Employer branding: perceived organisational support and employee retention – the mediating role of organisational commitment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between employer branding attribute of organisational support and employee retention in a government agency in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach This study is cross-sectional in design, and an online survey method was used to collect data from 134 research participants. Research participants were recruited from a local council in New Zealand. The Process Macro Regression method was employed to analyse the collected data. Findings The main findings from this study are: first, the study shows that perceived organisational support (POS) as an employer branding technique affects employee retention. Second, POS significantly influenced employees’ organisational commitment (OC) as a predictor of employee retention. Third, the relationship between organisational support and employee retention was mediated by OC in this study. Research limitations/implications This study examined POS as an employer branding strategy; the findings have a number of valuable implications for organisations. This study suggests that organisations should develop adequate organisational support mechanisms as a way of acquiring the status of a better employer among different stakeholders. Practical implications Precisely, the findings imply that organisations should focus on increasing organisational support to attract, maintain and retain employees because employees desire conducive and favourable work environments. Social implications A well-crafted and efficiently implemented organisational supportive strategies may enhance the reputational status of the organisation as an employer brand among its future job applicants. Originality/value This study tested POS as an employer branding attribute in the New Zealand context; research on POS as an employer branding strategy is scarce. The results suggest that organisations that embrace organisational support mechanisms as employer branding strategy succeed in maintaining and retaining their talents for a longer time.