A good name is key to job candidates

17 March 2010

A company’s reputation is crucial in attracting candidates - recruitment professionals have to align the relevant aspects of an employer’s brand to the candidates.

Research by multi-sector recruiter Kelly Services found 37% of jobseekers rate an organisation’s reputation as a very important factor when thinking about joining them and 46% somewhat important.

John Callagher, general manager at Kelly Services, told Recruiter that regardless of the increase in unemployment, the way an organisation’s reputation is presented is crucial.

“A company’s ethical reputation has become an increasingly important part of the employer branding, as today’s more savvy candidates look beyond the company’s products and services.

“Although the recession has led to a high level of unemployment, quality candidates are still hard to find and they will be attracted both by the ’feel good’ factor associated with an organisation and also by the pride derived via association with that company.”

When determining an organisation’s reputation, candidates focus on the quality of management, with 30% believing it the most important factor, with quality of products and services at 41%.

Few candidates rated financial performance and longevity as the most important criteria in determining an organisation’s reputation, at 3% and 4% respectively.

However, the importance of this factor varies by sector. Theresa Cannon, human resources manager at enzyme manufacturer Biocatalysts, which is expanding its workforce by 20% this year, told Recruiter these were crucial factors when sourcing scientist and technically qualified sales people.

“Letting candidates know the company’s history helps, because we are well established and it gives them confidence,” said Cannon, adding that candidates had been known to check the company’s annual results on Companies House.

Tom Forrest, association director of Joslin Rowe Financial, said firms in the financial sector that survived the credit crunch relatively unscathed had used performance to attract staff.

Recruitment agencies are often unable to use an employer’s branding when advertising a position. James Lindemann, managing director at Green Energy Recruitment, told Recruiter that he talks about the career development opportunities and details of specific projects instead to convey employer brand.

“You have to talk about what it does and make the organisation sound as exciting as possible. For example, you can say the employer is a leading player in the industry with a history of x, y and z,” he says.

Recruitment agencies’ brands also play an important role in this situation, says Callagher.

Lack of opportunities for advancement, at 30%, and poor management, at 26%, were the factors most likely to make an employee leave an organisation.

The number of candidates that rated the opportunity to work from home as an important factor was lower than expected by some recruitment professionals. Only 13% rated the facility as extremely important and 45% rated it as not important.

Callagher said he was surprised by this after many employers used the benefit as a recruitment tool. “It is interesting to see that most people are still happy with the traditional working model. The economic climate may have something to do with this, as many people may perceive flexible working and telecommuting as a ’luxury’.

Biocatalysts’ new purpose-built factory provided a recruitment boon when searching for hardto- source scientists, said Cannon, adding they were attracted by the state-of-the-art facilities and the company’s investment.