The sector-specific winners for the most attractive employers this year are Tata Consultancy Services for IT, Larsen & Toubro for infrastructure & construction, and Hindustan Unilever for FMCG.
Randstad India just released its employer-branding survey, and the technology giant, Microsoft India emerged as India’s most ‘attractive employer brand’. Amazon India emerged as a runner-up; a first for the e-commerce firm in the top two in the Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2018. Microsoft India is also the winner of the 8th edition of the Randstad Award, based on REBR 2018. The Company had previously won the most attractive employer brand title in 2011–14.
Among others, the sector-specific winners for the most attractive employers this year are Tata Consultancy Services for IT, Larsen & Toubro for infrastructure & construction and Hindustan Unilever for FMCG.
The Randstad Employer Brand Research, covering 75 per cent of the global economy with 30 participating countries and more than 1,75,000 respondents worldwide, clearly reveals that in 2018, salary and employee benefits continue to be the top drivers among the Indian workforce, across all profiles, while choosing an employer, followed by work-life balance and job security.
It is interesting to note that the importance accorded to salary and job security as factors considered while choosing an employer has increased even further compared to 2017, across all work profiles. Respondents from the manufacturing industry reflected this trend more than others by rating salary and benefits (52 per cent) and job security (48 per cent) as their top two factors while choosing an employer. This was followed by strong management (44 per cent) and work-life balance (42 per cent).
Paul Dupuis, MD & CEO, Randstad India believes that employer branding has never been more important than it is now. Candidates have choices, not only in terms of where they decide to work but in what capacity. He is of the opinion that organisations must have a story, a greater purpose and a clearly-defined North Star, which expresses the reason for their existence.
“The rise of the gig economy, especially among the millennials, poses a challenge for more traditional organisations. Adjusting to the emerging trends and motivational buttons of the ‘new breed of candidate’ gives an organisation a keen edge in attracting and leveraging the best talent. As people work for cultures, not companies, their perception of you as an employer is of paramount importance”, he says.
Top five influencing factors while choosing an employer & importance of employee value proposition (EVP) drivers by gender:
Salary and employee benefits (48 per cent), work-life balance (44 per cent), job security (42 per cent), career progression (39 per cent) and strong management (39 per cent) are the top five influencing factors for the Indian workforce, while choosing an employer.
Salary and benefits, work-life balance and job security are the top three criteria for men and women alike, while choosing an employer. Interestingly, men prefer organisations with strong leaders while women find employers who offer robust training programmes more attractive.
Top 10 most attractive employer brands in India for 2018:
(In alphabetical order)
• Amazon India
• Hindustan Unilever
• IBM India
• ITC Group
• Larsen & Toubro
• Mercedes-Benz India
• Microsoft India
• Samsung India
• Sony India
• Tata Consultancy Services
Top reasons Indian employees stay or leave
Job security emerged as the top factor for an employee to stay with the current employer, with 45 per cent of the survey respondents indicating this. Providing increased career growth opportunities could be a great asset for organisations to attract at least 43 percent of the workforce, who said they left their employers for this reason.
Top three actions Indian employees take in order to stay employable:
49 per cent of the workforce indicated that in order to stay employable and engaged at work, they tend to be open, flexible and also showcase a willingness to change. An equal number of survey respondents (47 per cent) mentioned that they undergo skill development trainings, courses and so on, to keep their skills up-to-date and also adopt the latest techniques and technologies to stay employable.
As per the survey findings, men are more likely than women to be open and flexible to change and women are most likely to keep their skills up-to-date through trainings or courses.
Top three sectors in India by awareness and attractiveness:
The survey highlights that the Indian workforce prefers to work for companies operating in sectors, such as IT & ITeS (69 per cent), followed by Automotive (68 per cent) and Retail and FMCG (67 per cent).