Data Talent Preferences
Tracking Global Talent
Since 1988, employer branding specialist Universum has been tracking talent preferences at a local and global level and it has seen some remarkable changes. Its latest research, conducted from September 2013 until June 2014*, is no exception, as Joao Araujo, Country Manager UK & Ireland, explains…
means people want to invest in their skills and future employability. Finally, talent want to work for organisations that offer international careers or the possibility of working in a multicultural environment.
In the long-term preferences, what
we call “career goals”, we see that work-life balance is still the most chosen objective.
What unites talent? Universum tracks talent preferences at different levels: long-term goals, short- term expectations, aspirational objectives and communication preferences. In the long-term preferences, what we call “career goals”, we see that work-life balance is still the most chosen objective. Why? Our focus groups show that talent now has a lesser need for material well-being and a growing preference for self-actualisation – a sign that this group is moving towards the top layer in Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This psychological theory, dating back to 1943, is a popular framework in sociology research and management training, and defines self-actualisation as “morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice and acceptance of facts”.
At the short-term level, there are three characteristics uniting talent. First, there is a preference to work for innovative organisations – talent believes that only the fast-paced organisations thrive. Then, there is a desire to work for employers with strong training and development programmes, which
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What is changing? Each year Universum and CNN reveal the World’s Most Attractive employers, an index based on our results from the World’s 12 largest economies. What have the winners done differently? At the short-term level we see that a ‘clear career path’ is becoming a more important attribute for business students. While their engineering counterparts seem to be more interested in ‘challenging work’. ‘Prestige’ and ‘a creative work environment’ are becoming more relevant to all talent groups.
At the aspirational level, ‘Entrepreneurship’ or working for start-ups is gaining traction. A key
reason for this increased preference is the need to understand ‘why does this company operate’ so that talent can feel they are working for something they stand for.
When asked about what communication channels talent would like employers to use more, there are three that stand out: social media, targeted email messages
When learning about employers, one channel stands-out – employers’ career pages. With the exponential growth of available career information, going directly to the source is one of talent’s preferred solutions.
and online presentations. A clear sign that communication is going digital and less focused on print and face-to-face channels.
What makes them unique? From the most granular level to the macro level, we have identified characteristics that make each group unique. These characteristics are important, as it is the only way to ensure that your value proposition for future talent is relevant and that your communication strategy has the right messaging and communication channel- mix. Here are some interesting findings: • Business talent in France and the UK choose an international career as their second most important career goal (after work-life balance).
• Business and engineering talent in China seek to be autonomous or work independently.
• Business talent in Brazil choose ‘to be entrepreneurial and creative’ as one of their top three career goals.
• Talent in the UK uses an average of 8.6 different communication channels to learn about employers, while talent in China uses only 4.6. In India, talent use 10.8 different channels.
*From September 2013 to June 2014, Universum surveyed over 700,000 students from more than 40 countries. While we apply the same framework all around the globe, we complement each national survey with the most relevant local talent questions. n
www.universumglobal.com
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