Winning Employer Brands in 25 countries named in Randstad Award 2016

The brands people would most like to work for in 25 countries globally were revealed today with the announcement of the winners of the Randstad Award 2016. Country winners ranged from Google, IKEA, and BMW to Hewlett Packard, Suntory and IBM.

The Randstad Award is the world’s biggest employer branding survey, polling over 200,000 respondents in 25 countries that cover 75% of the global economy. It asks respondents to rate the attractiveness of their country’s largest employers (for the winners of all 25 countries, see below).

Argentina

Hewlett-Packard

Malaysia

Shell

Australia

Virgin Australia

Netherlands

Schiphol Airport (profit); TNO (non-profit)

Belgium

GSK

New Zealand

Department of Conservation

Canada

Canadian Solar

Poland

KGHM Polska Miedź

China

IBM

Portugal

TAP

France

Dassault Aviation

Russia (via Ancor)

Gazprom

Germany

BMW

Singapore

Changi Airport Group

Hong Kong

CLP

Spain

IBM

Hungary

Audi

Sweden

IKEA

India

Google

Switzerland

Google

Italy

Ferrero

UK

Rolls-Royce Group

Japan

Suntory

USA

The Walt Disney Company

Luxembourg

RTL Group

As in the previous two years, IT is the most popular sector with survey respondents globally. The second most popular sector is Consulting, with Life Sciences in third place.

Global employer/employee disconnect?

But large brands globally should beware an emerging employer/employee disconnect: while global survey respondents cited salary & benefits, long-term job security, and a pleasant working atmosphere as their top priorities, these were qualities that far fewer associated with working for a large company (see table, below).

Employees globally seek…

Employers globally score best on…

1.

Salary & employee benefits

1.

Financial health

2.

Long-term job security

2.

Strong management

3.

Pleasant working atmosphere

3.

Good training

4.

Good work/life balance

4.

Salary & employee benefits

5.

Financial health

5.

Career progression opportunities

6.

Career progression opportunities

6.

Long-term job security

7.

Interesting job content

7.

Interesting job content

8.

Good training

8.

Pleasant working atmosphere

9.

Strong management

9.

Corporate social responsibility

10.

Corporate Social Responsibility

10.

Good work/life balance

Randstad CEO, Jacques van den Broek, comments: “The purpose of our annual employer branding research is to identify the companies around the world that have the most attractive brands in the eyes of potential job seekers, along with the sectors people want to work in. The winners of the Randstad Award clearly have robust and effective branding that is striking the right chord with people in their respective countries. In terms of sectors, IT remains the standout winner, ranking the most popular sector for the third year in a row. But if there’s one area where brands overall could improve, it’s focusing more on the qualities that people look for most in a prospective employer.”

 

About the Randstad Award survey

The Randstad Award is the largest independent employer branding survey in the world, identifying the most attractive employers among thousands of companies. The survey captures the views of over 200,000 respondents (general public, aged 18-65) in 25 countries andmeasures the market perception of employers with the largest workforces in those countries. It is an in-depth research program that has been conducted by Randstad’s international research partner, ICMA Group, since 2000. Respondents for the 2016 survey were polled between September and December 2015.

The Randstad Award provides in-depth insights into the perceptions and drivers of choice of potential employees. Why do people prefer one company, or a specific industry sector, over another? What motivates them to stay with an employer or to start looking for new challenges?