Employer brand image in a health care organization

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview concerning employer brand image in a Finnish hospital organization. What is done for recruitment marketing? This study offers some proposals for improving the recruitment process. Design/methodology/approach - The research is a qualitative case study and the research method used is a group interview. The research questions are approached from an organizational perspective. Background information about the current labour shortage in health care is gathered from the focus hospital organization, from the public media and from the health care trade organizations. Findings - Very few marketing actions concerning employer image have been done in the focus hospital. There also existed a lack of appropriate recruitment tools and competence. Data systems and the internet have not been fully exploited in the recruitment process. Vacancies are not announced in educational institutes. Career development possibilities are not presented in job advertisements and job-rotation has not been used in recruitment. Originality/value - This paper provides useful information for health care managers and researchers concerning the role of employer image in recruiting and the importance of a well-organized recruitment process.