New for 2027 · Continuous talent intelligence

Turning Talent Intelligence into Talent Advantage

Every year, more than 500,000 students and professionals tell us what they want from an employer. We help you understand what talent wants, how your employer brand performs against competitors, and what to do next.

See how it works

The world's largest comparable employer brand dataset

500,000+
students and professionals surveyed annually
20
research markets
35+
years of talent intelligence
25 million+
responses collected

Comparable year after year, and evolving with what talent cares about.

Trusted by employers around the world

  • IKEA
  • Microsoft
  • Siemens
  • P&G
  • Airbus
  • Philips
  • Audi
  • BNP Paribas
  • Unilever
  • Henkel
  • Dell
  • Ferrero

Why it matters

The cost of a misaligned employer brand is measured in extended time-to-hire, inflated agency fees and compromised quality of hire.

Talent intelligence replaces guesswork with evidence: where to invest, what to change, and how to show it worked.

50% lower
cost-per-hire for companies with a strong employer brand, compared with weaker ones
1–2x faster
time-to-hire when candidates already know the brand
28% lower
turnover among people hired into a strong employer brand

Sources: LinkedIn Talent Solutions; Glassdoor Economic Research. Category benchmarks, not a guarantee.

Where to start

Which of these questions is on your desk?

Talent acquisition, employer branding and HR leaders come to us with questions like these. Pick the one closest to yours to see how we help you answer it.

Choose a question to see how we help.

How it works

How Universum helps you make better talent decisions

Where everything starts

Global Talent Survey

Core measures are asked the same way every year, so you can compare yourself with competitors and track change. New questions are added as talent priorities change.

Every year · 20 markets · 500,000+ students and professionals

What it helps you understand

  • Employer attractiveness
  • Talent priorities
  • Brand perception
  • Competitive performance
  • Recruitment funnel effectiveness
01

Start with what talent wants

Every year, the Global Talent Survey asks students and professionals what they want from an employer, so you see your talent market as it really is.

How we help: Global Talent Survey (Core+)

02

Understand where you stand

See how attractive you are compared with the employers you compete with, and use bi-monthly Deep Dives to understand why.

How we help: Global Talent Survey (Core+) · Deep Dives (Core+)

03

Act on what matters

Bring your toughest talent question to a Strategy Lab with our employer branding team, and leave with a plan. AI Lens shows what AI says about your employer brand, and what to do next.

How we help: Strategy Labs (Essential+) · AI Lens (Essential+)

04

Track what changes

Pulse Surveys ask talent what you need to know in under five minutes, between annual surveys, and EB Now tracks the market.

How we help: Pulse Surveys (Foresight+) · EB Now (Foresight+)

05

Measure again

The next survey shows what has moved, on measures that stay comparable year after year.

How we help: Global Talent Survey (Core+)

All results are in the Universum Insights Platform, with fresh data for every user.

Your year with Universum

What a year with Universum looks like

From your first results to the next survey. Choose a package to see what's included.

Core 3 · Essential 4 · Foresight 7 key moments

See where you standMonth 0–1
Month 0–1Your results

Global Talent Survey results compared with your competitors, with a strategic insights report and a presentation of findings.

(Core+)
Understand whyMonth 1–2
Every two monthsDeep Dives

Bi-monthly Deep Dives into why you win, why you lose and what matters most to your talent.

(Core+)
Month 1AI BaselineYour AI Lens audit.(Essential+)
Know what to doMonth 2–3
Month 2–3Strategy Lab

Bring your toughest talent question. Leave with a plan.

(Essential+)
Track what's changingMonth 4–10
Month 4–5Pulse Survey

Ask talent an emerging question, in under five minutes.

(Foresight+)
Month 7Progress review

Review what has moved and adjust your priorities.

(Foresight+)
Month 9–10Pulse Survey

Early signals before the next annual survey.

(Foresight+)
Month 4AI Review (Add‑on)
Month 7AI Review (Add‑on)
Measure progressMonth 12
Month 12Next survey

See how far you have moved since your first results.

(Core+)
Month 10–12AI Annual Assessment (Add‑on)
AI LensAI Baseline included in Enterprise Essential and Enterprise Foresight. Reviews and the annual assessment are add-ons, purchased separately.
All yearFresh data in the Universum Insights Platform, for every user
What you get

What you receive

Fresh data, a written analysis and time with our employer branding experts. Each one helps you answer a specific question, and decide where your investment will make the most difference.

Recruitment funnel

Where are we losing candidates?

See where candidates drop off, from awareness to application, and how that has changed since last year.

Awareness78%
Consideration46%
Ideal employer12%
Application6%
This yearLast yearExample data

Are we known for what talent wants?

Talent preferences vs employer perceptions

What your target talent values most, compared with what they actually associate with you.

(Core+)

How do we compare with our competitors?

Competitive benchmarking

Where you stand against each competitor, on every attribute that matters to talent.

(Core+)

What should we prioritise?

Strategic insights report

A written analysis of what the results mean for you and where to focus.

