EMPLOYER BRANDING AND DATA-DRIVEN APPROACHES TO TALENT ATTRACTION: FROM SPORTS ANALYTICS TO STRATEGIC PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to substantiate a conceptual model of data-driven employer branding that integrates big data analytics and standardized assessment tools into the processes of forming and evaluating the employer value proposition. The relevance of this study is driven by the growing gap between traditional intuition-based recruitment methods and the analytical capabilities available to modern organizations, compounded by Ukraine's acute labor shortage of approximately 4.5 million workers caused by war-driven migration and demographic decline. The research methodology combines systematic literature review with conceptual modeling, synthesizing findings from three converging domains: employer branding theory, sports-inspired talent analytics (Moneyball concept), and standardized HR assessment instruments. The study analyzes how the analytical revolution that transformed professional sports scouting has been transferred to corporate human resource management by companies such as Google, and examines the role of Gallup's CliftonStrengths assessment and Q12 employee engagement survey as concrete examples of data-driven talent management tools with proven effectiveness across millions of respondents. The results demonstrate that CliftonStrengths, designed to diagnose 34 natural talent themes, can be effectively used during onboarding for team talent mapping, while Q12 provides continuous engagement monitoring across four hierarchical levels of employee needs. The proposed conceptual model integrates these analytical instruments into four stages of employer branding: EVP diagnostics, selection and onboarding, development and retention, and brand effectiveness evaluation. The practical value of this research lies in providing Ukrainian organizations with a systematic framework for implementing data-driven employer branding strategies that enable effective competition for scarce talent despite limited financial resources, mirroring the Moneyball principle of achieving disproportionate results through objective analytics rather than intuition.
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