Annual Report 2010 - Melitta

way – some things simply are what they are. One shouldn’t underestimate, however,
the numerous, often small things which can be improved without much effort. Things
where the company can identify a realistic potential for improvement. Ultimately,
the company should first implement those aspects and ideas which the target group
regard as important for enhancing a company’s appeal and which will visibly differentiate
the company from its competitors. This identification of relevant improvement
possibilities ultimately requires the same systematic and focused approach common
to all considerations in this article.
An employer does not need to be attractive in all areas and for all people. What’s
important is to be attractive to certain target groups in certain functions, especially
key functions. If this is already the case, this potential should be leveraged and effectively
communicated with the aid of Employer Branding. Based on this, the company
should then focus on those activities requiring only a reasonable degree of effort
which would enhance its attractiveness from the point of view of the target group and
differentiate it from the competition. Only those companies which take account of the
aspects and systematic approach presented above will succeed in turning the topic of
employer attractiveness into a strategic topic with a sustainable impact. We are still
taking the first steps in Germany – which in some respects is regrettable. On the other
hand though, this offers a unique opportunity, especially for smaller companies. The
increasingly dramatic shortage of skilled staff will inevitably mean that we deal with
this topic much more openly in future than in the past years and decades.
Employer attractiveness
Prof. Dr. Armin Trost
Professor Human
Resource Management
at HFU Business School
Furtwangen
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