Transform Your Employer Brand with Data and Technology: Build an Irresistible Workplace Brand and Position Your Organization as an Employer of Choice

📌 Key facts

Mission:

Your mission is to conduct groundbreaking research and develop insightful theses on transforming employer brands with data and technology. By exploring the potential of data-driven strategies and technological advancements, you aim to help organizations build irresistible workplace brands and establish themselves as employers of choice. Through rigorous analysis and innovative thinking, you will uncover effective approaches to leverage data and technology in employer branding, empowering organizations to attract and retain top talent. Join us in this mission to make a lasting impact in the field of employer branding, drive organizational success, and position yourself as a leader in creating exceptional workplaces.

When: Start anytime. Applications are open!

How to apply: Send us an e-mail (at the end of this page) with your CV, a grade report, a short motivation and your suggested approach (proposed plan and questions, potential data, and methods, possible outcomes with a tentative outline).

Contents

• 💡 Background
• 🦾Who We Are
• 🎯 Goals
• 🧠 Topics of Interest
• 🎓 Profile
• 📚 Further Reading
• 📄 Requirements to any Work
• 📬 How to Apply

💡 Background

In today's highly competitive talent market, organizations face the challenge of attracting and retaining top talent. To stand out from the competition, organizations need to leverage the power of data and technology to enhance their employer brand. Data and technology offer valuable insights and enable strategic decision-making in employer branding initiatives, allowing organizations to create a compelling workplace brand that appeals to the best candidates.

The use of data in employer branding provides organizations with a deeper understanding of their target audience, their preferences, and their expectations. By analyzing relevant data points, organizations can identify key drivers of employee satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty. This knowledge empowers organizations to tailor their employer branding strategies and create an irresistible workplace brand that aligns with the needs and aspirations of their desired talent poo

🦾Who We Are

The Chair for Strategy and Organization is focused on research with impact. This means we do not want to repeat old ideas and base our research solely on the research people did 10 years ago. Instead, we currently research topics that will shape the future. Topics such as Agile Organizations and Digital Disruption, Blockchain Technology, Creativity and Innovation, Digital Transformation and Business Model Innovation, Diversity, Education: Education Technology and Performance Management, HRTech, Leadership, and Teams.. We are always early in noticing trends, technologies, strategies, and organizations that shape the future, which has its ups and downs.

This thesis will be co-supervised Prof. Dr. Isabell Welpe and Bernd Storm.

🎯 Goals

1. Goals for Students' Theses or Project Studies:

A) Understanding:

1. Investigate the role of data and technology in understanding the target audience and their preferences regarding employer branding.
2. Explore how data-driven insights can inform the development of an employer brand that resonates with the desired talent pool.
3. Examine the use of technology in gathering qualitative and quantitative data to gain a comprehensive understanding of the organization's current employer brand perception.

B) Analyzing:

1. Explore data analytics techniques to identify key drivers of employee satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty in relation to the employer brand.
2. Investigate how organizations can leverage data to analyze the effectiveness of their employer branding strategies and initiatives.
3. Examine the use of technology platforms and tools for sentiment analysis and social listening to gain insights into the perception of the employer brand in the digital landscape.

C) Measuring:

1. Develop and implement metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of data and technology on employer brand perception.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of data-driven employer branding initiatives in attracting and retaining top talent through quantitative analysis and benchmarking.
3. Utilize survey methodologies and data collection techniques to measure employee perceptions of the employer brand and track changes over time.
4. Conduct sentiment analysis on social media and online platforms to assess public sentiment and brand reputation related to employer branding efforts.
5. Implement feedback mechanisms, such as employee satisfaction surveys and exit interviews, to gather data on employee experiences and identify areas for improvement in employer branding strategies.
6. Employ data analytics and visualization tools to analyze and interpret employee feedback, engagement levels, and other relevant data points to gain insights into the impact of employer branding initiatives.
7. Develop employer brand performance dashboards to monitor key metrics and track progress towards employer brand goals.
8. Conduct competitor analysis to benchmark employer brand perception and identify areas of differentiation or improvement.
9. Establish regular reporting mechanisms to communicate employer brand performance and insights to key stakeholders within the organization.
10. Continuously refine measurement approaches based on industry best practices and emerging trends in data and technology-driven employer branding.

D) Changing:

1. Investigate how organizations can leverage data and technology to shape and refine their employer brand positioning.
2. Explore innovative approaches to using technology platforms for employer brand communication and storytelling.
3. Examine the use of data-driven insights to identify areas of improvement and implement strategic changes to enhance the employer brand.

