Students vote for the World’s Most Attractive Employers.....and the Winner is Google

Universum, the employer branding company, surveyed nearly 120,000 students at top academic institutions on ideal companies to work for. The results revealed Google as the world's most attractive employer, followed closely by its rival, Microsoft. The complete Top 10 read as follows:

1. Google,


2. PricewaterhouseCoopers,


3. Microsoft,


4. Goldman Sachs,


5. Ernst & Young,


6. Procter & Gamble,


7. J.P. Morgan,


8. KPMG,


9. McKinsey &Company,


10. Deloitte.

This is the first global index of employer attractiveness and highlights the world's most powerful employer brands. Those companies that excel intalent attraction and retention. Michal Kalinowski, Universum's CEOexplains, "Despite the short-term easing of competition for talent caused bythe recession, employers are faced with a shrinking global workforce, a lack of skilled workers and an increasingly demanding young generation. To secure talent under these conditions, they must develop true and differentiating employer brands...".

Lovisa Ohnell,Universum's research director comments, "These multinational brands are globally well-known and provide students with an excellent reference for their future career. They offer relocation opportunities, training and development, interaction with clients and colleagues in various countries,and due to size and economic stability, they're also seen as the best choice for secure employment."

For the Global Top 50 rankings, go to http://www.universumglobal.com/

To read the full article click here

Some Great Tips on Internal Communication to Employees by Email

Broadcast Email Communications Tips

Take Note: Employee Communications Strategies That Work

The cost of Nonboarding

The recruitment process is always surrounded by much emotion. In the desperate pursuit to find not only the person with the right skills, but also the personality for a team or company, often seems like mission impossible. Battling to backfill roles whilst incorporating interviews into an already packed schedule, leaves most hiring managers exhausted and relieved when that right person finally accepts the role. For many organisations, this is where the process ends.

Promises and expectations around the Employer Brand and experience created in the interview process must be reinforced by actions immediately. During the first few days and weeks, an organisation is constantly being sized up against previous employers to determine whether the new enthusiastic employee made the ‘right’ decision.

Nearly half (46%) of hires fail within the first 18 months on the job!

So how do you set your new hire’s up to succeed?

1. Connect Early- onboarding begins even before the new hire walks through the door. Connect with your new employee either by phone or email before they start. A pack which provides info on what to expect, who’s who in the zoo and a few insider facts about cultural norms will create excitement about the change and ease what for most is an extremely emotional experience.
2. Facilitate Contact Continuity- provide them with their email address before joining so they can communicate with their network where there are going and how they can be contacted.

3. Office Ready- ensure desks, phones, system access and functionality are operational so that unnecessary frustrations are avoided.
4. Newbie Networking- facilitating introductions externally, such as customers or key suppliers, and internally with employees across functions will help form relationships vital for the success of the new hire. New hires that create a strong support network early will settle in quickly and leverage the knowledge sharing opportunity of colleagues.
5. Coaching and Mentoring- whether sourced externally or from within the organisation, a coach or mentor will provide a trusted environment for the new hire to work through challenges and develop action plans for immediate resolution.
6. Establish Expectations-responsible for the day to day, line managers must document and communicate clear parameters about performance expectations throughout the induction period. Identifying specific actions and behaviours that are expected at the 1, 2 and 3 month mark will help the new hire self assess performance and address any road blocks early.
7. Buy In- communicate the vision, values and goals to connect the employee with the strategic direction of the organisation.
8. Buddy Up- connect the new hire with another employee at a similar level within the organisation for the first week so they have someone to provide insider info.

Much of the emotion that surrounds the first few days and weeks in any role, is the fear of the unknown-the people, the process, the system and their own performance. Any certainty you can provide around these areas will help a new employee feel ‘at home’ as quickly as possible and delivering on expectation.

Dismissing the GenY Attitudes

Global research shines the spotlight on a generation that continues to be the subject of many generalisations, confirming some myths and destroying others! The global report conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers* surveyed 4271 graduates from 44 countries.

Key Findings defines the Gen Y's as:
· Globally Mobile-91% believe they will work across geographic boundaries and will use another language in the workplace
· Socially Responsible-86% said they would consider leaving an employer whose sense of social responsibility did not reflect their own
· To be communicated via Social Media-85% are members of social networking sites such as Facebook
· Loyal -Employer loyalty is highly contingent on role fulfilment
· Commited-75% believe they will work for between 2 and 5 employers throughout the course of their lifetime
· Continuous Learning-Training and Development is the most important job benefit
· Leadership and Personal growth-98% believe working with strong coaches and mentors as essential to their personal development

As organisations struggle to maintain a diversified strategy to balance the needs of their workforce, those who are highly dependent on graduate intakes to foster and develop future leaders will need to get savvy with GenY speak.
The days of dismissing the ‘Gen Y attitude’ are fast closing in and those who can identify how, where and what to communicate will secure the best talent

*”Millennials at work: Perspectives from a new generation”

The Fallout of the GFC............Engagement levels for All Workers Drop 9% but Top Performers Drop 25%

The 2009/2010 U.S. Strategic Rewards Survey conducted annually by Watson Wyatt and WorldatWork revealed the impact downsizing and corporate rationalisation programs have had on employees. Key findings included;

• Employee engagement levels for all workers dropped 9% in the last year, for top performers this decrease is 25%.


• 43% of top performers said individual performance expectations have increased since last year.


• 20% less people would recommend others take jobs at their company.


• Top performers are 14% less likely to stay with their current employer.


• 61% say their companies have reduced or suspended bonuses.


