MAKING SENSE OF EMPLOYER BRANDING IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Abstract

Problematisation: Previous research about employer branding is conducted in the context of the private sector and lacks cases from the context of public sector. The literature explains employer branding as series of rational decisions being made in a linear process. However, strategy making is rarely rational, it is a complex process with a lot of actors involved, who create their own meaning around the concept and therefore it transforms throughout its journey in an organisation. This study has added a new piece to the picture, by exploring an employer branding strategy within the public sector through the lens of the translation theory. The theory creates a meaningful explanation of how a strategy is done in practice and how it changes when it is placed into a new context. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the practice of employer branding within the public sector and look into how the idea transforms throughout involved actors’ understandings of, and interest in, the concept. Methodology: A qualitative case study with 16 in-depth interviews. The context of the research was a Swedish institutional setting within the public sector. Findings: This study contributes to previous research by explaining how employer branding is done in practice and how it has emerged within a public organisation. The result shows that the practice of employer branding is an on-going attempt at constructing and upholding an actor network. When constructing an actor network, the key to success is, above all, the ability to involve other actors and keep them aligned. The process cannot be controlled because the construction of an employer brand is in the hand of the actors. Employees can be one of the most relevant supporters when constructing an employer branding actor network, however, they can also be one of the strongest enemies if they have had a negative experience of working in the organisation. The practice is a complex construction process, which has to be adapted and adjusted into a local context in order to be successful.