This thesis illuminates the issue of attracting and retaining organization appropriate employees from the perspective of an intercontinental organization. A case study of the intercontinental towing and salvage organization, Svitzer, is the focal point for the research of the recruitment issue.
The thesis is founded in the hypothesis that coherent conceptions between the employer and the employees are an imperative for successful attraction and retention of potential and current employees. Within the field of organizational theory lies the theory behind employer branding. This illustrates the importance of developing and maintaining a strong employer brand which is characterized by the unique attributes that the employer offers the employees: the Employer Value Proposition. Employer branding is the strategic work of aligning the management’s desired employer brand with the actual experience of working for the organization in question. Finally, the theoretical foundation and the hypothesis are applied to the case study.
The paradigmatic standpoint of the thesis is a combination of social constructivism as an ontological stance and existential hermeneutics as the epistemological stance. In other words, I as the researcher believe that phenomena are socially constituted and interpret communication based on meaning and intention. Therefore, the two conceptions of the employer brand are illuminated by analyzing Svitzer’s management’s communication through Svitzer’s websites and job adverts and by interviewing several of Svitzer’s employees. Furthermore, the intercontinental dimension plays a part by the comparison between the central organization of Svitzer, represented by Svitzer Head Office and Svitzer Scandinavia, and another continental region of Svitzer: Svitzer Australia.
The intersubjective conceptions of the employer brand prove a minor misalignment between the management’s strategic vision, the profile, and the organizational culture and the stakeholders’ images.
Finally, it is discussed how to improve the alignment. Moreover, the inferences and implications of the misalignment are discussed. The discussion leads to the conclusion which in short terms is: attracting and retaining organization appropriate employees requires an appropriately adequate alignment between the employer’s conception and the employee’s conception of the organization as a place to work. The external communication must be consistent and coherent with the internal communication.