Employer Branding Trends from Employer Branding Insights 2011

The data featured comes from Universum’s Employer Branding Insights 2011 report.

Trend no. 4 — Employer image and attractiveness is the most important element of finding the right talent for your organization.

• Among employers who have been able to attract the right talent, 76% select the attractiveness of their employer reputation and image as a factor. Nearly as important for these employers is their people and culture (61%), while competitive pay is comparatively less important (34%).
• By contrast, visibility and attractiveness stand out as the primary struggles for those employers who have not been able to find and attract the right talent.

Click on the chart to see the full size. Question: how have you been able to attract the right and competent people?

Click on the chart to see the full size. Question: why are you not finding and attracting the right and competent people?

Implication: while a range of inputs/variables can help you find the right talent, developing your profile and image as an employer with an attractive image/reputation is critical. Currently, there is a clear trend that employers are shifting their focus from “top talent from top universities” to “ideal talent for our culture.” In other words, the level of academic skill is less important than the person’s ability to apply those skills within the specific company culture. Employers have also realized that diversity – academic as well as ethnic – strengthens their business. Therefore, mixing people from different universities and with different degrees is a high priority. Simultaneously, talent groups are continuing to prioritize cultural fit and values over financial benefits when they choose employers.

Employer Branding Trends from Employer Branding Insights 2011 

This is a follow-up to blog post “Talent investments have a clear impact on both company revenue and recruitment costs”. The data featured comes from Universum’s Employer Branding Insights 2011 report. During December 2010 to January 2011, Universum interviewed 632 global employers in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The majority of respondents were at manager/director level in HR, recruitment, or employer branding functions. Based on the data gathered, it was possible to identify clear trends. 

Trend no. 3 – Top performers are leaving either for greater challenge and opportunity or money 

• Nearly 2/3 of employers highlight the new challenge or opportunity offered by another company as the main reason they lose top performers, while 43% consider money as a reason. 

Click on chart to see full size. Question: What are the reasons your top performers leave your organisation?

Implication: there is a higher demand for top talent in the recruitment market and they are more likely to be headhunted in comparison to regular employees. Employers thus need to carefully evaluate what drives and satisfies their best employees and keep them moving and progressing internally. Universum has witnessed a positive sign that companies are increasingly trying to hire based on a cultural match and be more transparent about their culture in the recruitment process. Consequently, an environment of belonging is created and mitigates – although not eliminates – the tendency of top talent to look outside the organization for a better fit. In conclusion, top talent will always be on the lookout, but a focus on personal fit and offering new personal growth opportunities are essential to do’s.

Employer Branding Trends from Employer Branding Insights 2011      

This is a follow-up to blog post “Talent investments have a clear impact on both company revenue and recruitment costs”. The data featured comes from Universum’s Employer Branding Insights 2011 report. During December 2010 to January 2011, Universum interviewed 632 global employers in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The majority of respondents were at manager/director level in HR, recruitment, or employer branding functions. Based on the data gathered, it was possible to identify clear trends.     

 Trend no. 2 — There is a disconnect between talent strategy investments and key performance indicators such as a reduced cost-per-hire.     

 • While a strong majority of employers (82%) invest in talent attraction activities, only 27% think their talent strategy has brought down cost-per-hire whereas 42% are unsure.     

 • However, employers who identify employer branding as a long-term strategic process are nearly twice as likely to report a reduced cost-per-hire compared to employers who approach employer branding based on short term needs. 

1. Investments in Talent Attraction

Does your company invest in talent attraction, i.e. activities that exclude direct recruitment but include branding and communications about your company as an employer?

 2. Results of investments

Have you reduced your recruitment cost-per-hire as a result of your talent attraction strategy?

3.  Results of investments – short vs. long-term

Have you reduced your recruitment cost-per-hire as a result of your talent attraction strategy? The graph indicates the percentage of respondents that answered yes.

 Implication: companies need to think more about connecting their talent strategy to relevant cost/performance indicators. The correlation between brand awareness (a company’s rank in the recruitment market) and positions filled, provided efficient recruitment procedures are in place, should be the key measurement for employer brand
activities. The number of positions filled divided by the total number of positions is the metric we recommend.

