There are certain aspects of an employer brand that is attractive and appealing to jobseekers, which compels them to apply for a job and invokes desire to work for a company. One of the key criterias covered in the Randstad Employer Brand Research study, is the attractiveness factors of an employer brand.
Celebrating its 17th edition globally, the Randstad Employer Brand Research is the most representative and inclusive employer brand research in the world. The research presents the most important aspects that jobseekers look for, when selecting a new organization.
It is no surprise that the top 5 attractiveness factors have not changed drastically over the past few years – besides candidates’ expectations and motivations have remained pretty much the same every year. However, a more in-depth analysis uncovered some interesting facts.
SINGAPORE
Salary has been consistently ranked the number one most important factor, since the start of the Randstad Employer Brand Research in Singapore in 2012. Each year, between 63% to 71% of respondents have voted salary as a Top 5 most important aspect, when looking for a new job.
Work-life balance has risen significantly in terms of ranking, from 32% to 57% between 2012 and 2016, to take the second spot in the Randstad Employer Brand Research Top 10 Attractiveness Factors.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce. This generation of employees tend to have their own perspective, of what work life should look like and the attractive factors ranking reinforces this mindset shift, with increasing focus on work-life balance.
The growth of millennials in the workforce may also have led to decreasing focus on attractiveness factors such as job security (dropped from 61% to 42%) and financial health of the organization (dropped from 55% to 39%).
This could be owing to the fact that the average tenure of Millennials is typically around two years, which means they are essentially placing less importance on these factors.
See: Do’s and Don’ts for Effective Employer Branding
HONG KONG
Hong Kong candidates regard salary as one of the most important attributes when looking for a new job, but not always. In the inaugural Randstad Employer Brand Research for Hong Kong in 2013, long-term job security (65%) outranked salary (score of 63%).
However, since then, job security as an attractiveness factor has plummeted from 65% to 43% in 2016, highlighting the evolving preference of Hong Kong job seekers to place more emphasis on salary and benefits.
Pleasant work atmosphere has been ranked the second most important attribute for four consecutive years, with a score of 50% in 2016. Work-life balance similarly tied for second place at a score of 50%. Companies that invest in creating a strong corporate culture and comfortable working environment tend to be rated more favourably.
However, with the emergence of the Millennials in the workforce, employers should equally regard work-life balance as an important factor in attracting talent.
Whilst interesting job content has not ranked in the top five in the past years, it has been on the rise gaining a few percentage points at each Randstad Employer Brand Research. Since 2013, it went up from 31% to 35% in 2015. While many expected to see job content take top 5 spot in 2016, it in fact dropped to eighth place at 32%.
MALAYSIA
The inaugural Randstad Employer Brand Research for Malaysia in 2016, unsurprisingly, revealed that Malaysian employees had the highest preference for salary and benefits when looking at companies with a score of 69%.
Interestingly, the financial health of an organisation was considered much more important in Malaysia than Singapore and Hong Kong. Malaysian employees scored financial health at 50%, beating out pleasant working atmosphere at 41%, an attractiveness factor much more desired in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Malaysian employees considered long-term job security as one of the top three attractiveness factor for companies, drawing a score of 44%.
With job security and organisational financial health coming in the top three attractiveness factors, it showed that Malaysian employees value finding job prospects that were rock solid – with little risk of being retrenched or being shut down. Despite this, work-life balance ranked in close at 43%.
Also read: Top 75 Employer Brands in Hong Kong for 2017 Revealed
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