The Roles of Proactive Personality and Career Satisfaction in the Impact of Employer Brand Attributes Congruence on Creativity

Although the relationship between employer brand and employee creativity has become a popular theme, this nexus is indirect and ambiguous. Additionally, most studies ignore the consistency of instrumental and symbolic attributes when discussing the consequences of employer brand. This study explored the mechanism of employer brand attributes congruence on employee creativity through career satisfaction, and further revealed the moderating role of proactive personality. Based on the cue consistency theory and the social information processing theory, a polynomial regression model was created and a response surface analysis was conducted using 488 paired questionnaires. The results showed that employer brand attributes congruence impacted employee creativity via career satisfaction. A consistent employer brand strategy is more effective for the creativity of less proactive individuals, while a high-level proactive personality can compensate for the deficiencies of employer brand attributes incongruence. The results complemented employer brand research from the perspective of the instrumental-symbolic attribute configuration and provided supportive empirical evidence of employer brand practices aiming at improving employee creativity. This study has certain practical implications for HR practitioners.

What constitutes an employer of choice? A qualitative triangulation investigation

Employer of choice (EOC) is a relatively new phenomenon, particularly in Human Resources Management. Existing employees and prospective talent have reasons and expectations to designate an employer as an EOC. While EOC has received extensive attention from both academics and practitioners over the past few years, the work has mostly focused on managerial and marketing perspectives, and thus far lacks a strong theoretical foundation. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory (SET), based on Human Resources and employees' perceptions and experiences, this research aims to explore and investigate the factors that constitute/designate an employer as an Employer of Choice EOC. Two qualitative triangulated data sets were collected from existing full-time employees at a Saudi multinational corporation: open interviews and document analysis (cross-sectional and longitudinal). Thematic analysis (TA) was employed to analyze both methods. The findings reveal that company image, training, and development, satisfaction, involvement and commitment, fairness, work culture, reward, opportunities for growth, teamwork, motivation, and corporate social responsibility are the factors that lead employees to designate an employer as an EOC. This research contributes to knowledge conceptually, theoretically, and empirically, mainly in the area of Human Resources Management. This research represents one of the first studies to empirically identify and investigate employee-related factors and evaluate them all together in a multinational Saudi organization. Recognizing the findings of this empirical-based research assists HR managers in designating their organizations as an EOC for current employees and prospective talents.

Living the employer brand during a crisis? A qualitative study on internal employer branding in times of the COVID-19 pandemic

Employer branding has emerged as a strategic imperative in the quest for talent. However, existing research has predominantly explored stable periods, overlooking the possible transformative impact of crises and the crucial role that HR managers play in crafting internal employer branding strategies. As such, this research addresses this by scrutinizing internal employer branding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducting in-depth interviews with 37 Belgian HR managers, we delve into the perceived challenges and opportunities that the COVID-19 crisis presented with respect to internal employer branding and its touchpoints-internal communication and leadership. A subsequent member and employee check with six HR managers and six employees validated our findings. The results unveiled organizations' heightened concern for employer branding during crises, emphasizing the strategic reflection invested. Remarkably, despite facing organizational/operational constraints/risks imposed by the crisis, the attention and efforts remain steadfastly centered on the experienced internal employer brand in crisis situations. Additionally, a contextual analysis suggests that various employer brand types face similar challenges in crises, however, the employer brand serves as a defining factor that shapes how an organization responds to both external uncertainties and internal dynamics brought about by the crisis. This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of internal employer branding dynamics during crises, shedding light on the strategic considerations of HR managers.

Employer branding, organization's image and reputation, and intention to apply: the moderating role of the availability of organizational information on social media

The topics of employer branding and organization's image and reputation have been well-researched in the literature. However, most empirical studies were conducted in Europe, Australia, or the United States, but very few were conducted in Asia, especially in Vietnam. In addition, the interaction of image and reputation with the availability of information on social media is poorly understood. Using signaling theory for building a research model, we collected data from 206 Generation Z respondents from the logistics sector in Vietnam. Our findings show that (i) employer branding has positively and significantly related to an organization's image and reputation; (ii) the organization's image and reputation had a significant effect on job seekers' intention to apply; and (iii) the interaction of image and reputation with availability of information on social media to predict the job seeker's intention to apply. The paper also presented implications for both researchers and practitioners as well as recommendations for future research.