Employer Branding Trends from Employer Branding Insights 2011

Universum will share in a number of upcoming blog posts, findings from its Employer Branding Insights 2011 report. During December 2010 to January 2011, Universum interviewed 632 global employers in Europe, the Americas and Asia. The majority of respondents were at manager/director level in HR, recruitment, or employer branding functions. Based on the data gathered, it was possible to identify a number of clear trends.

Trend no. 1:  Talent investments have a clear impact on both company revenue and recruitment costs

 • 51% of employers believe that not having the right people had some effect on their company losing business.

• 60% of employers agree that cutting talent attraction budgets will yield higher recruitment costs.

Click on charts to see them in full size. Talent investments have a clear impact on both company revenue and recruitment costs

Implication: as human capital becomes a greater component of corporate assets, investments in talent attraction will give companies the ability to deliver on market expectations. Failing to secure human capital will lead to a loss of business.

4,878 professionals choose their ideal employers
Professionals in Denmark have nominated Novo Nordisk as their ideal employer. For business professionals, the companies that received the most votes were: 1) Novo Nordisk, 2) Lego, 3) Vestas, 4) Carlsberg and 5) Novozymes. For professionals in engineering or natural sciences, the companies in the top five were: 1) Novo Nordisk, 2) Cowi, 3) Rambøll 4) Novozymes and 5) Vestas. To see full rankings, click here.

UNIVERSUM Germany released the Ideal Employers of Professionals, also dubbed the UNIVERSUM TOP 100. The car manufactures BMW & Audi compete for the number one title as Germany’s Ideal Employer.

BMW is known for its performance and luxury vehicles, and is in fact the global leader in premium car sales. The company employs over 96,000 people. In the recruitment market, the prestigious brand appeals most to business professionals, taking the first place away from Audi, but received fewer votes from Germany’s engineers.

A subsidiary of Volkswagen, AUDI manufactures premium automobiles too and employers over 57,000 employees. Germany’s engineers, by majority, nominate Audi as their ideal employer, thus eclipsing BMW from site. 

 Both companies have incredibly strong employer brands and have unquestionable status in the talent attraction arena – congrats to them!

View the ideal employers of Germany’s professionals by clicking here

Over the last five years, UK career-seekers have ideally wanted to work in 1) Academic Research, 2) Government/Public Service or in 3) Education/teaching. Although fewer and fewer students are selecting these sectors as their best career destination, these have been the sectors where most young graduates - given the choice - still want to start their career. In the UK, employers in these sectors probably benefit from having a competitive advantage in talent attraction. Let’s see if government/public services will remain as popular with the large amount of job-cuts that are currently underway.

Universum found that students in countries exposed to global markets typically find an international career to be an appealing choice, compared to students located in either strong domestic or geographically isolated economies. Because of the European Union, European countries are interconnected by default and thus students are encouraged to learn several foreign languages – an important asset for any student wishing to develop a promising career, in such a culturally diverse continent. Read the rest of this entry »

Employer brand managers must understand the needs of today’s career-seekers

For employer branding professionals, it’s important to understand the career aspirations of top talent. Students evaluate corporate ethics and responsibilities, just like they want to make their own positive contributions. Understandably, ones’ own benefits come first, yet many in generation Y would dismiss the trivial desk job over the opportunity to make a significant difference. Keep this in mind for your talent attraction strategy. Read the rest of this entry »

Canadians need “Work-Life Balance” the most, shows Universum’s Global Study on Career Goals 

& Who said the French were Lazy?

Students unanimously agreed on the importance of balancing career and personal life. From nine possible career goals, we asked 300,000 university students to select their three most important. In 21 out of 25 countries, students chose work-life balance as their primary career goal.  To determine how important work-life balance is per country, we have compared the percentage of students that have selected the alternative as one of their top three goals and produced a fun ranking, showing in which countries work-life balance is the most to least important  for career-seekers. Read the rest of this entry »