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For 45 percent of companies, there is a gap between perception and reality<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This highlights two contrasting employer branding challenges: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The most surprising group in our analysis is the \u201cunder-sellers.\u201d About 24 percent of the global market leaders we examined have kununu ratings of more than 3.8 stars, placing them above average as employers. At the same time, they achieve a storytelling score of less than 7.5 out of 10 points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Their career pages often read like fact sheets: accurate, comprehensive, but indistinguishable from one another. These companies don\u2019t necessarily lose out in the competition for talent because of a weak employer culture. They lose out because their strengths are barely visible to potential applicants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n One reason for this often lies in the corporate culture itself: In many medium-sized industrial companies, modesty is considered a virtue. People don\u2019t talk about themselves; they deliver results. In sales, this principle often works well. There, products, client references, and export figures speak for themselves. In recruiting, however, this is increasingly no longer enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Younger job seekers, in particular, pay close attention to whether an employer clearly communicates its values, culture, and social impact. According to the Deloitte<\/a> 2026 Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 67 percent of Generation Z respondents would turn down a job if the company did not align with their personal values. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is where one of the greatest untapped recruitment opportunities lies in Germany\u2019s small and medium-sized enterprises. An excellent corporate culture that skilled workers know nothing about remains virtually invisible in the competition for talent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A second group presents the opposite picture. The career pages talk about \u201cNew Work,\u201d development opportunities, working as equals, and modern leadership. However, employee reviews paint a much more critical picture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n About 21 percent of the companies analyzed score highly in storytelling but perform significantly worse in employer ratings. This poses a particular risk: Strong employer messaging specifically attracts people who are looking for exactly the culture that\u2019s promised. If these expectations aren\u2019t met in day-to-day work, disappointment sets in\u2014with potential consequences for employee retention, turnover, and recruiting costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOver-sellers focus on optimizing their career page, while the real problem lies deeper. If a company doesn\u2019t deliver internally what it promises externally, it can\u2019t bridge that gap permanently\u2014even with a large storytelling budget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n For these companies, successful employer branding therefore does not begin with a new campaign. First, they must determine whether their actual work environment lives up to their promises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to “under-sellers” and “over-sellers”, the analysis identifies two other groups. About 26 percent of the companies surveyed achieve top scores both in terms of their internal perception as an employer and their external communication. They demonstrate that a consistent employer brand is possible regardless of company size and name recognition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In our analysis, for example, Siemens<\/a> achieved a storytelling score of 9.4, Adidas<\/a> 10.0, and Vector Informatik 9.7. Vector Informatik<\/a>, in particular, demonstrates that compelling employer branding is not the exclusive domain of large corporations: this medium-sized software provider achieves scores in its employer communications on par with those of large, internationally renowned brands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The remaining approximately 29 percent score below average on both dimensions. This group can be described as \u201cthe invisible ones\u201d: often B2B companies whose employer profile is not readily apparent to the outside world and which, at the same time, do not generate a strong counterbalance in employee evaluations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Better communication alone is not enough here. Before a compelling employer story can be developed, companies must assess the actual strengths and areas for improvement that shape their employer culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n The shortage of skilled workers in Germany is often described as an external problem: demographic change, a lack of talent, and international competition for qualified professionals. Yet part of the challenge lies within the companies themselves. Career pages remain too functional. Employers\u2019 strengths are not highlighted. Or promises are made that do not match the actual reality of the workplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is precisely the key finding of our analysis: 45 percent of the global market leaders we examined do not have a single employer branding problem, but rather two completely different ones. For \u201cunder-sellers,\u201d the challenge is to communicate their existing strengths in a way that is both visible and relevant. For \u201cover-sellers,\u201d the internal reality must first align with the external promise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSuccessful employer branding starts with getting the order right. Some need to do a better job of communicating what\u2019s already there. Others need to first make sure their story is actually true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Effective employer branding in small and medium-sized businesses highlights a company\u2019s true strengths and culture. It is crucial not only to articulate values, corporate culture, and day-to-day work, but also to convey them credibly through concrete stories and insights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In our analysis, we use the term \u201cunder-seller\u201d to describe companies that receive above-average ratings from their employees but fail to adequately convey their strengths as employers on their career pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOver-sellers\u201d effectively communicate their employer brand to the outside world, but receive significantly lower ratings from their employees. This creates a gap between the employer’s promises and the reality employees experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n A compelling careers page can attract attention and spark interest among talented individuals. However, it will only be effective in the long run if the values and promises conveyed on the page align with the actual reality of the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Germany is the world champion at hiding. Many German global market leaders have a strong employer culture, but they rarely highlight it on their career pages. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":71444,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,31,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employer-branding-en","category-digital-b2b","category-manufacturing"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71449"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71458,"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71449\/revisions\/71458"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mashup-communications.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
The “Under-Sellers”: 24 Percent Are Giving Away Their Greatest Recruitment Asset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Nora Feist, managing director of Mashup Communications, a Berlin-based PR and brand storytelling agency that conducted the analysis<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
“Over-sellers”: 21 percent promise more than they can deliver<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Nora Feist, Managing Director and Head of Employer Branding at Mashup Communications<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
The Stars and the Invisible: A Comparison of Two More Groups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What Companies Can Learn from This for Their Employer Branding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Nora Feist, storytelling expert in employer branding at Mashup Communications<\/pre>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
FAQ: Employer Branding in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What Makes for Effective Employer Branding in Small and Medium-Sized Businesses?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What is an \u201cunder-seller\u201d in employer branding?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What is an \u201cover-seller\u201d in employer branding?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why isn’t a good careers page enough on its own?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
More Articles on Small and Medium-Sized Businesses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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