Views from the Top: About Ernst & Young
Interiew with Teresa Palquist, Director of Marketing and Communication with Ernst & Young
By Grazyna Sotta
About Ernst & Young, ranked 2nd among business students in Sweden (FöretagsBarometern 2010)
What are your main activities?
We offer services in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services.
Something you would not expect about Ernst & Young:
We provide a broad spectrum of services. Most people probably wouldn’t know that we offer services within fraud investigations or climate change and sustainability.
Current Number of employees: 2200 in Sweden and approximately 5000 in the Nordics.
Expected Number of Vacancies for 2010: We’re planning on 100, but I think we will be hiring more.
About Ernst & Young’s Employer Brand
What are the current business conditions that are driving the need for employer branding in your organization?
The company is only as strong as its employees, which makes the competition to recruit, develop and keep the best in our industry fierce. With the upcoming legislature change in November 2010 (removing the obligatory audit for smaller companies in Sweden), we are faced with a new and exciting chapter in our development. Our staff will be working more proactively, will need new competence and the roles will be more sales oriented. We already keep that in mind when recruiting today. We’re also developing our service to meet the new market requirements. We regard this change as natural harmonization within EU.
How long has the company focused on its employer brand?
We have focused on these activities over the past 20 years, but the way we work has changed over the years.
What does your organization hope to accomplish via its employer branding activities?
Our employer branding activities and focus on recruiting top talent are crucial to our development and central in our strategy. We see our employer branding efforts as an integral part of what we call the “positive loop”: motivated top talent increases the quality of our services for our clients making our relationships on the market better and stronger. This, in turn, attracts new and challenging clients, which will motivate our staff further. This is how we will reach our strategic goal of market leadership!
What specific objectives will take advantage of or mitigate the impact of your specific business environment?
With the upcoming changes, our goal – to be the most attractive employer in the industry – will become even more important. We will need to keep our strong brand reputation on the market and build even stronger relationships with talents and clients.
Are you measuring your employer brand? If yes, how?
Yes. We look at our total ranking among business students, our position in the industry and among different student groups. We also follow up on the quantity and quality of applications.
Is employer branding driven by the senior management team?
Employer branding is the key to our success and a part of our long-term strategy. Our senior management is highly involved and employer branding is high on the leadership agenda.
How do you define your employer brand in a few words?
We are all about helping our people achieving their potential. We have a clear corporate culture and strong company values. I believe this attracts those who want to reach their full potential and take advantage of the many possibilities we offer.
How do you think your company is perceived by students? Is it accurate?
The students see us as a stronger brand than our competitors and find our corporate culture more attractive and appealing. They see and are attracted by the open and friendly people already working for us and a strong team spirit. As we have a transparent corporate culture, are clear in our communication and open about what we do and how we work, I think the students have a good understanding of who we are and what we offer.
How do you differentiate yourself from your competitors?
We focus on clarity and transparency in our communication. Our corporate values stand out on the market and make us unique. The students see the opportunities we offer, the development possibilities and team spirit which are deeply rooted in the company. Their perception of Ernst & Young and the differences between us and our competitors is the best confirmation that we’re communicating the values in a good way.
What are your current internal and external Employer Brand priorities (strategic and promotional)?
Externally, we focus on communicating the possibilities within the company to a broader target audience and on unifying the message we send out. We’re looking to expand our target audience to include high school students along with business, economics and law studies graduates, as well as civil engineers. We need to stick out among all the employers on the market and reach our potential future employees with an appealing message. We also need to continuously stay up to date with how to reach them in the right forum.
The best way to be perceived as a good employer is by being one. We continuously check with our employees what we’re doing right and what they would like to see more of to match their expectations and truly be their employer of choice. Our focus internally now, based on their feedback, is communicating more on our overall strategy and strategic goals.
Do you have specific deliverables that your employer branding programme needs to produce? And if so, what are those deliverables?
To fill our positions and deliver on our promises to clients, we need to secure numerous good quality applicants to fill our positions with the right competence. By that, we mean reaching and attracting talent with the right academic background, professional experience and values that fit ours.
With the coming elections, what consequences do you expect for employers and job seekers? And will this have an impact on your employer branding activities?
The elections as such will not have as much of an impact as the changing economic situation and the previously mentioned change in legislature. Long term, values are becoming more and more important. It’s no longer sufficient to be strong on the market; the talents today want to be able to identify themselves with the company and its ethics and aren’t afraid to be demanding.