Use of Employer Branding as a Tool for Attracting and Retaining Talent: Evidence from Private Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) in Botswana

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine how employer branding is used as a tool for attracting and retaining talent in private higher education institutions. Literature shows that employer brand is very important if well implemented and communicated in highlighting an institution as an attractive employment destination, that is, as an employment destination of choice. A structured questionnaire, that employed a five-point Likert scale, from strongly agree to strongly disagree was used as a data collection instrument. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse and interpret data. Results of the study showed that private higher education institutions deploy a number of employer branding strategies to attract and retain talent. Furthermore, results also showed that biographical factors such as age and education are critical issues authorities in PHEIs should look at when designing, implementing and communicating their brands as these have an effect on how talent perceive the PHEIs as attractive workplaces as well as on how long talent will remain as an employee at the institutions.

Keywords: Talent, employer branding, private higher education institutions, employer branding strategies