Amongst fierce competition, Virgin Australia has been named Australia’s Most Attractive Employer at the annual Randstad Award at Doltone House in Sydney, last night.
With half of all Aussies (50%) claiming they would like to work for the aviation giant, Virgin Australia held off strong competition to edge out two-time winner, the ABC, who came in second place and the Department of Immigration & Border Protection who took out the third spot.
The Randstad Award, presented in front of senior executives from 150 of Australia’s largest employers, recognised the organisations which are perceived as the most attractive employers in the country, according to over 12,000 Australians of working age.
Frank Ribuot, CEO of Randstad Australia, says Virgin Australia should be extremely proud to be recognised as Australia’s Most Attractive Employer after consistently placing in the top three for the last five years, including a previous win in 2011.
The Virgin brand is widely recognised around the world and by people from all walks of life. For the past few years, Virgin Australia has been recognised as one of the best employers in Australia so it’s a testament to the company’s continued investment towards building its employer brand that this year it has taken the highest accolade.
the annual Randstad Award employer branding research sighted Virgin Australia as particularly attractive when it comes to having a pleasant working atmosphere, a good work-life balance and strong management.
Geraldine Chin-Moody, Group Executive, People, Culture and Sustainability Virgin Australia, accepted the award on behalf of Virgin Australia.
Our people have been key to the successful transformation of the airline over the past few years, and this award is a testament to their outstanding professionalism and dedication to excellence.
Our focus is on supporting our team to actively manage their careers and develop to their full potential. Our people get opportunities to be involved in our transformational projects and build their skills internally.
While Qantas came in fifth place this year, they won the Youth Award - for being the Most Attractive Employer for the younger generation. This Award was announced following the launch of Randstad’s Shaping Young Futures program, aimed at reducing the consistently high youth unemployment rate in the country, by creating a better future for those in need through education. Second and third place in the Youth Award was presented to Westfield and Hewlett Packard (HP) respectively.
With Virgin Australia taking the highest accolade and Qantas performing strongly, the Aviation Sector was announced the Most Attractive Sector to work for in the country, with 45% of Australians surveyed saying they would like to work for the Aviation companies. Fast-moving Consumer Goods and Mining & Natural Resources made up the top 3 sectors to work for in the country.
Further accolades went to National Australia Bank who took home the award for Most Attractive Employer in the Banking & Financial Services Sector, beating ANZ and Westpac.
Hewlett Packard (HP) also won the Most Attractive Employer Award in the Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Sector, ahead of Fujitsu and Optus.
Frank Ribuot says Randstad’s longstanding research (The Randstad Award) demonstrates that like it or not, every business has an employer brand, even if they do nothing to promote it.
“It’s better to shape and actively manage your brand rather than simply leaving it to chance if you want to make sure you’re attracting the best talent to your business.
“Organisations such as those who are recognised in the Randstad Award, who act positively and clearly communicate to their staff the value of the work they do and the role they play in society, have an opportunity to not only build trust but to also attract bright and ambitious people to work for them.”
but Ribuot warns it has to be authentic because if the perceived employer brand doesn’t reflect the reality within the organisation, this will very quickly be exposed through social media and rolling news for all prospective employees to see.
“An employer brand is known as an organisation’s ‘billboard’, and with the modern, savvy individuals of today, having a wealth of information at their fingertips about organisations and their values, they will just take a quick look online and find a myriad of people telling stories, good and bad, about the organisations they work for,” says Ribuot.
“You want those people to be impressed when they do their ‘research’ on your organisation. The kind of people you’re looking to attract to your organisation, to take it forward, will have developed a shortlist of organisations they want to work for, and it is important you are on that shortlist.
“With the increasing war for talent in Australia and around the world, employer branding is only becoming more important. Organisations need to remember to not only attract those who actively job seeking, but the passive job seekers, people who would sit up and take notice of the position available in your organisation because of the strength and attractiveness of your employer brand. And in today’s online environment, your digital footprint can mean the difference between winning and losing potential quality people.
“The significant investment we make each year with the Randstad Award research is designed to help our clients build strong employer brands, which will help them secure the best talent in the market, and retaining them, not only in their business, but within Australia,” adds Ribuot.