Agreeable Supervisors Promoting the Organization – Implications for Employee Commitment and Retention

Abstract. Through two studies, we examine the importance of supervisor promotion of the organization (SPO) for employee commitment and retention. Study 1 ( N = 910) found SPO to be distinguishable from supervisor’s organizational embodiment, perceived supervisor support, perceived organizational support, and supervisor vision and to interact with perceived supervisor agreeableness to predict employee affective commitment. Using time-lagged data, Study 2 ( N = 272) found SPO to be indirectly related to turnover via employee affective commitment and this relation to be stronger at high perceived supervisor agreeableness. These findings indicate that SPO can help reduce employee turnover but that organizations would be well advised to encourage supervisors to act agreeably with subordinates or hire and promote supervisors who do so.

The power of e-recruitment and employer branding on Indonesian millennials' intention to apply for a job

Companies need reliable employees to support their business. As e-grocery businesses in Indonesia continue to grow during the pandemic, various strategies are required to attract millennials. This study aims to prove the influence of employer branding, e-recruitment, and post-pandemic employee value proposition (radical flexibility, deeper connection, personal growth, and holistic well-being) in encouraging millennials to apply for jobs at e-grocery companies after the pandemic. Few e-grocery companies in Indonesia use employer branding and e-recruitment; this study attempts to combine these two variables to see the effect of their interaction on influencing greater millennial intentions. Using the latest experimental method, which is the experimental vignette method, we conducted three studies with a total of 619 millennial participants, who were recruited using the convenience sampling technique. All participants received a set of job advertisements as a stimulus. The results showed that e-recruitment could not significantly predict the millennials' intentions when applying for jobs in e-grocery companies. Companies in Indonesia may need to analyze millennials' familiarity with e-recruitment platforms, especially on company websites. However, employer branding successfully predicted millennials' intention to apply for a job in e-grocery companies, which was not affected by the length of their work experience. Employer branding serves as a means of building job seekers' trust through personal promotions. With this trust, job seekers are more motivated to apply to the company. When e-recruitment and employer branding were analyzed simultaneously, there were significant interactive effects on millennials' intentions. Employer branding acted as a socialization medium to introduce e-recruitment and vice versa. E-recruitment served as a form of branding that could shape the perceptions and experiences of millennial job seekers. Lastly, the employee value proposition significantly predicted millennials' intentions, where holistic well-being was the most sought-after value. It can support employees' well-being and encourage them to make valuable propositions that will make e-grocery companies excel in Indonesian labor market.

Strategic internal communication for effective internal employer branding

Purpose

Although internal communication is perceived as one of the crucial elements for favorable internal evaluation of an employer brand (EB), the importance of internal communication for EB advocacy has been insufficiently theoretically problematized and related empirical evidence is almost non-existent. In this paper, the relationship between employees' satisfaction with internal communication and their perceptions of their employers' attractiveness is explored.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire-based field research study was conducted on a sample of 3,457 Croatian employees. The Internal Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (ICSQ) (Tkalac Verčič et al., 2009) and the Employer Attractiveness (EmpAt) Scale (Berthon et al., 2005) were used for assessing internal communication satisfaction (ICS) and employer attractiveness (EA).

Findings

Findings reveal that respondents' overall satisfaction with internal communication in their organizations is significantly positively related with the overall attractiveness they assign to their employers, that all explored ICS dimensions are significant for the overall EA, and that each ICS dimension is significant for at least one EA dimension. The most relevant ICS dimensions for EA are “satisfaction with feedback” and “satisfaction with communication climate”.

Originality/value

A conducted large sample study is among the first quantitative empirical studies that proved that employees who are satisfied with internal communication are likely to see their employers as attractive. Moreover, findings point toward internal communication endeavors which add more value to developing an attractive internal EB.

Expanding branding: effects of multiple brand types on organizational attractiveness

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relative effects of three organizational brand types (product, employment and corporate social responsibility brands) on organizational attractiveness. The potential differences in the impacts exerted by each brand on organizational attractiveness between the US and Chinese job seekers are also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

A policy-capturing design was used among both US and Chinese participants to test the hypothesized relationships using multilevel modeling.

Findings

Results suggest that each brand type independently contributes to the prediction of attractiveness, with the employment brand a significantly stronger predictor than the other two. Besides, the strength of relationships between brands and organizational attractiveness varies among job seekers from different national contexts.