(Core+)

Are we becoming more attractive?

Employer attractiveness

Awareness, consideration, ideal employer ranking and intention to apply, year on year.

(Core+)

Can my team explore the data?

Universum Insights Platform

Fresh data for unlimited users. Filter by market, target group and competitor, and export to PowerPoint.

(Core+)

What does this mean for us?

Presentation of findings

Our employer branding team takes you through the results in your own context.

(Core+)

Why are we winning or losing?

Bi-monthly Deep Dives

What is behind your results, and what to offer talent, every two months.

(Core+)

What do we do next?

Strategy Lab

Findings turned into priorities, positioning and channel decisions.

(Essential+)

What is changing right now?

Pulse Survey insights

Early signals on talent market trends between annual surveys.

(Foresight+)

What does AI tell candidates about us?

AI Lens audit

What AI says about your employer brand, why it says it, how your job ads perform and what to do next.

(Essential+)
Packages

Which package is right for you?

Every package starts with the Global Talent Survey. Each one answers a different question: where you stand, what to do, or what is coming.

CoreYearly + Deep Dives

Know where you stand.

Understand what talent wants, how your employer brand performs, and where you sit in the market.

For teams that need a clear, comparable baseline to set priorities.

Bi-monthly Deep Dives
A closer look behind the headline numbers every two months, so you know what drives your position.
EssentialYearly + Strategy Labs

Know what to do.

Turn talent intelligence into action through deeper analysis, Strategy Labs and AI Lens diagnostics.

For teams ready to act on what the data says.

Strategy Labs
Bring your toughest talent question. Leave with a plan. Working sessions with our employer branding team that turn insight into action.
AI Lens
A comprehensive audit of what AI says about your employer brand, why it says it, how your job ads perform and what to do next.
ForesightAll year

Shape what's coming.

Identify shifts before they become talent challenges through Pulse Surveys, Strategy Labs and AI Lens.

For leaders who want to see the shift before it happens: earlier signals, faster reactions and better decisions, ahead of competitors.

Pulse Surveys
Ask talent what you need to know, in under five minutes. Test emerging questions between annual survey waves and get early signals while there is still time to act.
Strategy Labs
Bring your toughest talent question. Leave with a plan. Working sessions with our employer branding team that turn insight into action.
AI Lens
A comprehensive audit of what AI says about your employer brand, why it says it, how your job ads perform and what to do next.
Compare what is included
What you getCoreEssentialForesight
Global Talent Survey results
Universum Insights Platform, unlimited users
Strategic insights report
Presentation of findings
Next survey to measure progress
Bi-monthly Deep Dives
Strategy Labs
Pulse Surveys
EB Now
Progress review
AI Lens (Enterprise Essential and Enterprise Foresight)

Pricing

Priced by scope

  • MarketsPriced per country. Rates vary by market.
  • Target groupsEach additional target group costs less than the one before.
  • Listed or non-listedSeparate rates apply. Not in the ranking yet? Add a custom study.

Not sure which package fits? Talk it through with an advisor.

AI Lens

Candidates now ask AI about you

AI tools build a picture of your employer brand from what is published about you. AI Lens shows what AI says about you, why it says it, and what to do next.

42%of talent research employers with AI
34%apply for jobs with AI
6.8%don't use AI at all
83%feel positive, optimistic or curious about employers using AI

Comprehensive audit

AI Lens

A comprehensive audit that reveals what AI says about your employer brand, why it says it, how your job ads perform and what to do next.

  • →What AI says about your employer brand
  • →Why it says it: the sources AI relies on
  • →How your job ads perform
  • →What to do next

AI Lens is included in Enterprise Essential and Enterprise Foresight.

AI Reviews (Month 4 and Month 7) and an AI Annual Assessment are available as add-ons, purchased separately.

Example output · illustrative

Candidate question: “Best employers for engineering graduates in Germany?”

Share of AI answers that mention the employer

You38%
Competitor A54%
Competitor B31%

Sources AI used

Career siteGlassdoorLinkedInWikipediaNewsRedditUniversum rankingsUniversity sitesYouTubeIndeedPress releasesTrade media

Why talent leaders work with Universum

For more than 35 years, employers have relied on Universum to understand talent and act on it.

Real people, real data
500,000+ students and professionals every year. At a time when synthetic data is everywhere, yours isn't.
35+ years of comparable data
The world's largest comparable employer brand dataset, evolving with what talent cares about.
A partner, not a report
Our employer branding team works through the findings with you and helps turn them into decisions.
All year, not once a year
Bi-monthly Deep Dives, Pulse Surveys and progress reviews between annual surveys, so you see change early.

The wider Universum offer

  1. InsightUnderstand what talent wants
  2. StrategyTurn intelligence into decisions
  3. CreativeTell the right story
  4. ActivationReach the right people
  5. MeasureTrack what changed

Speak with a Universum talent intelligence advisor

We can discuss:

Talent priorities · Employer brand performance · Competitor positioning · Emerging trends · AI and your employer brand