Selling employers

Demographers abroad have been suggesting for some time that the next crop of workers – the so-called Generation-Z, who were born after mid-nineties – is likely to behave very differently from the ones that came before. Not in terms of work ethic, but with respect to what Gen-Z’s relationship with conventional employers might be in the face of complex social dynamics, economic distress, and technological connectedness, besides the rise of the disruptive “gig economy”, which is a rival to traditional employers.
What the next army of workers is looking for will become important for corporations – especially those in FMCG, finance, and manufacturing sectors – to find and adjust to. A recent survey by Universum, a Swedish employer-branding consulting firm, tried to find out which employers are desirable, and why so, by polling nearly a quarter million university students in the world’s 12 largest economies, including the US, China, Japan, Germany, UK, France, , and India.
Main take-away from the survey is a clear preference for services sectors, especially technology and professional services. Among business students, Google was the most desirable employer, followed by Apple, Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Business students’ top preference was for management consulting, auditing & accounting, services, and media & advertising. Banks are slowly losing the interest of Gen-Z.
As for engineering and IT students, Google again occupied the top slot, succeeded by Microsoft, Apple, BMW Group, and IBM. Non-business students’ top-three sectoral preferences were in engineering, aerospace & defence, and software & computer services. Due to falling oil prices, energy firms are losing their charm for engineering students. Preference for manufacturing jobs suffered a slight decline. There is, surprisingly, more interest in working as management consultants, the survey shows.
That technology and professional services sectors are overpowering the traditional employment strongholds of FMCG and banks shouldn’t be surprising. The latter employ far more than the former sectors do, but they are generally considered less enriching and “cool” compared to working for, say, a tech firm. While employer branding can help, it cannot beat the fact that tech firms are deemed much more innovative than FMCGs, and that could be driving down the traditional employer’s preference.
Given the above findings, it is important for the likes of FMCGs and banks and manufacturers to sell themselves to top talent – more so because an increasing number of folks are looking to start up. In another Universum survey last year – which polled 49,000 Generation-Z members in 47 countries – about 55 percent of folks were inclined to build their own firms. They were motivated primarily by the charm of being own boss, creating impact, working flexible hours, learning fast, and collaborating with peers.
That same survey found that those looking to develop their corporate careers were most interested in finding work/life balance, job security, independence, leadership, and a sense of mission. They wanted to be around friendly staff in a diverse organization where everyone was treated with equality. Perhaps the employers need to brand themselves around those attributes in a better way.
Such surveys are heavily tilted towards large economies. Those interested in scientific findings of employer preferences of Pakistani graduates will need to wait. But it is anecdotally evident that the big-name multinational that command interest abroad also evoke great desire here at home. Yet, because there is a huge surplus of semi-skilled labour in this market, employers exercise tremendous leverage over JDs and compensation. They may not feel a burning need for employer branding in such conditions.