randstad award: airlines and aerospace companies most attractive employers.

Airlines and Aerospace companies are by far the most attractive companies to work for, according to the Randstad Award survey, now conducted in 12 countries across the globe. Winners of the Randstad Award are: Virgin Blue Airlines (Australia), Techspace Aero (Belgium), Eurocopter (France), Airbus (Germany), Ferrari (Italy), Air New Zealand (NZ), TVN (Poland), EADS CASA (Spain) and KLM (The Netherlands). Next to Aeronautics, the Pharmaceutical, Electronics and Automotive industries rank among the top 5 most popular industries to work in.



Respondents were asked which companies are perceived as the most attractive to work for. They were then asked what factors determine the attraction of organizations and in which sector the most attractive employers can be found.



Ben Noteboom, CEO of Randstad Holding nv comments: "As the success of any company completely depends on the people it attracts and retains, employer branding and insights into what drives the choice of potential talent gains importance. Scarcity in the labor market intensifies the fight for talent. All the more reason to find out why potential candidates choose one company over another and what factors determine the attractiveness of an employer."

Drivers for attractiveness

The Randstad Award results show job security and high salary to be the two highest ranking drivers determining a company's attractiveness, closely followed by a pleasant working atmosphere. In The Netherlands, this last factor is appreciated above all other drivers. There are regional differences, shifting opinions with age, differences between the educational level of respondents and between men and women. The importance of financial stability, strong values and strong management, for example, increases with age. Younger people are more attracted to innovative companies offering interesting jobs and a pleasant atmosphere. Respondents with higher educational levels are generally more attracted to innovative companies that offer interesting jobs and international career opportunities. Respondents without an academic or college degree look for financially stable companies offering long term job security.

Randstad Award Methodology

The Randstad Award survey is based on the perceived attractiveness of companies in a specific market. 150 companies 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 (the representative sample for 75 companies in New Zealand is 4,000). 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. Respondents participate via online interviews. The interviews for the Randstad Award were conducted between October 2010 and April 2011.