Employer brand must be credible
IHK Industry Congress discusses employer branding
Münsterland/Emscher-Lippe region – “Generation Y is a great generation, but it needs to be inspired.” NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart vividly described one of the major challenges facing SMEs at the 2018 Industry Congress of the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK): the development of an employer brand. How can industrial companies attract the attention of potential applicants who come to the job market with high expectations but in too small numbers? And how can employers remain attractive to qualified employees? These questions were the focus of the IHK Industry Congress, which took place on April 18, 2018 at Spaleck GmbH & Co KG in Bocholt.
The hall provided by SPALECK was well filled with over 100 participants. In contrast, the job market in the region is largely empty, reported IHK President Dr. Benedikt Hüffer: “There are a record 20,000 vacancies across all sectors.” The shortage of skilled workers is already the biggest concern for industrial companies, but 2018 will be remembered as a good year in view of the coming developments. Employee retention is becoming increasingly important and the development of an employer brand can help, says Hüffer.
True to the motto “Learning from the mistakes of others”, Dr Christoph Brast, Professor of Business Administration and Organization at the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences in Bocholt, brought along the “most off-putting job advertisement” and the “most terrible recruiting video” for the company managers and HR managers – both publications had been “awarded” a negative prize for poor HR communication. Brast then took a positive turn, demonstrating step by step how to develop a strong employer brand. His recommendation: “Analyze your company, the environment and the target groups, formulate the employer brand, communicate in a target group-specific way via the recruiting channels, gradually improve working conditions and HR tools.”
KTR Systems GmbH has proceeded without the theoretical run-up, but with great success. The internationally active Family-owned business with headquarters in Rheine develops and manufactures drive technology. “We simply got started, implemented more than 30 measures and only then formulated the employer brand,” reported HR Manager Holger Klinge. The offer for trainees to spend a certain amount of time in a company abroad proved to be a hit in the personnel marketing portfolio and therefore an important part of employer branding. Klinge pointed out that the IHK supports this kind of commitment. KTR now communicates its employer brand on many channels. The HR manager strongly advised against “playing a brand that the company is not in reality.” The NRW Minister of Economic Affairs sees it the same way. “Promises made to employees or customers must be kept, as we did after the election with the unleashing packages to stimulate the Efficiency,” said Pinkwart.
The panel discussion with Christoph Brast, Holger Klinge, IHK Vice President Lars Baumgürtel (Voigt & Schweitzer GmbH & Co. KG, Gelsenkirchen), digitalization consultant Daniel Terwersche (ballo.digital) and Minister Pinkwart ended with a vote of confidence. A film by Jeanette Kuhn also contributed to this. The journalist and moderator of the Industry Congress had asked students whether they could imagine working in production. The result: the image of the industry is surprisingly positive. “This is exactly what the North Westphalian industry acceptance campaign is all about,” emphasized Baumgürtel, adding: “If we succeed in developing an ‘industry brand’, it will also be easier for each individual company to find skilled workers.” The aim of this initiative, which is supported by more than 350 companies, is to bring industry closer to the public and to generate enthusiasm for products and services. The IHK Industry Congress is a component of the acceptance campaign.
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IHK Industry Congress with Minister: (from left) IHK President Dr. Benedikt Hüffer, Spaleck Managing Director Carsten Sühling, NRW Minister of Economic Affairs Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Marlies Spaleck, industrial entrepreneur and IHK Vice President Lars Baumgürtel and Deputy IHK Managing Director Peter Schnepper.
