Inbox: Jobseekers single out national carrier

Randstad announced last month that Air New Zealand had won the inaugural 2011 Randstad Award, voted the country’s most attractive employer by over 4000 jobseekers.
Recently-appointed Randstad CEO (New Zealand & Australia) Fred van der Tang said, “It’s fantastic to see such an innovative and distinctly Kiwi company take out the first ever Randstad Award in New Zealand. Air New Zealand is embedded in the New Zealand culture and psyche and the award reaffirms the country’s support for its national airline.”
Accolades also go to Pernod Ricard and Television New Zealand, who were voted the second and third most attractive companies to work for in New Zealand overall.
ASB Bank took out the award for best long-term job security in New Zealand.
New Zealand’s national airline topped eight of the 10 attractiveness categories, with respondents perceiving Air New Zealand offers the best salary, career progression and work-life balance opportunities, as well as quality training and strong management.
The Randstad Awards for employer branding made their first appearance in New Zealand this year, in addition to 10 other countries internationally. First launched in Belgium in 2000, the awards have become coveted industry accolade, and this is the first time in over decade that the awards have moved outside of Europe. This year alone, Randstad Award research has gathered data from 100,000 jobseekers globally.
Van der Tang says he is excited the awards have arrived in New Zealand, after seeing first-hand, their success in Europe.
“The Awards provide invaluable insight into company’s perceived attractiveness according to jobseekers, and are based on public feedback across metrics such as salary, job security and work-life balance,” he says.
“The Randstad Awards are unique in this market as companies can’t nominate themselves or determine categories or criteria for entry. The winner is selected by the public, making the Randstad Awards the people’s choice awards for the most attractive employer.”
Results from the survey suggest that men seek strong companies that offer quality products/services and career progression opportunities, while women look for strong workplace culture, convenient location and work-life balance.
Overall, competitive remuneration/high salary ranks as the most important factor when seeking an employer, followed by interesting role content and job satisfaction. Work-life balance and pleasant working atmosphere were also listed as important factors. M