Originality/value

The findings contribute to the limited understanding of how different types of brands together influence organizational attractiveness among job seekers, and the role national context plays in it.

Work values across generations: Development of the New Work Values Scale (NWVS) and examination of generational differences

The “battle for talent” requires organizations to more strongly focus on employer branding strategies, and, thus, on work values or work orientations of potential candidates. We therefore developed and validated the New Work Values Scale (Study 1; n = 316), a brief, 28-item, rating scale that covers a broad set of both, instrumental and symbolic, values, relevant for the appraisal of an employers’ attractiveness. We also applied the scale to a sample representative to the German online population, to explore the controversially discussed generational differences in work values (Study 2; n = 956). Results revealed that work values associated with sustainable organizational development or basic needs were highly similar across generations. Younger and older generations only differed significantly with regard to how much they valued clarity, money, career, development, stimulation, and relating, all of which are highly plausible from a lifecycle perspective.

Brand orientation, employer branding and internal branding: Do they effect on recruitment during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Over the last twenty-five years, employer branding has been a subject of increasing attention among HRM scholars and practitioners. However, very limited research has explored the link between employer branding and HRM performance. To address the gap, in this study we explored how employer branding orientation impacted recruitment outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition we combined both the brand orientation and internal branding concepts to better empirically explain their impact on building employer brand orientation. Based on cross-sectional data collected from 233 companies operating on Russian labor market, we found the positive relationships between brand orientation and employer branding orientation, between employer branding orientation and the employer branding programs, which are positively related to recruitment outcomes. However, the moderating effect of internal branding was negative. We also found moderating effects of COVID-19 in the relationship between employer branding orientation, employer branding programs, and recruitment outcomes.

Occupation-specific recruitment: An empirical investigation on job seekers’ occupational (non-)fit, employer image, and employer attractiveness

Organizations may need to attract occupational groups they did not recruit so far to implement strategic changes (e.g., digital transformation). Against the backdrop of this practical problem, this study introduces and explores an occupation-based measure of person-organization fit: occupational fit. I investigate its relationship with employer attractiveness based on human capital theory and explore the role of employer image as a moderator in this relationship. I surveyed 153 software engineers and mechanical engineers to analyze whether their occupational fit with software engineering and mechanical engineering firms is related to employer attractiveness. I find that occupational fit is only related to a firm’s employer attractiveness among software engineers. Employer image does not moderate this relationship. A qualitative follow-up study proposes first explanations for the unexpected differences between the two occupations by indicating that occupations may differ in the logic they apply to determine fit and their degree of professionalization. The study contributes to research by highlighting the neglected role of occupation in recruitment research and exploring potential boundary conditions of recruitment for fit. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The Influence of Perceived External Prestige on Emotional Labor of Frontline Employees: The Mediating Roles of Organizational Identification and Impression Management Motive

Drawing on both the organization identification and impression management theories, we propose that perceived external prestige of frontline employees influences their emotional labor through organizational identification and impression management motive. Further, the relative influence of either pathway depends upon perceived organizational support. Using survey data from 377 frontline employees in 104 hotels, the results indicate that perceived external prestige is positively related to deep acting, and negatively related to surface acting. Organizational identification partially mediates the relationship between perceived external prestige and deep acting. However, the relationship between perceived external prestige and surface acting is partially mediated both by organizational identification and impression management motive. In addition, perceived organizational support positively moderates the relationship between perceived external prestige and organizational identification, and negatively moderates the relationship between perceived external prestige and impression management motive, respectively.

Response to a crisis and applicant attraction: Signaling employer brand personality and organizational trust through warm and competent COVID-19 responses

This paper investigates how organizations' response to a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic affects their employer attractiveness. Based on signaling theory, we argue that a COVID-19 response can signal an organization's employer brand personality, positively affecting applicant attraction. We conducted two experimental studies with employed and unemployed UK participants through Prolific Academic. Both studies indicate that a warm COVID-19 response leads to the highest employer attractiveness and job pursuit intentions, although a competent response was still more attractive than no response. Moreover, applicants use the warm and competent responses as signals of organizational warmth and competence respectively, building higher organizational trust. Limited support for the moderating role of applicants' personality was found. Implications during and beyond COVID-19 are discussed.

