Today’s Magnet Talks showcased three brilliant examples of how meaningful action, strategic intent, and genuine employee involvement are essential in employer branding. The stage welcomed Lidl Estonia, LHV, and Orkla Estonia – winners in their respective Magnet Awards categories, who came to share their experiences, challenges, and wins.

Lidl Estonia: A Recruitment Campaign Where Every Second Counted

Helena Idarand and Piret Puidak presented Lidl’s recent recruitment campaign, aimed at hiring new employees for four stores across Estonia. What made the campaign particularly challenging was that a Lidl employee is not just a cashier or shelf stocker, they are multifunctional team members who do nearly everything in the store.

The campaign had to attract people motivated by stability, growth opportunities, an active work rhythm, and specific added benefits, all within less than two months.

Key focus points included:

• Health insurance and sports allowance

• Stable monthly salary and annual pay increases

• Extra pay during training and paid days off

• Loyalty bonuses for those with zero absenteeism

• The chance to be part of a new store’s launch team

The visual language of the campaign reflected energy and athleticism. Fresh imagery and videos were created in collaboration with Lidl employees, giving the campaign an authentic and honest tone.

The most challenging part was recruiting and training staff for the new store in Võru, where Lidl had never operated before, and training had to take place in another city. The campaign also had to quickly adapt to changes, for example, combining two separate hiring tracks in Tallinn into one general “Tallinn store employee” campaign.

The results speak for themselves:

• 344 applications

• 44 job offers

• 36 new hires

• All four stores fully staffed

LHV: “Tulemuslend” – Empowering Employees to Lead and Execute Ideas

Merilyn Saulep, LHV’s Employer Branding Partner, presented one of the most innovative approaches to employer branding: Tulemuslend (“Performance Flight”). For LHV, this isn’t just a campaign, it’s a way of thinking and working.

Tulemuslend was born from a desire to accelerate change and give employees the power to implement their own ideas. Over the course of a week, teams focus on a clearly defined idea with real potential impact.

How does it work?

• Employees submitted ideas to improve efficiency, create tools/services, or enhance the customer experience

• 15 top projects were selected

• The chosen teams worked on their ideas for a week in a self-selected location

• Locations ranged from Vihula Manor in Estonia to destinations in Spain and Cyprus

• With a budget of €57,000, over half of the projects reached tangible results within just one week

The impact was multi-layered:

• Automation tools were developed, saving employee time

• New internal tools and processes were built

• Motivation and collaboration improved

• The employer brand became even more attractive—internally and externally

Most importantly, employees felt trusted to lead, not just follow. This sense of meaning, ownership, and belonging is the true key to the future of work.

Orkla Estonia: An Employer Brand Reboot

Helen Siller, HR Partner at Orkla Estonia, shared how an employer brand sometimes needs a full reboot, especially when the company evolves but its employer image doesn’t.

The issue: job ads, visuals, and the brand ambassador program no longer reflected Orkla’s reality as an innovative, international, and people-centered company.

Instead of doing just a visual makeover, they created a complete new vision combining:

• A new corporate visual identity

• Authentic photos under the concept “Caught at Work”

• A reinvigorated brand ambassador program

• A clear message: “A home to grow”

Photos were taken with employees in their real work environments—lab coats, hats, production lines, and all. A professional makeup artist was brought in, and employees received gift bags as thanks for contributing their face and personality to the employer brand.

The brand ambassadors received new energy: 12 of them are undergoing personal branding and social media training, received branded hoodies, and follow a structured activity plan.

In Summary: Three Different Approaches, One Shared Principle

While Lidl, LHV, and Orkla operate in different industries and approach employer branding in different ways, three core values stood out across all presentations:

• Authenticity – involving employees in visuals and messaging

• Trust – empowering employees to lead initiatives

• Meaning – building a brand that resonates with every employee