Building a recognizable and compelling employer brand: Why it matters for success

At Dynatrace, we often talk about “Real vibes. Real people.”, but this phrase is more than just a tagline to us. These few words capture who we are and our promise to our employees, candidates, and customers about what they can expect from their experience with Dynatrace as an employer.

In previous installments of our Transformation Story blog series, we shared our vision of excellence in employee experience and covered the key elements of our journey so far. We have detailed the launch of our Dynatrace Culture Code. Now, it’s time to reflect on how we continue to build the Dynatrace Employer Brand.

Building an employer brand: Why it matters

A compelling employer brand acts as the window to an organization’s soul: its culture. But what is an employer brand, and why is it important?

Simply put, an organization’s employer brand is an honest reflection of the employee experience. It is a combination of the internal brand perception from employees and its external reputation to prospects and candidates. Organizations that prioritize and invest in building a strong employer brand benefit from a more engaged workforce, leading to higher employee retention and a more valuable perception in the marketplace. A LinkedIn study found that organizations prioritizing their employer brand saw a 28% decrease in staff turnover.

To develop a strong and recognizable employer brand, organizations need to identify the characteristics that employees resonate with and ensure those characteristics are embedded in every organizational decision, action, and process.

A well-developed and trusted employer brand will not only ensure that employees feel engaged and valued at work but also act as a magnet for future talent. That same LinkedIn study showed that a strong employer brand can halve your cost-per-hire, speed up the recruiting process, and produce 50% more qualified candidates opting to apply.

Implementing and maintaining a strong employer brand will ensure the talented people you want to attract are drawn to your organization by the culture, values, and promise of the experience they would have as employees.

Employer brand is not something you can curate overnight; it is built over time from many interwoven aspects. It’s every touchpoint you have with your prospects, candidates, and employees. The outward and inward perception of your organization, how you interact with people, and your organization’s perceived values are essential.

Unlocking the power of our employer brand: Building from within

In Autumn 2022, shortly after I joined Dynatrace as Chief People Officer, I started an internal discovery process that would act as the foundation of our employer brand and consequently, the framework for our employee experience. With the help of an external partner, we ran a global series of focus groups where Dynatracers felt safe to share their thoughts and feedback about our culture. We also surveyed all our employees to gather the stories of what compelled them to join and what keeps them at Dynatrace.

This process was the catalyst for change. From the results of our internal reflection, we were able to start implementing a series of developments that have been integral to building a strong and recognizable employee experience for Dynatrace. We identified the overwhelming value we all place on the Dynatrace culture, the shared appreciation of the people, and our pride in the Dynatrace platform and what we do.

This one piece of Dynatracer feedback captures the environment and culture we’ve carefully curated since the company’s founding in 2005. We place immense value on our people and their experiences. With that, we created our tagline: “Real vibes. Real people.” This tagline is designed to express the authenticity of the Dynatrace culture in four simple yet powerful words.

Identifying the shared appreciation of our culture also led to the development of our Dynatrace Culture Code and the launch of our refreshed values, both of which have aided in effectively communicating who we are and what we’re all about—thus strengthening our employer brand.

A culture that speaks: The backbone of a strong employer brand

Although our values and Culture Code define who we are, we can’t rely solely on these pillars. Our goal is to build a brand that is recognized and trusted as a destination workplace for the top talent we want to attract and retain.

Leveraging employees’ voices is undeniably the key to making this a reality. Candidates will put more trust in the employee’s voice than the voice of the organization, so it is essential to empower your employees to be able to share their honest experiences and opinions. Over the years, we have designed a collection of initiatives to develop our talent into true brand evangelists, encouraging Dynatracers to participate in events and speaking engagements and share their thoughts on social channels and review platforms.

When you build a strong culture that exists at the heart of your employees, they become part of your voice, transforming your employer brand from an internal appreciation of your workplace to a recognized and celebrated destination workplace internally and externally.

An ongoing journey: Shaping tomorrow’s workforce

In today’s competitive landscape, building an employer brand is a continuous journey, not a destination. As we evolve as an organization, so too must the narrative we share with the world. Organizations with the best employer brands are those that adapt, staying true to their values while embracing change. Remember that your employer brand is not what you say; rather, it’s how your organization lives it, every single day. As the future of work continues to shift, staying intentional and proactive with your employer branding will set your organization up for success. We know at Dynatrace, our journey ahead is full of possibilities.

Nearly two years after our first deep dive into the Dynatrace culture and employee experience, we will soon embark on a similar journey to identify what we do well, improvements we have made in the last years, and growth opportunities.

By continually investing in our culture, refining our employee experience, and authentically communicating our mission, purpose, and vision, we will continue to build an employer brand that attracts top talent at Dynatrace. Join us in our journey as we continue to share our learnings and best practices, always keeping our people at the center of creating the future of work.