What Perks Do You Want?

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on October 10, 2006
Filed Under Talent Management

Interesting work, recognition and reward of good performance and opportunities for promotion attract job seekers the most.

So, you think a huge salary, the latest model BMW, free medical insurance and a company kindergarten will attract quality candidates to your company. Think again! Is that what job seekers really want in a job?

Interesting work, recognition and reward of good performance and opportunities for promotion attract job seekers the most, according to a recent Accenture global recruitment survey.

The survey also shows that offerings such as car parking, kindergartens, leave privileges and other fashionable fringe benefits are not as attractive to job seekers as traditional benefits such as robust rewards programmes and personal development opportunities.

4,100 entry-level and experienced job seekers in 21 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, North and South America, and Europe were surveyed online to identify the career goals they valued most. Accenture carried out the research between November 2005 and March 2006 as part of the company’s efforts to make sure that it remains competitive, relevant and attractive to the most talented applicants.

Challenging and interesting work was selected as a priority employer characteristic by 60% of all respondents with the potential for accomplishments to be recognised and rewarded coming a close second (58% of respondents).

The others in the top five characteristics of greatest interest to job seekers were:

opportunities for fast career growth (44%)
indications that an employer was well-established and likely to prosper in the long-term (42%); and
indications that an organisation has a particular focus on its employees (42%).

Priority Employer Characteristics

Challenging and interesting work (60%)
Recognises and rewards accomplishments (58%)
Provides opportunity for fast career growth and advancement (44%)
Financially strong/will prosper in the long run (42%)
People-oriented (42%)
Offers flexible work arrangements (41%)
Innovative (33%)
Approachable (27%)
Team-oriented environment (27%)
Global company (26%)
Offers a variety of work (26%)
Smart (21%)
Collaborative environment (17%)
Committed to the community/corporate citizenship (16%)
Diverse workforce (16%)

“Interestingly, we found that what is considered important to potential recruits was remarkably consistent across geographies,” said John Campagnino, Accenture’s global director of recruitment. “Also notable was the fact that while we know from our own employees that corporate social responsibility and diversity are important employer characteristics - things our employees demand and place high value in - the research also validated what many of us intuitively know: namely, that more tangible benefits such as rewards and recognition are most important from an external recruit’s perspective.”

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