Employer Branding and Digital Recruitment Effectiveness: The Mediating Roles of Employee Advocacy and Employer Attractiveness in Indonesia's FMCG Industry

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigates the influence of employer branding on digital recruitment effectiveness by examining the mediating roles of employee advocacy and employer attractiveness among employees of PT Mayora Indah Tbk., one of Indonesia's leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies. The study addresses the growing need for organizations to strengthen employer branding strategies to attract and retain high-quality talent in an increasingly competitive digital labor market.

Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative explanatory research design was employed using a cross-sectional survey. Data were collected from 300 employees of PT Mayora Indah Tbk. in Tangerang who had worked for the company for at least one year. Respondents were selected using proportionate stratified random sampling. The proposed research model was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.

Findings: The results demonstrate that employer branding has a significant positive effect on employee advocacy (β = 0.684, p < 0.001), employer attractiveness (β = 0.731, p < 0.001), and digital recruitment effectiveness (β = 0.291, p < 0.001). Employee advocacy (β = 0.276, p < 0.001) and employer attractiveness (β = 0.354, p < 0.001) also significantly enhance digital recruitment effectiveness. Furthermore, both employee advocacy and employer attractiveness partially mediate the relationship between employer branding and digital recruitment effectiveness. The structural model explains 72.6% of the variance in digital recruitment effectiveness, indicating substantial predictive power.

Practical implications: The findings suggest that organizations should integrate employer branding initiatives with employee advocacy programs and value proposition strategies to improve recruitment outcomes through digital platforms. Strengthening employees' willingness to promote the organization and enhancing organizational attractiveness are critical for increasing recruitment effectiveness in the FMCG industry.

Originality/value: This study extends employer branding literature by introducing employee advocacy and employer attractiveness as complementary mediating mechanisms that explain how employer branding improves digital recruitment effectiveness. Empirical evidence from Indonesia's FMCG sector contributes to the limited body of research on digital recruitment within emerging economies.

Paper type: Empirical research.