Outstanding employer branding efforts deserve recognition and that’s exactly what the Magnet Awards aim to provide. The competition began in Norway, where it has been held for eight years. It soon expanded to Sweden, Finland, and this year, Instar brought the competition to Estonia for the very first time. The warm reception and high interest from Estonian employers show that the value of a strong employer brand is increasingly recognized.

The first-ever Magnet Awards Estonia received 66 nominations related to employer branding and seven candidates for the Employer Branding Specialist of the Year award. The winners were selected by an independent jury comprising professionals in marketing, communications, and human resources.

But Magnet Awards doesn’t end with handing out trophies. Now comes Magnet Talks, three inspiring events where winners from each category share their experiences and the concrete steps that led to their success. The first Magnet Talks took place on April 16, 2025.

How Bolt Turned Employees into the Voice of Its Employer Brand

Bolt’s employer branding lead, Kadi Poll, shared insights into building Bolt’s internal employer brand. At first glance, a company LinkedIn page with over 260,000 followers may seem like the best branding channel but reality proved otherwise. A single post on Kadi’s personal profile (with 7,000 followers at the time) reached over 7 million views, while posts on the official Bolt account averaged under 60,000. This helped the team realize: employees are the most credible and impactful spokespeople.

Thus, the LinkedIn Challenge was born, a strategic, multifaceted approach blending employees’ natural social media activity with clear objectives and robust support. The aim was to raise employee visibility on LinkedIn, strengthen the employer brand, and attract more qualified candidates to Bolt’s careers page. With only two people in the employer branding team and over 200 job openings worldwide, a smart and scalable system was essential.

The campaign began with a two-month pilot program involving 40 employees – no pressure, but strong support. Participants were asked to make four posts in two months and share results in a private Slack group. Every detail was carefully planned: an 11-page strategy document, tools and guidelines on the intranet, workshops, ambassadors from various departments, and weekly engagement via an “Ambassador of the Week” format.

Instead of scripted posts, participants were encouraged to share their real stories – even with typos, poor lighting, or excessive emojis. Authentic content creates connection and trust. Strong project management also contributed to the success – Kadi’s role was to be a supporter, content creator, motivator, and even ghostwriter when needed.

Over the course of a year, the project generated 959 posts, 24.5 million impressions, saved approximately €180,000 in ad costs, and increased candidates arriving via LinkedIn. But, as Kadi emphasized, the greatest value lay not in the numbers but in the confidence, speaking invitations, career growth, and community feeling that employees gained – the kind of impact you can’t measure.

How Breakwater Technology Brought Its Values to Life

Work culture is built through intentional actions and meaningful, repeatable experiences. At Breakwater Technology, the HR team led by Kristina Sisina decided to go beyond a standard “values reminder” at the end of 2024. This led to Values Month – a four-week initiative spotlighting the company’s core values: honesty, respect, freedom, and growth.

Why a full month? Kristina explained that a longer time frame helped people genuinely engage with the values. Each week focused on one value and included diverse, educational, and engaging activities. The end of the year was ideal timing – many new employees had recently joined, and the whole team felt the need to strengthen shared culture.

Honesty Week kicked things off – through anonymous questions, employees received real answers from leaders. A quiz and the team game “Two Truths and a Lie” fostered openness and trust.

Respect Week celebrated cultural diversity – four employees from India hosted a cultural lunch, followed by practical etiquette training. Daily Slack tips encouraged more mindful interactions among colleagues.

Freedom Week highlighted flexibility – pajama day, employee stories on LinkedIn, and a relaxed, informal atmosphere conveyed that everyone can work in the way that suits them best.

Growth Week emphasized creativity and development – employees designed new icons, the best of which became part of the company’s visual identity. A public speaking workshop was also held, both in-person and virtually.

Fun activities ran throughout the month, including a treasure hunt video challenge with values-related tasks that sparked enthusiasm and team spirit. But the most important outcomes were:

• eNPS score rose from 71 to 82

• “High Five” employee recognition increased by 128% from the previous quarter

• Weekly employee wellness pulse score rose from 4.3 to 4.5

• Check-in completion rate grew from 75% to 85%

Kristina said employee feedback was heartwarming – people felt more connected to their colleagues, reflected on meaningful topics, and felt part of a shared values-based community. Values Month didn’t end as a one-off – it’s now a tradition continuing into 2025.

How Bombay Group Built an Employer Brand Through Top-Quality and Distinction

The third Magnet Talks presentation was led by Eneli Palloson and Marita Kaidme from Bombay Group – a new brand offering exclusive entertainment and hospitality services that’s quickly becoming one of the most standout employers in Tallinn.

In the summer of 2024, Bombay opened five new venues, ranging from a luxury casino club to restaurants and lounges. This meant hiring nearly 200 new employees within a few short months – yet the brand had no prior recognition on the Estonian job market. The challenges were many: tight timelines, a tough hiring environment, specific skills needed, and high service expectations. At the center of it all was the need for a strong employer brand.

The employer branding campaign was built around four core ideas: One of a Kind, Quality Over Quantity, Play Smart, Not Hard, and Think Global, Act Local. The campaign was driven by social media (Meta, Google Display, YouTube), job portals, and physical visibility in Apollo cinemas and outdoor advertising. Special attention was paid to LinkedIn, which brought in 121 applicants.

The results spoke for themselves:

• 1,322 applications between February 29 and June 16, 2024

• 14,336 career site visits

• Recruitment process NPS score: 88

• Time to hire: 16 days

• Peak applications in mid-April and May

But the campaign’s success wasn’t just in the numbers. Eneli and Marita shared honest lessons – from managing Meta platform changes to balancing strong visuals with authentic messaging. The campaign proved that strategic employer branding can make even a new name stand out in a competitive market.