Business value from employer branding: Foodello–Fiksuruoka's journey with TalentBee

In fall 2022, Foodello–Fiksuruoka embarked on a new venture by collaborating with TalentBee to enhance their employer branding. This collaboration marked the beginning of an extensive strategy aimed at 

• internally enhancing the feeling of pride and ownership within the team,
• internally increasing employee retention, and 
• externally building awareness in the desired talent target groups. 

The initial pilot phase provided promising results, leading to the continuation of this partnership into 2023. Read more about the start of our collaboration and pilot here!

"I oversee all people-related aspects within our team of 57, based in Helsinki and Amsterdam. Before partnering with TalentBee, our employer branding efforts were limited to occasional ad-hoc LinkedIn posts. While we were growing rapidly and recruiting heavily, we realized we had done excellent branding for our customers but hadn't invested in promoting ourselves as an employer. This realization was the driving force behind our decision to enhance our employer branding," their Head of People Jessica Lång says about the decision to invest in employer branding in the first place.

Tangible results from employer branding both internally and externally

From the beginning of our on-going partnership, we have followed an employer branding strategy that we agreed and planned together. The comprehensive employer branding strategy was built around two core objectives: internal unity and external visibility.

“I work as an Interim EB Lead at Foodello–Fiksuruoka. They started to invest in employer branding because they were experiencing growth and had set ambitious goals. They wanted to bring the majority of their recruitment efforts in-house but realized this would only be possible with a strong, recognizable employer brand that could attract high-quality applicants,” says Nea Raaska, EB Strategist from TalentBee.

Internal focus: Strengthening team spirit and employer brand ownership 

Internally, the focus was on creating a unified narrative for the team, fostering pride and ownership in their work. This initiative was crucial as the team was experiencing rapid growth. 

In around two years, we have seen improvements in the external employer brand ownership in very concrete ways. Employees are actively:

• Participating in employer branding activities: being interviewed for stories about their career growth, ways of working and inspiring aspects of their work.
• Sharing their ideas for employer branding as they understand what kind of topics are interesting to tech, customer service, and procurement talents like them.
• Resharing and posting content through their personal profiles and expressing pride in being part of Foodello–Fiksuruoka!

External focus: Expanding awareness and attracting tech, procurement and customer service talents

Externally, the goal was to boost awareness of Foodello–Fiksuruoka as an employer within Finland and in their new market in the Netherlands. 

A particular emphasis was placed on attracting tech professionals, a vital demographic for their growth. Over the past two years, clear results have been seen in these efforts, positioning Foodello–Fiksuruoka as a recognized and desirable employer in these regions. For example, they were able to hire a Data Engineer inbound without headhunting services, which had previously been a challenge both for them and generally in the Finnish market.

“We've received excellent inbound applications for our recruitment processes and have been able to handle all recruitments ourselves, significantly reducing our reliance on headhunting. We have significantly reduced the amount of money spent on external headhunting partners. This marks the biggest change from our previous methods,” Jessica says. 

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The results of our concerted employer branding efforts over the past year have been remarkable, demonstrating significant business value:

• External recruitment cost savings: One of the most tangible benefits has been a dramatic reduction in external recruitment agency costs by 80 %‍
• Cost-per-hire efficiency: The cost per hire saw an impressive decline of 62.19%. This efficiency gain underscores the effectiveness of the employer branding strategy in attracting the right talent more cost-effectively.

Detailed collaboration and a holistic approach to employer branding

Our collaboration with Foodello–Fiksuruoka involves a holistic approach to employer branding, dedicating one full day each week to this initiative. 

This day is packed with activities ranging from strategic planning to execution, supplemented by monthly review meetings to ensure alignment and progress. In addition, we renewed their career page in the beginning of 2024 as we had produced multiple career stories and in-depth interviews with their team members. Take a look on their blog!

Back in 2022, we developed a robust strategy that identified key target groups, differentiation factors, and created thematic content based on these insights. The targeted groups include procurement, tech, and customer service professionals. 

The content we’ve produced and published on social media has focused on 

• increasing awareness of why Foodello–Fiksuruoka can be the ideal workplace for these segments, 
• highlighting growth opportunities, ongoing developmental challenges, and cultural fit,
• providing answers to critical questions like what kind of individuals thrive at Foodello–Fiksuruoka, their backgrounds, and how they have grown professionally within the company.

"The work Nea from TalentBee does is based on the strategy we have planned together. Nea does amazing work keeping us informed, and everything runs smoothly. Every month, the collaboration is extremely flexible and seamless," Jessica says. 

👉 Follow Foodello–Fiksuruoka’s EB actions on LinkedIn

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A strong buy-in from the leadership – Eager participation from the employees

Foodello–Fiksuruoka's collaboration with TalentBee has been a great example of the power of strategic employer branding, yielding substantial business value. 

“One of the most significant changes we have observed is the team’s growing understanding of the importance of employer branding. Employees have expressed pride in being part of the Foodello–Fiksuruoka team, a stark contrast to the early days of our collaboration. They are now eager to participate in content creation, such as being interviewed for career stories, which highlights their professional journeys,” Nea highlights. 

Furthermore, there has been a strong buy-in from the company's leadership. They recognize the long-term business benefits of employer branding. Nea has built strong relationships with the leadership team, regularly sharing brief quarterly results of our employer branding efforts with the People team, ensuring that the impact and value of this work are clearly communicated and appreciated. 

“I have managed to build trust with the management team of Fiksuruoka–Foodello who are committed to building an employer brand and understand the long-term impact to the business. We have been able to build an internal buy-in for employer branding work within the whole organization and team,” Nea says and adds: "Best part about long-term collaboration is that I feel like I am part of the Foodello–Fiksuruoka team!”

“The collaboration has been fun and professional all the time! Everyone at TalentBee is super professional in their areas of recruitment and employer branding. With them, everything works smoothly for us,” Jessica says.

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By implementing a well-structured approach, Foodello–Fiksuruoka has achieved significant cost savings, improved hiring metrics, and cultivated a feeling of pride in their team about being a part of Foodello–Fiksuruoka.

This journey underscores the importance of consistent investment in employer branding, providing a valuable case study for other tech companies looking to grow their teams and enhance their brand presence in competitive markets.