Cadmatic: Building an authentic employer brand to fuel global growth

In 2025, Cadmatic was in the middle of a big transformation. The Finnish software company, known for its 3D design and information management tools for marine and process industries, had set ambitious goals: strong global growth and preparing the organization for an IPO in the coming years.

To reach their growth goals, Cadmatic needed to secure hard-to-find talent from a very niche pool: people who not only have the right skills but are ready to commit to the company’s journey. While many roles were familiar in title, they required new angles and expertise, for example in AI. The challenge wasn’t just scarcity, but it was also that many potential candidates simply didn’t know Cadmatic yet.

At the same time, the company was entering a new chapter. With an average employee tenure of 10 years, the task was also to engage a younger generation and signal a refreshed direction. Combined with a CEO transition and preparations for a future IPO, Cadmatic realized they needed to reposition themselves in the talent market. Strengthening the employer brand became the way to do it: both to attract new people and to keep their long-term employees inspired during change.

3 reasons why Cadmatic decided to invest in employer branding

1. Reaching a global, niche talent pool. Cadmatic operates in a highly specialized market with limited candidates, so they needed a way to stand out and connect with the right people.
2. Supporting business growth & IPO plans. Strong growth targets and future investor expectations required Cadmatic to show it is a responsible and attractive employer.
3. Strengthening employee commitment. With major organizational changes underway, EB became a key tool to engage employees and build pride internally.

The talent challenge

So, hiring the right people was easier said than done. Cadmatic competes in a niche market where the talent pool is small to begin with, and in most of their 20+ countries they are a relatively unknown employer compared to massive global players. This made it hard to catch the attention of top engineers and customer success professionals with niche technical expertise.

Without a stronger employer brand, the company risked sky-high recruitment costs from relying on headhunters, and worse, missing out on candidates who truly fit their culture.

As Talent Manager Irene Paju put it: “Employer branding was expected to help us reach the right people earlier. Candidates could already get a feel for our culture before they even enter the recruitment process.”

Finding the right partner

Irene knew from experience that employer branding isn’t just about a glossy strategy on paper. The groundwork: interviews, workshops, and defining the right messages takes time and effort before results show. What Cadmatic needed was a partner who could not only design the strategy but also get their hands dirty with the daily content work.

That’s where TalentBee came in. Irene was looking for someone fast-paced, practical, and ready to act like part of her own HR team. Nea Larmia from TalentBee ticked all the boxes.

“I didn’t need someone waving their hands and telling me what to do. I needed someone who knows what needs to be done, and just does it,” Irene says.

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“I didn’t want a consultant who just tells me what to do. I needed a partner who builds the strategy and then actually creates the content. With TalentBee, I got exactly that: someone hands-on, fast-paced, and able to work as part of our team.” – Irene Paju, Talent Manager at Cadmatic

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Choosing TalentBee

What convinced Irene to move forward was how well Nea matched Cadmatic’s way of working. The tempo was fast, priorities shifted quickly, and plans often changed overnight. Nea adapted naturally.

“She feels like a real colleague to me, not an external consultant. Our styles and pace of work just click,” Irene explains.

There were also personal values behind the choice. Supporting women entrepreneurs mattered to Irene, and choosing a Finnish partner felt right for a company with strong local roots but global ambitions.

“Out of all the agencies in the world, I could have chosen anyone. But I wanted to work with a Finnish partner. That was important to me,” she adds.

Leading change through employer branding

For Nea from TalentBee, on the other hand, Cadmatic’s starting point was a classic employer branding moment: a company with strong roots facing rapid change. A new CEO, IPO preparations, and global growth plans made it the right time to pause and ask: “Who are we today, who do we want to reach, and how should we position ourselves in the talent market?”

“Big business decisions always impact people and culture. The real question is: do you let change just happen, or do you lead it? For Cadmatic, employer branding became the way to lead it,” Nea says.

What made Cadmatic an especially exciting EB case was the mix of Finnish roots and a truly global presence, combined with strong products and a demanding, niche talent audience.

“From my very first conversations with Cadmaticians, I could tell there was something special. People were highly skilled and genuinely enjoyed working at Cadmatic – it just hadn’t been packaged or communicated, inside or outside the company. That’s what made me so excited to get started,” Nea explains.

From strategy to action

Together, Cadmatic and TalentBee started by laying the foundation: an employer branding playbook, clear messaging themes, and a step-by-step roadmap. From there, things quickly turned into visible action. A refreshed career site was designed with new visuals and copy. Regular LinkedIn content got rolling: employee stories, culture highlights, and recruitment campaigns.

The work wasn’t just about external visibility. Nea also helped activate employees internally, encouraging them to share posts and join interviews. Weekly 15-minute check-ins kept everything moving, with quick Teams or WhatsApp messages filling the gaps.

“Often it’s not Nea who forgets what needs to be done, it’s me,” Irene laughs. “She keeps us on track.”

Laying the foundation for Cadmatic’s employer brand

• EB Playbook & strategy. TalentBee built clear messaging themes, target talent groups, and a step-by-step roadmap to guide all actions.
• Career site refresh. New visuals, copy, and structure to showcase Cadmatic’s culture and opportunities.
• Content kick-off. Launch of regular LinkedIn posts and employee stories to bring the brand to life and build visibility.

Early results

The impact showed up fast. In just a few months, Cadmatic went from almost no employer branding activity on LinkedIn to publishing 27 posts that reached 46000 impressions with an average engagement rate of 10,8 % – well above industry benchmarks.

Some candidates mentioned Cadmatic’s posts in interviews, proving the message was landing with the right audience.

Employees started to join in too: 62 reposts amplified the reach and showed growing internal pride. Even the hardest-to-reach groups, like senior engineers who are often quiet on social media, began to take part.

Internally, people who Irene never imagined would agree to be featured in EB content said yes.

“That alone felt like a huge win,” Irene notes.

The age-old question: “How to get engineers involved in employer branding?”

Cadmatic’s employer branding quickly struck a chord with the right audience. The mix of global scale, technically challenging software, and roles close to the customer interface felt rare and attractive for many engineers. On top of that, the culture stood out: a human, supportive environment where experts are trusted to balance freedom and responsibility in their daily work.

“Especially in Finland, if you’re a technical expert, it’s highly motivating to be part of a global company where you work directly with international customers and peers,” Nea explains. “That’s something people find very appealing about Cadmatic.”

Nea shares that the “secret” to getting even the most unexpected employees involved in EB content comes down to lowering the threshold and being genuinely curious.

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“I always explain why we’re doing this and what’s in it for them, then make participation as easy as possible. With technical experts, I dive into their field so they feel understood – that’s when authentic stories emerge and even those who never imagined joining EB say yes,” Nea says.

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Key results from the first 6 months

• Stronger visibility and reach. 27 LinkedIn posts generated 46000 impressions with a 10,8 % engagement rate, far above industry benchmarks.
• Employee advocacy in action. 62 reposts showed growing internal pride, with even hard-to-engage engineers starting to share and participate.
• Talent attraction signals. Candidates began mentioning Cadmatic’s posts in interviews, proving the content was reaching the right audience.

Looking ahead

With the new career site launched and regular content running smoothly, Cadmatic and Nea are now focusing on the next step: boosting internal excitement. Plans include LinkedIn training, small activation campaigns, and even competitions to encourage more employees to share their stories.

For Irene, success in the next year means that more people in their target talent pool, engineers and specialists who may never have heard of Cadmatic before, will recognize the company as an attractive place to grow their career.

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“We don’t need everyone to know us like a consumer brand. What matters is that the right people do,” Irene says.