• 41% believe that pay and benefit changes made by their employer in the past year have had a negative effect on work quality and customer service.

Many of the decisions made within organisations over the past 12-18 months were done out of sheer survival mode in reaction to the unknown. As a result, many organisations are now running a much leaner operation which will position them well financially for the next 2 year. However how much of this can be banked?

With as many as 50% of people looking to change jobs when the market recovers, it is imperative that organisations look at the total value proposition being offered to their employees with a critical eye.

• What does your value proposition consist of?


• Do all your employees know about the benefits that your organisation currently offers?


• What could you add to this proposition that would be of value to your current employees? How will you promote or communicate this?

The lasting financial effects of rationalisation and downsizing programs can all be undone in an instant if faced with a 30-50% workforce turnover rate in one year. Whilst most employees understood the decisions taken by organisations during the crisis were a matter of necessity, spending money in the coming months on recruiting new people rather than rewarding existing staff will be a kick in the face for the loyal employees who have supported the organisation through the down turn.

The 2009/2010 U.S. Strategic Rewards Survey was conducted in May 2009 and is based on responses from 1,300 full-time workers at large U.S. employers. Read more about the Strategic Rewards Survey at http://www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=22341

Pareto's 80/20 rule...Are you Applying it in the Workplace?

Common for the workday to be destroyed by menial tasks and distractions? Ever started the day with a plan and ended it with nothing done?

Pareto's Principle, the 80/20 Rule, serves as reminder to focus 80 percent of your time and energy on the 20 percent of those activities that are really important.

20% of our effort creates 80% of our results.Which means the other 80% of our effort is not serving us – Scary!

Ask yourself these questions?

Looking back......Review your day and week that have just past
What did you achieve that was critical to your organisation?
How long did it take you?
What else did you spend your time on?

Looking ahead..... make a change
What are the 20% or 3 things that are critical to the day or week ahead?
What is not?

Look at your to do list with a mentality of 'Delegate or Destroy' and identify 5 things that could fall into this category. If we are honest with ourselves there are some things that we have been trying to do for weeks, some even months! How important are they and are they really mission critical?

Look at your workplace and your responsibilities with fresh eyes. Have a conversation with your manager and ask some new questions. The answers may surprise you.

You Only Get What You Give.... Employee Value Propositions

Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is a term used to denote the balance of the rewards and benefits that are received by an employee in return for their performance at the workplace. It is a key concept in Employer Branding however should not be confused to be one and the same. Employer Branding is the personality of the organisation.

Minchington (2005) defines an EVP as a set of associations and offerings that characterizes an employer or position and differentiates it from its competitors. An EVP must be unique, relevant and compelling if it is to act as a key driver of talent attraction, engagement and retention.
Other key factors influencing how an individual may choose to balance his or her career path in an organisation are;

Compensation - salary, incentives, cash recognition, pay process

Benefits – healthcare, retirement, insurances,recognition programs

Affiliation – work environment, trust, transparency, organizational commitment

Career – advancement opportunities, personal growth and development, training, job security

Work Content – challenge, autonomy, meaningfulness, variety

Astor Levin’s 2007 EVP National Survey results showed that only 56% of respondents believe that their expectations upon joining their employer had been met.

Detailed below are some fabulous and varied examples of companies who are leading the way in developing and communicating their Employee Value Propositions both locally and globally.

Vodafone Australia- Our People promise Be your possibility, make every moment count

We make this promise to you because we want you to be free to be yourself and use all your talents, ideas and passions to the max every day, so we deliver on our customer promise, and you get to make the most of your time at Vodafone.

Welcoming you-Hit the ground running and enjoy a great start at Vodafone

Connecting you-Get in the know, stay connected and speak your mind

Developing you-Be your possibility with challenging career and development experiences

Looking out for you-Your well-being and safety come first

Celebrating you-Love your work, love to say thank you when you go above and beyond

Beyond you-Live your passion and together with Vodafone, make a difference to the world around us

Rewarding you-Make the money talk with real rewards for performance

Explore more at http://careers.vodafone.com.au/content.asp?stp=AW&newsID=101395

Sodexo- We support and encourage our employees to shape their own future and grow with the company.

We care about our employees in the same way that we care about our clients and we strive to provide each and every employee with a wide range of professional and personal opportunities to improve the quality of their daily life.

Our employees are able to develop their careers both locally and globally across all of our service areas. They have the flexibility to align the pace of their career with their various life stages.

By living the Sodexo values and ethical principles, and actively fostering diversity and inclusion, our people make Sodexo a company of the future.

Five commitments capture the Sodexo Employee Value Proposition: Recruiting, Welcoming, Living, Growing and Rewarding.

Explore more at http://www.iamsodexo.com/front_en/about/EVP/EVP.asp

Coca Cola Europe- We are a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be.

What do we offer:
· The Coca-Cola Company’s extraordinary heritage, our leading brands and the global scale of what we do;
· The challenge of meaningful work – our unique global system offers constant opportunities to develop world-class skills and a truly international career;
· A unique culture where people convert their passion into action;
· The kind of competitive compensation you would expect from a world leader.

What do we expect from you:
· The ability to contribute, to make a difference and have a tangible impact – turning your passion into action;
· Creative and fresh thinking in your work and your life, regardless of your role;
· A spirit of collaboration – you thrive when you work with a diverse range of people with different views, perspectives and priorities;
· A pragmatic and commercial mindset that understands the challenge of sustainability.

Explore more at http://www.europeancareers.coca-cola.com/en/home/why-coca-cola.aspx