Swiss Employer Branding Award: KLAR Wins Gold and Silver

The Zurich-based employer branding agency KLAR Employer Identity received awards for two submitted projects at the Swiss Employer Branding Award 2026 in Zurich. Together with the Rhaetian Railway, KLAR won gold in the Strategy & Positioning / Recruiting Campaigns & Events category. For pflegimuri’s new positioning as an employer, KLAR received silver in the categories Strategy & Positioning / Internal Branding & Culture and SME Special: Small Budget – Big Impact.

The awards were presented to an audience of industry professionals during the tenth Swiss Employer Branding & Recruiting Summit. A panel of experts selected the winning projects from among more than 36 submissions.

### Gold for the Rhaetian Railway: The Graubünden Way of Life vs. the Shortage of Train Engineers

To address the acute shortage of train operators, KLAR partnered with the Rhaetian Railway to develop a targeted recruitment campaign aimed at attracting skilled workers from outside the canton. Guided by the idea of combining the professional challenge with the recreational benefits of the Grisons mountains, dynamic campaign visuals and video ads were created. According to the company, the campaign generated more than 2.5 million impressions, significantly increased the number of applicants, and ensured a sustainable supply of new talent. Building on this success, KLAR worked with the Rhaetian Railway to redesign the entire employer value proposition—incorporating input from both the workforce and senior management—which is currently being rolled out internally and externally.

### Silver for pflegimuri: Radical Authenticity Against the Nursing Crisis

KLAR developed a new employer brand for the healthcare facility pflegimuri under the motto «besser.anders.arbeiten.» Based on 30 in-depth employee interviews, the brand deliberately breaks with common industry clichés: An unscripted 24-hour photo essay capturing the everyday lives of nursing staff, a new careers page, and an emotional rollout of the employer value proposition to the entire team sparked internal enthusiasm, according to the agency, and strengthened the organization’s external reputation as a top employer in the region.

### Recognition for a genuine, lived-out work culture

Christian Dietrich, CEO of KLAR Employer Identity, is overwhelmed by the double victory at the Swiss Employer Branding Award: «Both projects embody what we believe in at KLAR: not imposing an external campaign on a company, but first listening carefully to what employees are truly experiencing. This isn’t just a method; it’s also a form of appreciation—taking the time to truly listen shows employees that their perspective matters. Especially in an era where so much is being automated, this remains the only path for us to build a credible employer brand.»