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New entrants, new markets and diversifying economies mean that a premium is still placed on
leadership and scarce skills talent. Employers find the talent market increasingly competitive,
while candidates have an increased amount of choice. We hope the insights from the Careers in
Africa Employer of Choice study will provide both groups with data to support better decisions.
What makes a
great employer
O
ne of the first insights from that professionals can and do differentiate market for their message, stand to gain an
the study is the apparent between the EVPs of potential employers enormous amount by making improvements
need for companies to offer from their vantage points outside these in their overall rating.
something different to can- businesses. A significant variance in ratings The inverse of this example occurs too.
didates. If anything, this is suggests that whether intentionally or not, a We have produced an additional list, com-
truly a ‘buyer’s market’, with clear message is being communicated to the panies to look out for. These are companies
the buyers being the prospective employees. market. This should prompt employers to who did not secure enough reviews to reli-
It may appear obvious but companies need question where the difference in perception ably make our ranking but who secured
to think within an African context; what is being created and whether the relevant exceptionally high ratings from a fairly sub-
works or what may be attractive elsewhere is factors, once identified, can be positively stantial number of candidates. Ethiopian
not necessarily the case in Africa. The study leveraged in the race for talent. Airlines, Nissan, Arik Air and Murray and
was produced in association with Towers Looking at the data behind the Top 100, Roberts, among others, all demonstrated
Watson, employee engagement specialists. one thing immediately apparent is the lack that a particularly positive perception can
They specialise in researching and tracking of correlation between the volume of ratings be created despite a reduced reach.
trends globally in terms of motivation of a brand received and the strength of those Ethiopia n A irlines provides a n
individuals in the field of employment and ratings. This might not seem surprising un- interesting example of another trend visible
found that our study results bucked the til it is understood that respondents were in the Top 100, which is that regional
global trends they had noted elsewhere. Sal- asked to identify companies they would be and local employer brands can be highly
ary for example, according to our respond- interested in working for. That is, candi- competitive in terms of their rating by
ents, was less critical than the opportunity to dates suggested they would be interested in the talent pool. East African Breweries
learn new skills or making an impact on the working for a particular organisation and too, not only finished among the highest
business. This is a hugely positive message for yet often made a negative judgement of that rated employer brands in the list, but also
a set of markets focused on growth, devel- company’s employer brand. scored comfortably higher than parent
opment and opportunity, yet it is one most Clearly, the ideal is for a brand to receive entity Diageo. The reasons behind this
employers have failed to properly capitalise a large number of positive reviews, as the performance are worth considering, as
on, with few regionalising their ‘Employer World Bank or GE for example managed it is a scenario repeated elsewhere, with
Value Proposition’ (EVP). The companies to do. However, for those who clocked up Nigerian Breweries and Heineken another
surveyed generally offer the same benefits significant interest but struggled to record such example.
as those they present in other markets. And a strong brand rating, there are lessons to Is it possible that the talent pool, or sec-
it is a point companies will need to address, take away. tions of it, have a certain loyalty to local
according to Yves Duhaldeborde, director brand names? Or is it rather that regional
at Towers Watson: “This research adds a Whom and where and local employer brands can be naturally
great deal to the debate on how we compen- First, while they may be receiving more specific, more targeted to the talent
sate workers in Africa. It’s clear that unlike applications from those candidates who are they are seeking than a multinational equiv-
many developed economies base pay isn’t interested in the brand, these employers may alent with multiple audiences can be? We
an important driver and employers need to find it more difficult to secure the decision think it’s a little of both, but the argument
look at how to incentivise their workforce to join or gain the long-term loyalty of for the importance of communicating a
through initiatives that encourage new skills talent that is more positively engaged with specific message is borne out by the perfor-
and promote opportunities to make a dif- other brands. Equally, brands which have mance of these brands. Interestingly, and
ference to the organisation.” demonstrated through the volume of reviews maybe logically, local and regional brands
What the Top 100 ranking reveals is they received that there is a considerable performed much less well, both in terms of
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quantity and quality of ratings, when look- ing to personal development and leader-
ing at their scores from respondents outside ship at the top McKinsey is perceived as
of their country or region. This suggests that
perhaps they are struggling to compete for
What the Top very strong. Safaricom’s CSR reputation
precedes it. And that’s what make them
reach with multinational firms, or else those 100 ranking attractive and gives them a competitive
internationally experienced candidates feel reveals is that edge as it makes them stand out in areas
greater affinity with the offerings of inter- that are deemed important to prospective
national brands. Either way, returning to professionals employees. Another interesting example
the focus on the race for talent, these brands can and do is Afreximbank, who were perceived as a
are wasting an enormous opportunity by middle of the road company. However they
not reaching out specifically to candidates differentiate scored very highly under leadership criteria,
outside their home markets with a targeted between the which demostrates the confidence the mar-
value proposition. Clearly, they can be com- EVPs of potential ket has in their senior management.
