One thing that UAE employees do before accepting a job
02:45AM Mon 20 Jun, 2016
A whopping 75.6% of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) usually research a company online before considering a job offer
Respondents named 'reputation and culture' (11.9%) and 'work environment' (11.3%) as the two most important aspects to attract talent. (Supplied)
The success of any business largely depends on the quality of the employees it attracts and retains. According to a recent Bayt.com Trends in Employer Branding in the Middle East and North Africa poll, conducted by business facilitation company Naseba and Bayt.com, 84.5% of the respondents believe that engaging with potential job seekers on social platforms is positive for a company's employer branding.
The study revealed that a company’s online presence is vital in shaping its perception among potential employees. A whopping 75.6% of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) usually research a company online before considering a job offer.
When visiting a company website or an employer’s branding page, job seekers named several features they would love to see, including a ‘reasons to join’ section (32%), a ‘description of the vision, mission and culture’ (9.5%), ‘testimonials and actual experiences from employees’ (8.4%), ‘company awards and accolades’ (4.2%), a ‘letter from the CEO’ (4%) videos of the teams (3.2%), or an ‘FAQ in a tone [they] like’ (2.7%). 36% of Mena respondents would like to see all of these features equally on an employer’s branding page.
In terms of answering the age-old question “Whose territory is this, exactly?” respondents believe that employer branding is the joint responsibility of the HR department and the marketing department, at 18.7% equally.
And companies looking to position themselves as a great place to work need to pay close attention to their posts, tweets and snaps: 39.8% of respondents state that social media is the most important channel for a company to brand itself as a great employer in the region.
“Employer branding is more important than ever before,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com. “With almost 85% of respondents believing that engaging on social platforms is positive for an employer’s brand, it is essential that companies mandate a social media strategy that also includes recruitment objectives.”
Respondents named ‘reputation and culture (11.9%) and ‘work environment’ (11.3%) as the two most important aspects to attract talent, while rewards and recognition came last with 5.3%. Respondents also value ‘training and learning opportunities’ (10.7%), ‘leadership in industry’ (9.2%) and ‘career advancement opportunities’ (9%). The largest proportion of respondents agreeing that all aspects are “equally” important (42.6%).
Alongside all of these “dos”, respondents also identified “don’ts”. Being known to let go of people without valid reasons and having unhappy employees came as the two worse mistakes a company could make, according to 17.3% and 13.7% of respondents respectively, while ignoring applications of candidates came third (11.5%) and ‘weak job descriptions lacking detail and full of mistakes’ followed (5%). 34.2% agreed that avoiding all these factors together is equally important for a company.
When considering a new job, the most important features for Mena respondents are that ‘the company offers great career opportunities’ (12.8%), ‘the company is known to be a great place to work’ (9.3%), ‘the company pays the highest salaries’ (9.3%), ‘the company offers the best training’ (7.3%), ‘the company has a great leadership’ (4.9%), ‘the company has great products and services’ (3.0%), and ‘the company is prestigious’ (2.7%). Again, the majority (43.2%) of respondents consider all of the aforementioned reasons to be equally as important for a new job.
Being perceived as a great place to work results in better employee engagement, according to 23.4% of respondents. Other benefits include a higher job acceptance rate, according to 12.4% of respondents, and ‘recognition as an employer of choice’ (11.4%). These results comfort the sentiment of HR practitioners who, over the past year, have increasingly focused on fostering employee engagement and building a corporate culture as a way to attract and retain top talent.
‘Wellness policies like free gym subscriptions and healthy, fresh food’ was cited as the most important perk/benefit in their place of employment for 21.6% Mena respondents, this was followed by ‘flexible hours and dress code’ and ‘regular fun office events and activities’ for 18.9% and 11.2% respectively.
In terms of current places of employment, professionals were asked if their companies have an employee referral program, with only 15.9% stating that it does, and 13.1% of employed respondents stating the opposite. Only one in five employed respondents said that their company had a clear branding strategy (20%), while 9.4% agreed ‘to some extent’.
News Credit: Emirates247
When visiting a company website or an employer’s branding page, job seekers named several features they would love to see, including a ‘reasons to join’ section (32%), a ‘description of the vision, mission and culture’ (9.5%), ‘testimonials and actual experiences from employees’ (8.4%), ‘company awards and accolades’ (4.2%), a ‘letter from the CEO’ (4%) videos of the teams (3.2%), or an ‘FAQ in a tone [they] like’ (2.7%). 36% of Mena respondents would like to see all of these features equally on an employer’s branding page.
In terms of answering the age-old question “Whose territory is this, exactly?” respondents believe that employer branding is the joint responsibility of the HR department and the marketing department, at 18.7% equally.
And companies looking to position themselves as a great place to work need to pay close attention to their posts, tweets and snaps: 39.8% of respondents state that social media is the most important channel for a company to brand itself as a great employer in the region.
“Employer branding is more important than ever before,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions at Bayt.com. “With almost 85% of respondents believing that engaging on social platforms is positive for an employer’s brand, it is essential that companies mandate a social media strategy that also includes recruitment objectives.”
Respondents named ‘reputation and culture (11.9%) and ‘work environment’ (11.3%) as the two most important aspects to attract talent, while rewards and recognition came last with 5.3%. Respondents also value ‘training and learning opportunities’ (10.7%), ‘leadership in industry’ (9.2%) and ‘career advancement opportunities’ (9%). The largest proportion of respondents agreeing that all aspects are “equally” important (42.6%).
Alongside all of these “dos”, respondents also identified “don’ts”. Being known to let go of people without valid reasons and having unhappy employees came as the two worse mistakes a company could make, according to 17.3% and 13.7% of respondents respectively, while ignoring applications of candidates came third (11.5%) and ‘weak job descriptions lacking detail and full of mistakes’ followed (5%). 34.2% agreed that avoiding all these factors together is equally important for a company.
When considering a new job, the most important features for Mena respondents are that ‘the company offers great career opportunities’ (12.8%), ‘the company is known to be a great place to work’ (9.3%), ‘the company pays the highest salaries’ (9.3%), ‘the company offers the best training’ (7.3%), ‘the company has a great leadership’ (4.9%), ‘the company has great products and services’ (3.0%), and ‘the company is prestigious’ (2.7%). Again, the majority (43.2%) of respondents consider all of the aforementioned reasons to be equally as important for a new job.
Being perceived as a great place to work results in better employee engagement, according to 23.4% of respondents. Other benefits include a higher job acceptance rate, according to 12.4% of respondents, and ‘recognition as an employer of choice’ (11.4%). These results comfort the sentiment of HR practitioners who, over the past year, have increasingly focused on fostering employee engagement and building a corporate culture as a way to attract and retain top talent.
‘Wellness policies like free gym subscriptions and healthy, fresh food’ was cited as the most important perk/benefit in their place of employment for 21.6% Mena respondents, this was followed by ‘flexible hours and dress code’ and ‘regular fun office events and activities’ for 18.9% and 11.2% respectively.
In terms of current places of employment, professionals were asked if their companies have an employee referral program, with only 15.9% stating that it does, and 13.1% of employed respondents stating the opposite. Only one in five employed respondents said that their company had a clear branding strategy (20%), while 9.4% agreed ‘to some extent’.
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