6th June 2024, London – Employee priorities when considering accepting a job at a company are often the complete opposite of what matters when they’re thinking about moving on, and a prestigious sector for a career in one country can be the least appealing somewhere else, according to new data from Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy.
David Haigh, Chairman and CEO, Brand Finance commented:
“In a rapidly evolving market, talent strategies separate the winners from the losers, and HR leaders gain a competitive edge when they understand how their brands are perceived and benchmark that data against peers. The Brand Finance 2024 Employer Brand Index not only reveals surprising cultural differences viewed through the lens of what makes a company or a sector an appealing place to work but also how broad national attitudes to whether an industry is prestigious vary as well.”
When considering accepting a role, Chinese workers most highly prioritise whether the work itself is enjoyable and rewarding, giving the least consideration to whether a company is well managed and governed. That changes when they’re thinking about whether to stay or move on - employees at Chinese brands put the most stock in management and governance. There’s a similar shift in the Turkey and South Korea, where a prestigious company brand is the most important factor during recruitment but sinks to the bottom of the list of attributes that help to retain employees. Instead, rewarding and enjoyable work becomes the top reason.
Potential candidates in the U.S. and the U.K. share more than a common language, as prestigious brand and employer reputation are the top two most important factors when considering joining a company. For both American and British workers, the priorities shift when they later consider whether to stay at an employer – what matters most for retention are enjoyable and rewarding work and excellent salaries.
The research drills down into specific employer brands, with many consumer facing brands ranking highly. In particular, athletic wear companies have great reputations among top talent. Puma (98.5), Adidas (96.6), and Nike (93.1) are each perceived as winning employer brands in their respective markets - Puma and Adidas were the top two employer brands in Germany, and Nike scored highest in the U.S.
Air travel enjoys an aspirational reputation that’s reflected in the employer brand perception data, especially for flag carrier airlines Emirates (97.0) and Turkish Airlines (93.8), both of which rank first in their respective markets.
These cultural differences are also reflected in how desirable sectors are perceived externally as places to have a career. Telecoms was a hot industry in the early 2000s as mobile phones became ubiquitous, but the sector’s popularity has tapered in Europe and North America as the sector has become more commoditised. Brand Finance research reveals the exception is the Middle East, where telecoms remains a booming industry for top talent. e& (etisalat and) (87.4), stc (85.0), and Turkcel (84.6) all rank second in their respective countries.
Similarly, external respondents have mostly positive perceptions of banking brands as places to work around the world, except in North America and Western Europe. Chase was the highest-ranked U.S. bank but only 66% of respondents agree that is has ‘An inspiring vision’, 64% agree it has ‘A great business strategy’, and 56% agree Chase has ‘A great internal culture’. In comparison, Maybank, Malaysia’s top ranked employer brand, saw a considerably higher 88%, 88% and 79% of respondents agree with the same claims, and four of the top-six rated employer brands in South Africa were from the banking industry -
Standard Bank scores a perfect 10 in 5 separate metrics, including the top two most important drivers of consideration: ‘Employs Top talent in the Industry’ and ‘The work is enjoyable and rewarding’.
The technology sector continues to be positively perceived as an employer in Japan, where five of the top ten employer brands hail from the tech or electronics sectors. Japanese respondents ranked Sony (85.3) the highest, indicating their perceptions of the brand are that it’s prestigious and an employer offering enjoyable and rewarding work, which is the top driver of employee consideration and retention in the country.
The Brand Finance 2024 Employer Brand Index is the result of a survey of part-time or full-time employees in 16 countries, responding about brands within the sector of their current employer headquartered in the country they live in. The focus was to discover which employer brands within their own markets are rated the highest, and what are the considerations prospective employees have when considering whether to apply for a new role.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organizations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance has offices in over 20 countries, offering services on all continents. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 5,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on over 5,000 brands, surveying more than 150,000 respondents across 38 countries and 31 industry sectors. Combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database enables Brand Finance to arm brand leaders with the data and analytics they need to enhance brand and business value.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm, leading the standardization of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