petitive; it only remains to reach the right Today a number of job functions are sec-
people with the right message outside of employers. tor neutral, in that skills sets can be applied
their local catchment areas. across a diverse number of industries. This
applies to functions such as finance, sales,
What works, what doesn't marketing or HR. As such, the attractive-
Looking at the nominees too, for the Ca- ness of an industry or what that industry
reers in Africa Employer of Choice Awards can offer to an employee becomes the critical
which were drawn out of the study, we can determining factor. Investment banking in
make some observations about what is Europe and the US for example no longer
working well across sectors, and how com- has the same appeal it used to have. It is now
panies can create an EVP which differenti- tech related companies and start-ups that
ates them based on key areas of strength. attract the best talent despite more precari-
Take for example the likes of Safaricom ousness and lower relative pay. We could not
and McKinsey. Overall they may not have identify one single trend across Africa and
attained the highest scores, however across each sector has its appeal. The winners and
certain criteria they are perceived as very nominees from the awards covered a number
strong. For example in the categories relat- of sectors (see page 66). An exception to this
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Employer of choice top 100
Rank Company Sector Score
was the Reward criteria (pay and benefits), Companies to watch out for who did not make our ranking
where Oil & Gas was perhaps unsurprisingly
dominant. This sector despite a difficult (companies that received a good score but not enough volume of responses to make our Top 100)
year is still perceived as the best payer and Arik Air Aviation, Logistics & Shipping
as offering the best perks. However, certain
sectors did dominate our ranking and these Astra Zeneca Pharmaceuticals
were FMCG, Oil & Gas and ICT employers, Bamburi Cement Construction, Heavy Goods Manufacturing & Aggregates
ahead of Financial Services and Professional
Services. BASF Construction, Heavy Goods Manufacturing & Aggregates
Ultimately, it is not that surprising. Com- Bridge International Academies Education, Government, IGO & NGO
panies in these sectors, such as Microsoft, Centum Investments Banking & Financial Services
IBM, P&G, Heineken, Total and Shell for
example are considered to be ‘strong employ- Ethiopian Airlines Aviation, Logistics & Shipping
ers’, that is. they pay well, in general more FMC Technologies Construction, Heavy Goods Manufacturing & Aggregates
than their competitors, and will have strong
human development programmes as well as FNB Banking & Financial Services
good facilities and perks. Forte Oil Oil & Gas
The winners of the awards were domi- Maersk Oil Oil & Gas
nated by a handful of particularly strong
brands from FCMG, Oil & Gas and ICT. Mott MacDonald Construction, Heavy Goods Manufacturing & Aggregates
Second, these sectors also contribute the Murray & Roberts Construction, Heavy Goods Manufacturing & Aggregates
largest number of brands to the Top 100 list.
Both in terms of outright stars and strength Nissan Construction, Heavy Goods Manufacturing & Aggregates
in depth, these sectors are clearly leading the Oceaneering Oil & Gas
way when it comes to perception among the Safmarine Aviation, Logistics & Shipping
talent pool surveyed.