A critical assessment of employer branding to retain knowledgeable workforce: study on current employees of the information technology firms

Purpose

This study aims to explore and validate the antecedents of employer branding (EB) and assess their impact on EB measures taken by Indian information technology firms while promoting themselves as an employer of choice.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the method of content analysis of the EB literature published between 2010 and 2020, a total of 77 research articles that were published in various eminent sources, including papers 11 papers from Elsevier, 28 from Emerald, 12 from Taylor and Francis, 8 each from Wiley and Sage and finally 10 from Springer, were chosen for the final analysis. The results were confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modelling.

Findings

The analysis revealed the significant themes of the content: the primary antecedents of the EB, i.e. compensation and benefits, career opportunities, work–life balance, work environment and corporate social responsibility. The findings proposed that the employees working in the IT firms are more concerned about the compensation package, work–life balance and work environment. The study also suggested that employees love to work for organizations that benefit society and the environment.

Originality/value

The study emphasized the identification of the antecedents which are vital in impacting the organization’s EB strategy. The study suggested that corporate social responsibility, compensation and benefits and work–life balance are a few of the important antecedents that play a crucial role in engaging and retaining the existing talented employees in IT firms. Through the EB strategy, the firms can differentiate themselves from their competitors.

The March of Chatbots into Recruitment: Recruiters’ Experiences, Expectations, and Design Opportunities

Organizations’ hiring processes are increasingly shaped by various digital tools and e-recruitment systems. However, there is little understanding of the recruiters’ needs for and expectations towards new systems. This paper investigates recruitment chatbots as an emergent form of e-recruitment, offering a low-threshold channel for recruiter-applicant interaction. The rapid spread of chatbots and the casual nature of their user interfaces raise questions about the perceived benefits, risks, and suitable roles in this sensitive application area. To this end, we conducted 13 semi-structured interviews, including 11 interviews with people who are utilizing recruitment chatbots and two people from companies that are developing recruitment chatbots. The findings provide a qualitative account of their expectations and motivations, early experiences, and perceived opportunities regarding the current and future use of chatbots in recruitment. While chatbots answer the need for attracting new candidates, they have also introduced new challenges and work tasks for the recruiters. The paper offers considerations that can help to redesign recruitment bots from the recruiter’s viewpoint.

The relationship between employer branding, corporate reputation and intention to apply to a job offer

Purpose

Employer branding is a topic that has gained relevance in the organisational world. Currently, organisations need to differentiate themselves, and one of their biggest challenges is the search and retention of talent. One of the factors that have been associated with attracting talent is employer branding. However, studies that explore the relationship between this, corporate reputation and the intention to apply for a job are scarce. As such, this study aims to analyse the mediating role of corporate reputation in the relationship between employer branding and the intention to apply for a job offer.

Design/methodology/approach

To achieve the goals, data were collected from 225 Portuguese adults. The response rate was 75%. Based on a survey, respondents reported their perceptions of employer branding of a specific organisation, and they rated the organisation’s reputation and their intention to apply to that organisation.

Findings

The results showed that employer branding (interest value; social value; economic value; development value; application value) positively influenced an organisation’s corporate reputation, which, in turn, increased an individual’s intention to apply for an employment offer in that organisation.

Originality/value

The present study is a contribution to the literature on employer branding, as it reinforced the importance that employer branding and corporate reputation play in the intention of applying for a job offer.

The impact of LinkedIn posts on employer brand perception and the mediating effects of employer attractiveness and corporate reputation

Purpose

The aim of this study is to identify the relationship between employee-generated content (EGC) and firm-generated content (FGC) in the form of LinkedIn posts, employer brand perception, and the effect of employer's attractiveness and corporate reputation on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

This study comprises two phases. In phase 1, the focus was on stimuli selection through an online questionnaire on favourability. In phase 2, for the main study, data were gathered through an online survey from 214 information technology (IT) employees via a survey. Multiple linear regression and mediation analyses were conducted.

Findings

The results show that EGC and FGC have a positive influence on employer brand perception, and the relationship is positively mediated by employer attractiveness and corporate reputation. These findings suggest that organizations can strategically use their own as well as employees' LinkedIn accounts, and encourage employee advocacy initiatives to attract new talent, enhance attractiveness and corporate reputation.

Originality/value

The study covers two different categories of content – employer and employee-generated – and examines both content types' influence on employer brand perception. It adds to the body of literature regarding employee branding and paves the way for further research in employee advocacy.

