Can a university’s anniversary be used to strengthen employee engagement and improve the employer brand?

ABSTRACT

The study is aimed at contributing to the research of developing the employer brand of a university with the help of a special university project. Our basic research question is whether a Jubilee project could be used to develop the employer brand of a university and strengthen employee engagement. The authors present the possibilities of measuring communication elements regarding employer branding with the help of two surveys. The employee survey results (based on 1723 respondents) showed that the reputation of the university in the university ranking list improved and the pride of its employees, as well. A significant factor in employer brand development is communication with future potential employees, so the role of public opinion is critical in creating a positive reputation of the university. This is why the Jubilee Project 650 of the University of Pécs can be regarded as a useful employer brand developing activity.

KEYWORDS:

• Higher education
• Jubilee project
• reputation
• employer branding
• project management
• engagement

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• E24
• I23
• M31

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The research was financed by project no. TKP2020-IKA-08, which has been implemented with the support provided from by the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary, financed under the 2020-4.1.1-TKP2020 funding scheme.

Notes on contributors

Gabriella Kuráth

Gabriella Kuráth is an associate professor at the University of Pécs Faculty of Business and Economics. Her primary professional fields are graduate career tracking system, competence areas and higher education communication.

Brigitta Szabó-Bálint

Brigitta Szabó-Bálint is an assistant professor at the University of Pécs Faculty of Business and Economics. Her research area is human resource management, with a focus on career development and employer branding.

Ákos Jarjabka

Ákos Jarjabka is an associate professor and department leader at the University of Pécs Faculty of Business and Economics. His publications encompass the science of leadership, international management, national-organizational culture management, human resource management, and project management as well.