At the other end of the spectrum, other SAP Information Technology
sectors were notable underperformers, with Seadrill Oil & Gas
pharmaceutical companies struggling to
achieve exceptional ratings and agribusi- Stanbic Banking & Financial Services
ness almost totally anonymous. There was TransOcean Deepwater Drilling Oil & Gas
also little success to be found in financial De Beers Mining
services outside of the big name banks. The
pharmaceuticals and agribusiness results are Subsea 7 Oil & Gas
particularly interesting, as both sectors are Tiger Brands FMCG & Retail
seeing an increased amount of activity from
a recruitment point of view. It would be
surprising if these two sectors didn’t perform up by brands such as Syngenta and GSK
better next year. who are expanding their activities (and ap-
peal, through stronger EVPs) in Africa.
What does the future hold? Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if the
Thinking ahead to 2016, the direction of the appeal of the Oil & Gas brands can endure
study results take will be interesting. While another year like 2015, with limited recruit-
the continent-wide survey will be repeated, ment taking place in response to market
regional drill-downs will also take place, al- challenges. That said, a reasonably strong
lowing further investigation of regional and showing by several mining brands is proof
local brands in particular areas. In terms of that tough times will not necessarily pre-
trends though, the expectation is that access cipitate a collapse of employer attractiveness.
to the type of data provided by the study will If there are unknowns in some areas, one
make EVP segmentation the next front in prediction that can be made with a reason-
the war for talent. It will be interesting to see able degree of certainty is that FMCG will
who is more successful in this, the regional once again top the charts. While Oil &
marks with natural specificity on their side, Gas leads the way on the number of brands
or the multinationals with the war chests. Next year we in the Top 100, and Professional Services
As Rupert Adcock, Founder and Managing anticipate the brands have the highest average position
Director of the Global Careers Company, pharmaceutical of any sector (sectors providing more than
clearly stated: “it is the lessons to be taken 5 brands), FMCG comes a close second in
forward from the Employer of Choice study and agribusiness both measures. It is clear that the sector
that will make the lasting impact on the sectors will currently leads the way in developing and
African talent landscape, as the best adapt delivering EVPs which work in the African
to get better and those who did not make it perform more context and inspire the African talent pool.
this time strive to catch up.”
From a sector point of view, expect to see
strongly. And why P&G topped our ranking and won
the top award at the Employer of Choice
agribusiness and pharmaceuticals shaken Awards ceremony. n
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respondent breakdown
West Africa
42%
captured within respondents
54 In employment 70%
4%
Central Africa
30%
Outside of Africa
R
Development Runner Up P&G
espondents were invited to Leadership & Management Winner Safaricom
identify 3 companies they
would be interested in work- Leadership & Management Runner Up East African Breweries Ltd
ing for and to rate them ac- Reward Winner Total
cording to the 29 drivers. A greater
number of responses is indicative of Reward Runner Up P&G
strong brand awareness. Interestingly, Banking Winner FNB
strong awareness does not correlate with
Banking Runner Up J.P. Morgan
the strongest ratings. Here is the list
of the 20 companies that received the Construction, Heavy Manufacture & Infrast. Winner GE
most scores: Construction, Heavy Manufacturing & Infrast. Runner Up Nissan
1. African Development Bank Financial Services Winner Centum Investment
2. World Bank Group FMCG Winner P&G
3. Nestlé FMCG Runner Up East African Breweries
4. Schlumberger IGO Winner World Bank
5. Shell IGO Runner Up International Finance Corp.
6. Coca-Cola Information Technology Winner Microsoft
7. Nigeria LNG Information Technology Runner Up Cisco
8. MTN Aviation, Logistics & Shipping Winner Ethiopian Airlines
9. GE Aviation, Logistics & Shipping Runner Up Arik Air
10. Addax Petroleum Media & Communication Winner DSTV
11. Exxon Mobil Media & Communication Runner Up Vodafone
12. Chevron Mining Winner De Beers
13. ENI Mining Runner Up BHP Billiton
14. Unilever Oil & Gas Winner Total
15. PwC Oil & Gas Runner Up Shell
16. Tullow Oil Pharmaceutical Winner AstraZeneca
17. Citi Professional Services Winner McKinsey & Company
18. BP Professional Services Runner Up Accenture
19. KPMG Payments Technology Winner Visa
20. IBM Payments Technology Runner Up Mastercard
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