Does electronic word-of-mouth influence e-recruitment adoption? A mediation analysis using the PLS-SEM approach

Purpose

E-recruiting has been a powerful tool for reaching the majority of job applicants around the world. Even though, previous literature has scarcely shed light on the factors responsible for the adoption of e-recruitment among job candidates. Originated from the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study aims to empirically examine the influence of online word-of-mouth in shaping job-seekers’ intentions for using e-recruitment websites.

Design/methodology/approach

A Google Docs-based online questionnaire was distributed via social media, LinkedIn and email to 740 participants, out of which 397 final responses were received. The partial least squares structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 3 was applied for evaluating the theoretical model.

Findings

This study empirically indicated that electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has a significant impact on perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU) and attitude. Whereas, PU and attitude fully mediate the relationship between eWOM and behavioral intentions (BI) of job-seekers towards e-recruitment.

Practical implications

This research contributes to the understanding of the relevance of eWOM in e-recruitment adoption. eWOM provides job-related information that plays a significant role in the usage of online recruitment systems such as LinkedIn, job portals and company websites. This study offered a valuable contribution to the existing body of literature on e-recruitment, developers and Web-based hiring service providers.

Originality/value

This investigation was the first attempt in the e-recruitment literature to explore the influence of eWOM on job-seekers’ intentions to adopt online recruitment platforms, including the mediating role of PU, PEOU and attitude in the association between eWOM and BI.

Co-created employer brands: the interplay of strategy and identity

Purpose

The study aims to explore strategic employer brand management by combining experiences of multiple organizations. In particular, the purpose is to identify what strategic management processes managers consider relevant to employer brand management for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Design/methodology/approach

This study took an inductive approach, observing a practitioner project in Sweden. The data were gathered during four full-day workshops, where 14 SMEs from different industries were chosen to participate and to actively work their employer brand(ing) activities.

Findings

The results show that organizations have difficulty understanding and comparing employer branding practices, and thus, evaluating their own brand. The major themes show that organizations have two focus points for their employer branding work: building strategic structures (processes) on one hand, and a collective identity that aligns with the brand values, on the other. However, organizations differ in these dimensions, affecting what needs to be done to become successful.

Originality/value

This contributes to the limited knowledge about employer branding, human resources development (HRD) and SMEs. In addition, most of the previous studies have neglected to take into account the differences between organizations, approaching employer branding as a universal process. This paper summarizes different positions for employer brands that affect strategy: the unmanaged, the non-strategic, the impersonal and finally, the co-created. Co-creation can be facilitated with the help of constructive and collaborative HRD. Then, it can be turned into a dynamic capability that builds competitive advantage.

Employer branding and psychological contract in family and non-family firmsEmployer branding e contrato psicológico em empresas familiares e não familiaresEmployer branding y contrato psicológico en empresas familiares y no familiares

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess differences between employees of family and non-family firms regarding their perceptions of employer branding and psychological contract levels. Moreover, focusing on family firms, the authors assess the relation between the employees’ perceptions of employer branding and the psychological contract levels.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical evidence is provided by a sample of 165 Portuguese employees, 76 employees of family firms and 89 non-family firms’ employees, who responded to a questionnaire that included employer branding and psychological contract measures. All respondents study in small and medium-sized private companies.

Findings

The results confirmed the research hypotheses, suggesting that employees of family companies show higher perceptions of employer branding and psychological contract levels than employees of non-family companies. Results also reveal that the perceptions of employer branding are positively related to the psychological contract levels of the family firm’s employees.

Originality/value

This paper aims to contribute to the literature by addressing two contemporary organizational aspects yet under-addressed in the comparison between family and non-family firms while pursuing to offer insights on the relationship between the perceptions of employer branding and levels of the psychological contract of employees working in family firms.

The strategic intersection of HR and CSR: CSR motive and millennial joining intention

The success and competitiveness of an organization recruiting the emerging workforce i.e., millennials can be ascribed in part to the organization's corporate social responsibility (CSR) engagement. This study explores the impact of organizational CSR on Nigerian millennials' joining intention through CSR motive perceptions: CSR-based organizational attractiveness (CSR-based OA) and perceived altruism (PA). To examine the empirical relationship among variables, data were obtained from respondents who were seeking employment or in-between jobs. Results revealed that CSR-based OA and PA significantly mediate the relationship between CSR and millennial joining intention. Findings present a unique perspective that significantly expands the literature. The implications of results are discussed and recommendations to managers are presented.

