HRD practices and talent management in the companies with the employer brand

Purpose The employer brand could be a key factor of competitiveness for a company in a contemporary labour market. The purpose of this paper is to identify the features of human resource development (HRD) practices and talent management in companies with employer brand (CEBs). Design/methodology/approach The authors examined three economic indicators (turnover rate, average share of HR costs in total costs of company, proportion between the annual HR training budget and annual labour compensation funds). An employee survey was conducted to study the HRD system in the CEBs and in companies without the employer brand (CWEBs). Also, the survey was conducted among applicants (potential workers) about their job preferences and identified that employer brand could be a strong factor for attracting talent to the company. Findings The results show considerable differences in terms of economic indicators, HRD practices and talent management in the CEBs in comparison with CWEBs. The potential advantages of employer brand for a company were identified. The results of the study strongly supported that the CEBs gained a number of economic advantages due to lower rates of staff turnover and higher rates of HR investments in training and development activities of employees. Also, the authors found out that in the CEBs internal recruitment practices, internal training programs and highly efficient incentive activities were widespread and employees were actively involved in the decision‐making and management processes. Originality/value This paper is the first large‐scale study in Russia that examines the relationship between the HRD system and employer brand and enables companies to modify their HRD policies and practices in order to become attractive employers in an era of the so‐called “war for talents”.