposition that could provide a central reference point for both its employee engagement
strategy and recruitment communication.
Practical implications Employer brand theory and practice have evolved significantly over the last
ten years. From a discipline largely limited to the resourcing outskirts of human resources (HR), it has
increasingly become a more strategic focus of attention for general HR management, with a particular
focus on its potential ability to help align people management process and practice and drive employee
engagement. This paper provides evidence that taking a more integratedapproach to employer brand
management may represent a significant opportunity to enhance overall levels of internal engagement,
in addition to promoting an employer’s external reputation.
Originality/value – According to new research, organizations are increasingly using their employer
brand to shape their overall people management strategy and not simply for external recruitment
purposes. Drawing on a benchmark survey of recent and emerging employer brand practice, and a
more detailed examination of the integrated approach to employer brand development taken by
Coca-Cola Hellenic, the paper presents the case for extending the application of employer brand
practice beyond the confines of external recruitment.
Keywords Brand management, Employee involvement, Human resource management
Paper type Case study
The first academic research on the subject of employer brand management,
conducted by People in Business and the London Business School, was published in
the Journal of Brand Management in 1996 (Ambler and Barrow, 1996). In this
founding study, the term ‘‘employer brand’’ was defined as ‘‘the package of functional,
economic and psychological benefits provided by employment, and identified with the
employing company.’’ While this paper laid the foundation for a fully integrated marketing
and HR approach to managing both the external and internal dimensions of employer brand
experience, subsequent literature on the subject suggests that only a small number of
pioneering companies, like Phillips and Tesco, appear to have extended their application of
the concept beyond external recruitment ‘‘branding’’ over the following ten years (van
Leeuwen et al., 2005; Barrow and Mosley, 2005).
DOI 10.1108/14754391111121874 VOL. 10 NO. 3 2011, pp. 19-26, QEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398
j
STRATEGIC HR REVIEW
j
PAGE 19
Bernard Kunerth is Chief
HR Officer at Coca-Cola
Hellenic, Athens, Greece.
Richard Mosley is Global
SVP, Employer Brand
Consulting, TMP
Worldwide, New York, New
York, USA, and People in
Business, London, UK.

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