Do star employees help or hinder department performance: the case of surgeons in South Korean hospitals

Based on strategic human capital theory, this study examines the effects of star surgeons on two different types of healthcare outcomes (i.e., number of surgical patients and length of patients’ in-hospital stay after surgery) in the surgery department. We also explore whether the relationship between star surgeons and healthcare outcomes is contingent on the expertise disparity between star and non-star surgeons. The results of an empirical analysis on colorectal cancer surgeons in 80 departments in South Korean hospitals show that the number of star surgeons increases the number of surgical patients and reduces the length of patients' stay after surgery. Moreover, the positive relationship between star surgeons and the number of surgical patients is strengthened when the expertise disparity between star and non-star surgeons is low. The implications of these findings for research and practice are also discussed.

Recruiting aus Sicht der Bewerber_innen

Zusammenfassung. Hochwertiges Personalmarketing ist der essenzielle erste Schritt im Recruiting. Qualifizierte Bewerber_innen müssen auf offene Positionen erfolgreich aufmerksam gemacht werden, wofür Unternehmen und Organisationen verschiedene Online- und Offline-Maßnahmen zur Verfügung stehen. Zentral ist dabei die Wahrnehmung des Personalmarketings durch die Bewerbenden, deren Sicht bislang allerdings wenig betrachtet wurde. In der vorliegenden Studie wird daher mithilfe einer für die deutsche Arbeitsbevölkerung repräsentativen Stichprobe ( N = 1.070) die Nutzung und Bewertung von klassischen und neuartigen digitalen Personalmarketingmaßnahmen in sozialen Medien untersucht und zusätzlich digitale Ansprachemethoden experimentell überprüft. Bekannte und etablierte Online- und Offline-Personalmarketingmaßnahmen weisen hohe Nutzungszahlen auf und sind zugleich am beliebtesten. Soziale Medien werden hingegen von den Bewerber_innen vergleichsweise wenig präferiert. Kongruent dazu wird im experimentellen Setup die klassische Benachrichtigung per Post neuartigen digitalen Kommunikationswegen (WhatsApp, Facebook, Alexa Voice System) vorgezogen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie können in der Praxis zur gezielten Ansprache potenzieller Bewerber_innen und für den optimalen Einsatz verschiedener Methoden genutzt werden.

Assessing the support of health leadership for increased Indigenous participation in the health workforce

Objective The aim of this study was to assess the strength of leadership statements in Australian state and territory policy documents supporting increased representation of Indigenous people in the health workforce. Methods Document analysis of leadership statements, prefacing state and territory Indigenous health workforce plans, from a relevant Minister or Head of Department was undertaken to detect the presence and level of 'dependency messaging': did the leadership statement clearly state that an Indigenous health workforce was needed to improve Indigenous health outcomes? Results Australian health leaders do not routinely use dependency messaging in state and territory Indigenous health workforce plans. Conclusion Greater alignment of state and territory Indigenous health workforce plans with contemporary diversity management knowledge could improve recruitment and retention of Indigenous peoples and, ultimately, Indigenous health outcomes. What is known about the topic? The diversity management and change management literature highlights the importance of demonstrated leadership. Dependency messaging is the clear articulation of the benefit that members of minority and diversity groups bring to an organisation's performance; this is regarded as highly influential for diversity recruitment and retention. What does this paper add? Strong 'dependency messaging' in health policy leadership statements could increase the Indigenous health workforce, and ultimately improve health outcomes, but is currently not uniformly used across jurisdictions. State and territory Indigenous health workforce plans were analysed using the diverse literature of change management, diversity management and strength-based approaches to provide recommendations for policy improvement that could lead to better Indigenous healthcare outcomes. What are the implications for practitioners? The use of dependency messaging by health leaders could enhance recruitment of an Indigenous health workforce.

What is the Role of Technology in Recruitment and Selection?

We explore a number of new developments in the field of employee recruitment and selection with a focus on recent technological developments. We discuss examples of technological developments across the four stages of the recruitment and selection process. In the attraction stage we discuss how on-line/internet recruitment and especially social networking websites have changed dramatically the focus of attracting candidates effectively. In the next stage of screening, we discuss how cybervetting and applicant tracking systems offer opportunities but also threats for recruiters and candidates. In the third stage of employee selection, we focus especially on two new selection methods; the asynchronous/digital interview and gamification/games-based assessment, along with the critical role and impact applicant reactions have on the selection process. Finally, we briefly discuss the main technological developments in on-boarding and socialization, and we conclude with a few suggestions for future research in this field.

