Nine out of ten job candidates consider employer reputation. An attractive role is no longer enough—companies without visibility and authenticity are losing out in hiring

The IT and business services sector in the Czech Republic continues to grow significantly, and with it, the pressure to recruit qualified workers. According to data from the ABSL association, approximately 10,000 new jobs are expected to be created in the sector this year alone, as 67% of centers plan to expand over the next two years. Although the sector is dominated by large global companies, they are often not well-known in the local market; therefore, investing in employer branding is key to their success. For most job seekers, employer branding is a crucial factor in deciding whether to accept a job offer; nearly 70% of them would even reject an offer from a company with a negative reputation.

Most talent considers the employer brand

According to ABSL data, the sector currently employs around 200,000 people and is expected to grow to 260,000 by 2030.

“Up to two-thirds of companies plan to expand over the next two years. This is putting enormous pressure on the labor market,” 

says Jonathan Appleton, Managing Director of ABSL.

While many of these companies are global leaders, their B2B focus often keeps them invisible in the local labor market, which is a major disadvantage.

“We know from available data that up to 88% of candidates consider an employer’s brand before even applying, and nearly 70% would reject an offer from a company with a negative reputation—even if they desperately needed the job. Nine out of ten candidates then prefer companies with active employer branding. This clearly shows that simply posting a job opening is no longer enough today. Companies must be visible, trustworthy, and transparent,”

adds Appleton.

A strong employer brand also attracts more relevant candidates, shortens the hiring process, and can significantly reduce employee turnover, which has a direct impact on both company stability and costs. 

Authenticity Over Marketing

Current trends show a fundamental shift in how companies build their employer brand. According to experts at the consulting firm GoodCall, candidates today respond much more to authentic content than to traditional corporate communications.

“Overly stylized content loses credibility. On the other hand, real employee stories, informal communication, and a genuine glimpse into everyday life at the company work well,”

says Blake Wittman, director of GoodCall, adding that transparency is also playing an increasingly important role—for example, publishing salary ranges or clearly defined career paths. This is also confirmed by data from the recruitment agency Grafton Recruitment. The data shows that 96% of job seekers would like to see the salary listed in a job posting, yet only 28% of companies do so. Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of candidates do not apply for a position that does not list a salary. At the same time, candidates are increasingly comparing companies’ marketing messages with the reality they glean from reviews and employee experiences.

Companies are therefore shifting from describing their corporate culture to actually demonstrating it. It’s not enough to say what they’re like; they have to show it—ideally through the eyes of their own employees.

“The age of social media plays right into this style of communication. Companies are using short videos or ‘day in the life’ formats that give candidates a concrete idea of what working at the company actually looks like—and, importantly, without embellishment. The disconnect between presentation and actual experience is one of the main reasons why employer branding fails,”

summarizes Blake Wittman.

The work environment also plays an important role in this regard. As an analysis by Colliers shows, the office today is not just a place of work, but “living” proof of corporate culture and values. Both candidates and employees judge a company’s credibility based on what they can actually see and experience.

A Prague Example of Investment in Employer Branding

The power of an authentic approach is also confirmed by the award-winning project of Envista, which last year won the ABSL Diamonds award in the Employer Branding Excellence category. Its Prague office started building its employer brand practically from scratch—without a local website, social media presence, or brand awareness—even though it already employed more than 450 people. A key element of the campaign was the active involvement of the employees themselves, who contributed to content creation and consistently came up with their own ideas and formats.

Within the first three months, the campaign had already garnered more than 1.4 million views. It also had a significant impact on recruitment—the number of applicants for positions requiring French increased by 600%, enabling the company to resolve one of its key recruitment challenges and reduce its reliance on external agencies. In addition to measurable results, the campaign also had a strong internal impact, as employees began spontaneously sharing and commenting on the content, which strengthened their pride in their work, their team, and the entire company.

“The central theme of the campaign was the ‘smile,’ which symbolically references the company’s presence in the dental industry. It was precisely this combination of a simple concept, authentic content, and active employee engagement that helped Envista differentiate itself from traditional corporate communications and quickly establish itself as an attractive employer,”

concludes Jonathan Appleton.

ABSL (Association of Business Service Leaders in the Czech Republic) is an association of companies operating in the shared business services sector, which represents a strong generator of employment in the Czech Republic. ABSL was established in 2013 to foster companies in the business services sector, share best practices and help to develop the activities of its members and other entities operating in this segment. At the same time, ABSL provides support to foreign investors who want to establish their business services centres in the Czech Republic. Currently, there are nearly 400 centres in the Czech Republic employing 160,000 people. For more information, please visit www.absl.cz.