JultikaUniversity of Oulu repository

Attracting and retaining current talent have become important for today’s organizations. Employer branding, which includes marketing the employer brand for potential and current employees tackles these issues by promoting an organization as an employer and by differentiating the organization from its competitors. It has many advantages such as increased employee satisfaction and reduced recruitment costs. Employer branding also helps to gain competitive advantage. The purpose of this study is to find out how private employers in the early childhood education field in Finland can attract potential employees. This study aims at finding out what potential employees value in their employer and what makes an employer attractive for them. Also, regional differences in private employer attractiveness are studied. This research is a qualitative study. Both semi structured theme interviews and observation were used and altogether five interviews were conducted. All interviewees were either studying towards a degree in early childhood education or were working in the field for a public employer. The results show that private employers in the early childhood education field have difficulties in attracting potential employees and public employer is seen more attractive especially in Southern Finland. Potential employees have also very little knowledge about private employers which affects their perceptions about private employers and private employer attractiveness in general. Potential employees value humane values and for example child-orientation, and freedom and flexibility from work content and culture. From employers, early childhood education professionals value for example occupational development. Also, the attractiveness of an employer was studied using five factors from which the most important ones could not be identified since they all seem to matter to at least to some extent. By emphasizing values and attributes that potential employees value, private employers can enhance their employer brands. It is also important that organizations create appealing employer value propositions that are close to the attributes that potential employees desire. In addition, reputation needs to be built to change the unfavorable attitudes towards private employers.