"In a world where talented people have a choice, it is no longer enough for companies to simple offer a job," says Marina Kuzmits, employer branding expert for UNIQA Austria. But how do you get young talents in particular excited about job offers? And how do you keep satisfied employees in the company? We spoke to Marina about the challenges, opportunities and trends in employer branding.
For me, employer branding is the honest answer to the question: Why do people like working with us? And more importantly: Why do the stay? In a world where talents have a choice, it is no longer enough to just offer a "job". People are looking for a workplace that matches their values and needs. Employer branding helps us to make this visible – both internally and externally. It is not just part of recruiting or personnel marketing, because it is not about short-term appointments. Employer branding is a strategic task that creates a long-term identity through targeted communication. This is exactly what makes my work so exciting and meaningful.
Our claim is clear: living better together – with our employer promise #startyourbetter. UNIQA is a place where people can grow – personally, professionally and together as a team. A company that shapes the future, promotes change and puts people at the centre. In Austria, I therefore focus on three pillars: clear identity, authentic insights and reflection.
Sure. Clear identity means that we communicate our values consistently – both externally and internally. One example is our benefits, which offer added value for everyone in the company: from free psychological counselling to a subsidized public transport ticket and health services. We live these values on an ongoing basis in internal initiatives, such as the Day of Older Generations, when the grandmothers from "Vollpension" surprised our colleagues with fresh buns - for a joint intergenerational dialogue. We are also committed to equal opportunities outside of UNIQA through collaborations such as with the Sindbad social business or at events such as Voice.of.Diversity at the Vienna University of Technology.
Secondly, people want to know what it really is to work at UNIQA. That's why we focus on real stories, personal insights, close-up experiences and event formats such as the Long Night of the Companies or the Daughters' Day, where employees share their personal experiences from their own perspective. This creates authentic insights.
Third, in order to promote further development and reflection, we listen carefully: regular employee surveys show us the needs of our colleagues. Our new Group-wide Employer Value Proposition (EVP) is also currently being developed on this basis - fact-based and data-driven. After all, employer branding is a process that we shape together.
Our goal? An employer brand that not only sounds good, but also feels good - for everyone who works at UNIQA and for those who want to become part of it.
The Vollpension Buchtelmobil in the UNIQA Tower
Employer branding is not a one-off campaign, but an ongoing dialogue.
As one of the largest health insurance companies, UNIQA is often associated with stability and security – two values that are once again gaining importance in the labour market. As a European company in 17 countries with over 200 years of history, we are characterised by these values. But we are far more: we are constantly developing and are looking for committed people who want to shape, improve and grow with us. Interested parties also associate UNIQA with community. It is therefore all the nicer to hear from new colleagues at our monthly onboarding events that this external impression is confirmed in their personal internal experiences.
What surprises many people is that our jobs are more varied than you might think - from IT & data analytics to legal and sustainability management to customer consulting. It is precisely this diversity that we want to make even more visible in the future.
An authentic employer brand must be alive and tangible in everyday life. What we promise, we should also live. Otherwise, there is a gap between expectations and lived reality, which does more harm than good in the long term. Another challenge: employer brands are never one-dimensional. In a large company like UNIQA, different areas, teams, generations and ways of working come together. The challenge is to create a consistent yet diverse identity in which everyone feels represented. And finally: Employer branding is not a one-off campaign, but an ongoing dialogue. The labour market is changing, new generations have different expectations - we have to stay tuned, listen and evolve.
For me, a successful mix consists of three things: Authenticity, creativity and dialogue. The younger generation not only wants to be informed, they want to be involved. That's why I rely on interactive formats such as content-related cooperation with teaching events, on-site visits to our headquarters in Vienna and events such as the Daughters' Day, where girls learn about their own strengths and diverse roles in IT in workshops together with our female colleagues. We are also represented at traditional career fairs and events, with a focus on a modern experience and direct dialogue - such as at our Career Calling stand in autumn 2024.
Career Calling 2024 (c) Philipp Lipiarski
I am particularly proud of innovative ideas such as the UNIQA Coffee Mobile Tour. Future high potentials are often still passively looking for a job at the moment and I wanted to reach them early on and pick them up where they really are in their everyday lives. With our UNIQA Coffee Mobil, we supported students in October 2024 with free coffee right in front of Viennese universities just in time for the start of the semester. For the best start to the semester with an extra dose of caffeine - in line with our EVP #startyourbetter. The positive and personal interactions with the students - without any traditional application pressure - enabled us to create lasting awareness for our employer brand.
With the current social and economic changes, it is difficult to predict trends for the next few years. Nevertheless, I can recognise a few developments: social impact and sustainability are moving even further into focus. Young talent wants to work for companies that take responsibility, this through sustainable business practices, diversity or social initiatives. Employer branding is therefore increasingly becoming value branding. Another trend: ‘People trust people’, authenticity and storytelling. People want to know what it's really like to work at this company. Credible insights from employees themselves, whether through corporate influencers, personal experience reports or user-generated content, are becoming increasingly important. Away from glossy adverts and towards real stories from everyday working life. It can be human. And employer branding is becoming even more experience orientated. Companies must not only talk about their culture, but also make it tangible - at every touchpoint with applicants and employees. The companies that think strategically about this in the long term will stand out the most.
Profile:
Marina Kuzmits has been responsible for employer branding in Austria since September 2023. The native Burgenland Croatian studied communication science in Vienna. As an empathetic strategist and experienced communicator – with a hand for authentic communication that "humanises" – she has already positioned companies in the banking & IT sector as employers.
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