🧠 Topics of Interest

• Utilizing data analytics to understand employee preferences, motivations, and expectations
• The impact of data and technology on understanding the target audience and their preferences in employer branding.
• Leveraging data-driven insights to develop a compelling employer brand that resonates with top talent.
• Exploring data analytics techniques to identify key drivers of employee satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty in relation to the employer brand.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of data-driven employer branding strategies and initiatives.
• Utilizing technology platforms and tools for sentiment analysis and social listening to gain insights into the perception of the employer brand in the digital landscape.
• Developing metrics and KPIs to measure the impact of data and technology on employer brand perception.
• Assessing the effectiveness of data-driven employer branding initiatives in attracting and retaining top talent.
• Examining survey methodologies and data collection techniques to measure employee perceptions of the employer brand and track changes over time.
• Exploring innovative approaches to using technology platforms for employer brand communication and storytelling.
• Using data-driven insights to identify areas of improvement and implement strategic changes to enhance the employer brand.

🎓 Profile

• Proficiency in conducting interviews
• Tech and data savvy
• Enrolled in a Bachelor’s or Master's program related to Business Administration/Management/Consulting
• Fluent in English (additional proficiency in German is a plus)
• Reliable, self-driven, and motivated
• Demonstrated interest in using tech and data for solving organizational problems
• Passion for learning and conducting impactful research

📚 Further Reading

1. Backhaus, K., & Tikoo, S. (2004). Conceptualizing and researching employer branding. Career development international. This paper explores the concept of employer branding, its importance, and how it can be researched. It could provide a foundational understanding of employer branding for your research.
2. Bock, L. (2015). Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead. Hachette Books. Laszlo Bock, Google's former Head of People Operations, provides insights into Google's innovative approach to using data and technology in people management. It includes the use of data analytics to inform employer branding strategy.
3. Wilden, R., Gudergan, S., & Lings, I. (2010). Employer branding: strategic implications for staff recruitment. Journal of Marketing Management. This research discusses the strategic implications of employer branding for staff recruitment. It might give insights into how data and technology can be applied strategically to enhance employer branding.
4. Brynjolfsson, E., & McAfee, A. (2014). The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. W. W. Norton & Company. This book talks about the impact of digital technologies on businesses and how they are shaping the future of work. It might provide a broad understanding of how technology can transform workplace practices, including employer branding.
5. Cappelli, P. (2001). Making the most of on-line recruiting. Harvard Business Review. This article discusses the impact of technology on recruiting practices. It can help understand the intersection of technology and recruitment, a key part of the employer branding process.
6. Davenport, T. H., Barth, P., & Bean, R. (2012). How Big Data is Different. MIT Sloan Management Review. This article gives a comprehensive understanding of Big Data. The application of big data analytics could be crucial in formulating an effective employer branding strategy.
7. Sivertzen, A. M., Nilsen, E. R., & Olafsen, A. H. (2013). Employer branding: employer attractiveness and the use of social media. Journal of Product & Brand Management. This article focuses on employer branding in the context of social media. It could provide valuable insights into how digital technology impacts employer branding.
8. Gandomi, A., & Haider, M. (2015). Beyond the hype: Big data concepts, methods, and analytics. International Journal of Information Management. This paper provides an overview of big data concepts, methods, and analytics which could help you understand the application of big data in various fields, including employer branding.
9. Cable, D. M., & Turban, D. B. (2003). The value of organizational reputation in the recruitment context: A brand‐equity perspective. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. While not directly focused on big data, this paper provides an understanding of how the concept of brand equity applies to employer branding.
10. Cao, Y., & Gao, H. (2016). Determining the trade-offs of employer branding on social networking sites: Evidence from China. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce. This study explores employer branding on social networking sites and offers insights into leveraging digital platforms for employer branding, which could be analyzed through a big data lens.
11. Hausknecht, J. P., Rodda, J., & Howard, M. J. (2009). Targeted employee retention: Performance-based and job-related differences in reported reasons for staying. Human Resource Management. This paper might be interesting to understand the factors affecting employee retention, which is a crucial aspect of employer branding. The role of big data could be examined in predicting these factors and forming strategies.
12. Kaur, P., Dhir, A., & Rajkumar, R. (2020). Big data in recruitment and selection processes: An exploratory study. Business Process Management Journal. This study specifically addresses the role of big data in recruitment and selection processes, providing insights on how big data could enhance employer branding efforts.

📄 Requirements to any Work

We do not want your research to gather dust in some corner of the bookshelf but make it accessible to the world. Thus, we warmly encourage you to create some or all of the following:

• Infograph - visually represent some of your work
• Slide Deck - prepare a slide deck on your overall topic with relevant, interesting, and impactful findings
• MVP- Develop a prototype with us for a tech- and data-based approach to help firms build a highly desirable employer brand

📬 How to Apply

If you are interested, please contact Isabell Welpe and Bernd Storm by submitting your CV, a grade report, a short motivation and your suggested research approach.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

👉 Bernd: bernd@bitsandpretzels.com

👉 Isabell: welpe@tum.de