Everything comes at a price: The influence of job seekers’ motives on preference in the trade-off between pay and leisure

Recruitment research has often neglected behavioral outcomes in the context of job choice acceptance, and insight into the relationship between individual differences and recruitment outcomes remains scarce. The present paper investigates how the need for achievement, the need for power, and the need for affiliation are related to the preference for either higher pay or more leisure, and we model this relationship as a trade-off. We test our hypotheses with data from 605 individuals. To measure job offer acceptance, we develop a new methodology that allows participants to choose between a set of contracts that are customized for each participant based on individual reference points. We find that the need for achievement and the need for power are significantly positively related to the preference for higher pay, which results in less leisure. We do not find a significant direct effect of the need for affiliation. We discuss the implications of the study in relation to the needs-supplies fit perspective and show the practical applicability of our approach to customizing working contracts.

Recruiting digital talent: The strategic role of recruitment in organisations’ digital transformation

Recruitment plays a central role during digital transformation because companies in many industries need to hire employees who possess IT-related knowledge, skills and abilities to digitalise their products, services and processes. However, extant research so far mainly has focussed on the use of digital technology in recruiting processes and its outcomes, whereas strategic aspects have received little attention. Based on 26 interviews with recruiters in 22 organisations, this study examines the interplay between recruitment and digital transformation beyond the use of digital technology in recruitment, focussing on more strategic aspects. The study examines recruitment’s role in organisations’ digital transformation. We found that the recruitment of digital talent as a new target group triggers change within the company, and does so in three ways: First, recruiters have realised the necessity to adapt their measures and processes to the new target group. Second, recruiters have developed a new self-understanding. Third, recruiters have recognised the need to support the organisation’s digital transformation by taking on a bridging function. Our study makes two contributions: First, we identified two new roles for recruitment during digital transformation: It acts as a ‘sensory organ’ that enhances the organisation’s absorptive capacity; and it takes on the role of a ‘mediator’ between external and internal groups. Second, this study builds on the human resources (HR) literature by analysing the strategic implications that digital transformation imposes on recruitment, highlighting recruitment’s part in renewing an organisation’s human resource base, which is crucial for its digital transformation.

Employer Ratings through Crowdsourcing on Social Media: An Examination of U.S. Fortune 500 Companies

The aims of this study are to examine the effect of crowdsourced employer ratings and employee recommendations of an employer as an employer of choice, to examine which employer ratings that represent different employee value propositions can predict the overall employer rating through crowdsourcing, to examine whether the Fortune 500 ranking can also influence overall employer ratings, and to mine which keywords are popularly used when employees post a comment about the pros and cons of their employers on a crowdsourced employer branding platform. The study collected crowdsourced employer review data from Glassdoor based on 2019 Fortune 500 companies, and the results found that crowdsourced employer ratings are positively associated with “recommend to a friend,” while culture and values predominantly influence overall employer ratings. The rank of Fortune 500 has less predictive power for overall employer ratings than for other specific employer ratings, except for business outlook. The most popular keywords of Pros on Glassdoor are work–life balance and pay and benefits, whereas the most popular keywords of Cons on Glassdoor are work–life balance and upper management.

Employer branding at armed forces: current and potential employees’ perspective

Purpose

Drawing from the instrumental and symbolic framework for employer branding, this study aims to explore the perception of the current and potential employees for the Indian armed forces’ employer brand.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is conducted as a mixed-method approach in the form of qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative phase, online reviews of current employees were collected from glassdoor.com and analysis was conducted. While in the quantitative phase, data were collected through questionnaire from 200 potential candidates who were interested in joining the armed forces.[AQ1] Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for instrument validity and regression analysis, for finding significant factors, were used for data analysis.

Findings

The qualitative results indicate that the current employee's perception fits the instrumental and symbolic framework. Additionally, variables such as discrimination in positions, risk, stress, confidence and personality development were also identified. The CFA and regression analysis results were found to be significant on the instrumental dimensions – job security and task diversity and symbolic dimensions – competence.

Originality/value

The study emphasizes the important instrumental and symbolic attributes for both current and potential employees. Thus, the armed forces can use these as a base for strategy formulation regarding employer branding.