Employer's internal branding as a factor of operational efficiency increase: international experience and practice in Russia

Currently, corporations that are considered to be the world leaders in economy openly declare the importance of an employee satisfaction factor. However, in Russia despite the gradual brining of wages in correspondence to the average market level, investment in labour condition improvement, personnel development and social protection some companies face with personnel dissatisfaction and that the staff is not interested in the results of work. Correspondingly, the purpose of the article is to study the problems of operational efficiency increase using developed guidelines aimed at the strengthening of an employer’s internal brand based on an employee satisfaction factor. A model that correlates the categories of “operational efficiency”, “an internal brand of an employer”, and “employee satisfaction” has been developed based on the current approaches to the study of an employer’s brand. The model is a theoretical foundation of the original empirical research. The suggested method to assess an employee satisfaction rate and the model of an employer’s internal brand has been tested at a particular enterprise of the region (Perm branch of “Nestle Russia” LLC). In the research the methods of primary data collection (brain storm, interview and focus groups) and of secondary data collection (analysis of internal and external documents of the branch) have been used. The data analysis is based on the Delphi method, a content analysis and econometric modelling. The developed model of an employer’s internal brand is characterised by a differentiated effect on different categories of employees (white and blue collars) and by the differentiation of three zones of assessment of the importance of an employee satisfaction factor (low, average and high). A complex plan of priority actions to enhance an employer’s internal brand has been developed. The plan includes categories that require primary management decisions and will significantly and quickly increase personnel efficiency. Further studies will be devoted to the subsequent development of management tools for the formation of an employer’s internal brand on the basis of the employee satisfaction factor enhance in correlation to other factors that influence an enterprise operational efficiency.