Less than a month ago, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop sent an internal memo to all employees with a dramatic analysis of Nokia’s current situation.

While yours truly is a subscriber of direct communication, in certain situations I have to wonder what’s the real impact of such a harsh message in Nokia’s employer branding internally and externally, especially if you take into account how much in Asia we don’t like to lose face.

For a long time Nokia has been Finland’s #1 ideal employer as well as one of the World’s most attractive employers. With this message I believe Mr. Elop wanted to moralize and wake-up Nokia’s employees. The question of whether this will end-up by eroding Nokia’s attractiveness will be answered soon (the 2011 Universum rankings are about to be revealed).

My perception is that it might be harmful unless it gets tied up to a challenge/reward  – young talent wants companies with innovative products/ services, that offer job security, that help them developed and allows them to have a brighter future. Under the current circumstances, I’m not sure if Nokia offers this. On the other hand – taking the challenge of bringing Nokia to what it used to be and face Apple on the market that they now own will be one of the best achievements one can ever have on their cv.

Time will tell!