Randstad Canada announces WestJet as 2012 Randstad Award winner for most attractive employer as chosen by Canadians.
TORONTO, May 18, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Randstad Canada, the country's leader for staffing, recruitment and HR Services, is pleased to announce that WestJet Airlines Ltd. has won the 2012 Randstad Award for Canada's most attractive employer. In voting for WestJet, over 7,000 Canadians said the company topped two of ten attractiveness categories, with respondents perceiving WestJet as a company that offers a pleasant work atmosphere and interesting job content. WestJet also received very high scores on training opportunities.
Unique to the Canadian market, the Randstad Award aims to reward and encourage best practices in building the best employer brands, as chosen by workers and job seekers in search of employment opportunities within Canada's leading organizations. Based on polling conducted by ICMA International in February and March of 2012, the top five award winners voted the most attractive companies to work for in Canada are: WestJet Airlines Ltd, ArcelorMittal, Pratt & Whitney Canada International Inc., IBM Canada, and tied for fifth place are Molson Coors Canada and Bombardier Inc. (To view the complete list of finalists visit: randstadaward.ca)
"With a reputation for having a great work environment and highly interesting job content, Canadians have spoken and voted WestJet as the 2012 Randstad Award winner as most attractive employer in Canada," says Jan Hein Bax, President, Randstad Canada.
According to Bax, organizations are doing a better job recognizing that their employer brand is a vital asset in today's ever-changing business environment. "With global skills shortages continuing to intensify, job seekers are in a position where they can choose the companies that best suit their personal needs and wants, and this has forced companies to find new ways to attract talent. For today's leading organizations, a strong employer brand goes a long way towards withstanding fierce competition and attracting and retaining a high performing and flexible workforce," he says.
Along with identifying Canada's most attractive employer, the survey also unveiled some interesting insights into the changing demands and priorities of the Canadian worker. Some of the key findings from the study include:
Top Attractiveness Factors: Long-term job security (65 per cent) is listed as the most important factor for Canadians when seeking an employer, followed by competitive salary and benefits (61%), a pleasant work atmosphere (54%), the financial health of the organization (45%) and career progression opportunities (36%).
Sectors: The Engineering and Construction sector (48 per cent) is the most desirable of all sectors, with respondents ranking the sector first for long-term job security and working atmosphere, followed by High Tech Manufacturing (47.5% - ranking first for competitive salary, interesting job content, career progression opportunities, good training, work-life balance and strong management). Transport and Logistics (46.4%), Raw Materials (42.6%) and Services (41.9%) were also listed as the most desirable sectors to work in by Canadians.
Gender: Men and women seek different things when determining what makes a workplace/organization attractive. While women prefer flexible working arrangements (49% more women), accessibility (28% more women), pleasant working atmosphere (23% more women), competitive salary (19% more women) and good work-life balance (17% more women), men prefer financially sound companies (42% more men) with strong management (37% more) that offer global career prospects (86% more men) and good training (17% more men) when seeking an employer.
Age: While younger Canadians (under the age of 39) mainly look for international/global career opportunities (168%), career progression opportunities (36%), good training (18%) and (12%) good work-life balance, the older Canadian workforce (39 and above) is more concerned with quality of products/services (23%), competitive salary & benefits (16%), a pleasant work atmosphere (12%) and location convenience (9%) when choosing to work for a specific company.
Education: Canadians with a higher education (university & graduate studies) are more attracted to companies that offer international or global career opportunities (86%), interesting job content (24%), career progression (23%) and good work-life balance (22%), whereas Canadians with college and post-sendary education look more for accessibility (23%), long-term job security (15%) and flexible working arrangements (14%).
According to Bax, the insights from the survey are important in helping employers distinguish why potential candidates choose one company over another, and what factors determine the attractiveness of an employer. "If you are an employer trying to diversify your workforce, make sure that you consider these factors. Then take a hard look at your own employer brand and consider whether it does, in fact, project the qualities today's prospective employees are looking for," he says.
This marks the second year that the Randstad Award for employer branding has been awarded in Canada, in addition to fifteen other countries internationally. First launched in Belgium in 2000, the Award has become a coveted industry accolade worldwide. The announcement was made last night at an exclusive gala at The Carlu in Toronto, where senior executives from many of Canada's biggest companies were in attendance.
About the Randstad Award: The Randstad Award program is based on a robust research platform that gives unique insight into the key drivers of talent attraction within Canada and across the world.
Randstad has been working with globally respected research company, ICMA International, for over 10 years. In 2000, Randstad and ICMA launched the first Randstad Award program in Belgium to measure employer brands. Based on its success, Randstad had expanded the research program into 15 countries around the world. Visit randstadaward.ca
Randstad Award Methodology: The Randstad Award survey is based on the perceived attractiveness of companies in a specific market. The 150 largest employers per country are selected, each with at least 1,000 employees. The number of respondents on average per market is 7,000. This is a representative sample to measure attractiveness of the 150 companies. Samples are based on national demographics (age, region, gender, education level) with a slight emphasis on respondents aged below 40, potential workers being the target audience of the survey. Each sample is representative on age, region and gender and includes students, employed and unemployed workforce aged between 18 and 65 years old.
About Randstad Canada: Randstad Canada is the Canadian leader for staffing, recruitment and HR Services. As the only fully integrated staffing company in the country, we understand the recruitment needs and demands of employers and job seekers across all levels and industries. Through our insightful knowledge of local markets, employment trends and global network of recruitment experts, we are shaping the Canadian world of work. Visit randstad.ca
Dayana Fraser
Marie-Noelle Morency
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