The significance of employer branding has grown enormously in recent years. Employer branding is somewhat like a magnifying glass on a company's everyday actions, as the image is formed in every interaction with the company. Most importantly, however, is how companies treat both their job seekers and their employees.
The best talents can afford to choose, and they carefully research what kind of brand a company represents. This can be a "make it or break it" moment for them. If a company succeeds in its outward communication and appears as a responsible employer, it is more likely to also succeed in attracting more high-quality applicants.
How has our customer VTT succeeded in building an employer brand and attracting the right talent? Find out by continuing to read.
VTT's New Employer Branding Strategy Started with a Brand Renewal
"VTT is a visionary research, development, and innovation partner and one of Europe's leading research institutions. Our mission is to promote the utilization and commercialization of research and technology in business and society. We seek solutions to global challenges, such as climate change and resource sufficiency, and translate them through technology and science into sustainable growth for businesses and society."
In January 2021, we welcomed VTT's Chief Human Resources Officer Kirsi Nuotto as a guest to our webinar to talk about their employer branding strategy. VTT employs over 2,100 employees and has projects worldwide. They hire approximately 250–300 employees annually, of which around 60 are from abroad.
VTT's current employer branding strategy was based on VTT's brand renewal, through which the company's brand promise became 'Beyond the obvious' and its purpose was defined as 'We bring together people, business, science and technology, TO SOLVE THE WORLD'S BIGGEST CHALLENGES, creating sustainable growth, jobs and wellbeing.'
VTT's Employer Value Proposition (EVP) was formulated on this basis as follows:
- "Make an impact for a brighter future."
- "Encouraging and inspiring community of brilliant minds."
- "Wellbeing at the core."
Candidate Experience at the Heart of Recruitment Process Renewal
Simultaneously with formulating the employer value proposition, VTT decided to break down its entire recruitment process to its core elements and thoroughly reviewed its entire recruitment service model, investigating who is typically sought, for which roles, using which channels, and how best to develop the recruitment service model so that it optimally supports both hiring managers and applicants, enabling a good candidate experience. The renewal of the recruitment process involved VTT's five-person recruitment team as well as VTT's own service design team.
Marketing and communications continuously support the building of VTT's employer brand. In addition, researchers and other experts are actively consulted to ensure, for example, that new employees are being sought with the right criteria and that VTT is described authentically to applicants.
VTT searches for employees internationally, as talent can be found anywhere in the world. They have many specialized roles, such as the very topical work of a coronavirus researcher. When there may be only five such experts in the entire world, simply posting on domestic channels is not always enough. For this reason, VTT also makes extensive use of LinkedIn and referrals in its recruitment work.
Improving the candidate experience has been one of the most central areas in VTT's recruitment process renewal, and for this reason VTT adopted TalentAdore's modern recruitment system. TalentAdore has given VTT the opportunity to communicate about the company externally in a more creative way, monitor the entire recruitment process efficiently, and improve both the candidate and hiring manager experience.
At VTT, every contact with a candidate is truly important – whether it is a message, a phone call, or an interview. Communicating recruitment decisions is a particularly critical moment, and it is important to VTT to convey to the applicant that even if now was not the right time to hire someone, it may be in the future.
VTT's Recruitment Highlights
Developing recruitment and candidate experience is an ongoing process. For this reason, VTT regularly reviews feedback within the team to know what still needs to be improved.
The new recruitment service model has now been in use at VTT for one year. Recruitment highlights in 2020 included improved candidate experience, growth in application numbers, high satisfaction among hiring managers, and optimized recruitment marketing. In more detail:
- The average candidate experience score was excellent (4.4 / 5)
- The number of applications grew from the previous year's average of 30 applications per position to 50 applications per position
- High hiring manager satisfaction was achieved, among other things, through the launch of the new recruitment service model and internal recruitment services (direct search and candidate assessments)
- Recruitment marketing channels were optimized for each target group, leading to higher quality applications and lower costs
- A 7% lower turnover rate among new employees reflects, in part, the improved quality of recruitment decisions