Google remains India’s most attractive employer

Google India emerged as the 'Most Attractive Employer' for second consecutive year, while Samsung India is the most attractive employer amongst consumer electronics companies. Google India was followed by Mercedes–Benz India as the runner-up, according to the 6th edition of Randstad Award 2016.

The sector specific special recognition awards this year were awarded to Dell India for IT and Amazon India for e-commerce. The awards ceremony was held in Mumbai on 20 April.

The Randstad Award survey (a public opinion survey on employer branding) also revealed that salary and employee benefits (48 per cent) continue to be the top driver among the Indian workforce while choosing an employer. However, the importance of salary has decreased from last year (6 per cent decrease from 2015), according to the survey conducted with across 25 countries and more than 2 lakh respondents.

This was followed by long-term job security (46 per cent), financial health of the company (43 per cent), pleasant working atmosphere (40 per cent) and good work-life balance (38 per cent).

The survey findings also reflected that the Indian workforce prefers to work or move to sectors like IT & Communication (70 per cent), followed by automobiles (66 per cent) and FMCG, retail and e-commerce (64 per cent).

''In today's fiercely competitive job market, recruiting top talent, engaging and retaining them is fundamental to a company's ability to grow. It is also a proven fact that companies that are capable of attracting the right talent for the right job simply perform better. At this juncture, establishing and maintaining a consistent employer branding strategy is critical for organizations, as it offers a holistic approach to the entire talent acquisition process by providing a distinctive competitive advantage to stand out in the clutter, thus giving candidates a gripping reason to associate themselves with the organization,'' said Moorthy K. Uppaluri, MD & CEO, Randstad India.

The survey also highlights the fact that men in India are looking more for innovation, strong management and quality of products and services, while on the other hand, women are looking for a pleasant working atmosphere, good workplace accessibility and flexibility at work.

The younger workforce in India, aged 18-24 years is more oriented towards good training, global career opportunities, innovation and interesting job content. Workforce between 25-44 years - often the age when parental responsibility becomes high priority – more often look for companies that offer a good work-life balance.

To the mature workforce of India, aged 45-65 years, who generally have reached some extent of expertise and stability in their lives, salary, financial health, strong management and pleasant working atmosphere remain major drivers when looking for an employer.

Since this age group might encounter greater difficulties in finding a new job, they clearly prioritize long-term job security as well.

Respondents with a bachelor's and master's degree are looking for an employer who offers work-life balance, interesting job content and career progression opportunities, whereas, for the workforce with a secondary and lower education, good training, strong management and international career prospects are the top priorities.