Tata Power Company has emerged as India’s most ‘attractive employer brand’, reveals the findings of Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2023 - the most comprehensive, independent and in-depth emp- loyer brand research in the world conducted annually. Randstad India is one of the leading organizations in the HR services industry in the country. Tata Power Company scored very high on financial health, good reputation and career progression opportunities – the top 3 Employee Value Proposition (EVP) drivers for the organization as per the survey, that helped the brand get to the winning spot from rank 9 in 2022. Amazon climbed up rankings this year to emerge as the runner-up, followed by another new entrant in the top 3 list of REBR 2023 - Tata Steel, which occupied the third spot. Big Basket, the online megastore emerged as the most attractive startup employer brand in the country.

Appraised as the true benchmark for employer branding, Randstad India’s Employer Brand Research Report 2023 has uncovered new trends in the ever-changing employment landscape of the country. The REBR report has been a blueprint to shape their employer brand for organizations across the world for over 23 successful years and it is the 13th edition in India this year.

Drawing insights from over 1.63 lakh respondents worldwide, covering 32 markets and 75% of the global economy, the report reveals that work-life balance, good reputation and attractive salary and benefits are the 3 most important EVP drivers for the Indian workforce when choosing an employer. The value attributed to work-life balance grew slightly in relative importance over the past years, as did good reputation. Women tend to place more emphasis on work-life balance. Additionally, 49% of the respondents mentioned that they are willing to resign or have already resigned from their current job to improve their work-life balance. The finding directly aligns with the fact that work-life balance is consistently the most important EVP driver of the ideal employer today.

Employee perception on moonlighting (having a second job to earn more salary):

Nine in ten employees (91%) agree that an employer is much more attractive if they are allowed to take up additional jobs/assignments for supplemental income. Interestingly, the desire to take up a second job is relatively stronger among women than men (92% vs. 89%), a subtle hint of the prevailing gender-pay gap.

The sentiment to moonlight is strongest among the workforce within the age group of 25-34 years and it shows a gradual decline thereafter.

Importance of non-material benefits at work:

Employees in India consider non-material benefits equally as important as material benefits. Four out of five employees (82%) find non-material benefits to be very important when choosing one employer over the other, while material benefits are rated just slightly higher (85%). Women placed greater value on non-material benefits (86%) than men (79%). Interestingly, three in four employees (73%) find a good relationship with their manager and/or colleagues very important, making it the most highly rated non-material benefit.

Job switching behaviour in focus:

There is a lot of movement in the Indian employment market where 30% of the surveyed employees have already switched jobs in the last 6 months, and 43% plan to change employers in the next 6 months. Lack of career progression opportunities is a top reason for employees to leave and this could be the deciding factor for an employee to switch employers in this job market.

Fear of job loss in focus:

The fear of job loss among the workforce continues to be nearly the same in 2023 (29%) as compared to 2022 (28%). Of those who have that fear, 57% plan to switch jobs in the next 6 months. The job loss fear is higher among those who recently switched (38%) than those who did not (25%), indicating that recent joiners do not yet feel secure about their job at their new employer. 5 in 10 employees (51%) are willing to consider re-joining their ex-employer, out of which 56% consider a great employer brand to be the primary reason behind this decision.

Top 10 most attractive employer brands in India for 2023:

1. Tata Power Company
2. Amazon
3. Tata Steel
4. Tata Consultancy Services
5. Microsoft
6. Samsung India
7. Infosys
8. Tata Motors
9. IBM
10. Reliance Industries

Presenting the REBR 2023 survey insights, Viswanath P.S, MD & CEO, Randstad India said, “Organizations across the world today realize that business success is based on people and not just capital and the talent community is becoming extremely mindful about which brand they want to work with and how they envision their work-life in the long-term. The Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) report takes a deep dive into the talent pool's perception of an ideal employer and highlights how organizations in India are perceived based on key attributes, thus identifying the gaps that employers can focus on.

This year’s findings suggest that changing times lead to changing expectations. Talent is getting increasingly serious - not just about the job, but a long-term career progression and job satisfaction that allows them to enjoy the non-material benefits of being associated with the employer, along with identifying a clear purpose at work. Employers must be in touch with their employees to understand the real sentiments and continue to monitor how they feel on important EVP drivers such as salary, work-life balance, career progression and more. The data in this year’s report also offers a series of critical insights that can be used to craft organizations’ talent strategies. Job switching intent is higher than in 2022, indicating the need for employers to offer a holistic benefits package with a healthy combination of monetary compensation, flexible and favourable work environment and adequate career growth opportunities.

However, it is heartwarming to witness an uptick in the number of organizations across sectors incorporating inclusive practices, flexible work and reskilling opportunities. The competition for niche talent is expected to continue into the future of work as the pool remains scarce. By aligning the employee value proposition with workforce preferences, employers will be poised to stay competitive in a tight labor market and I hope that the REBR report 2023 serves as a guiding light in that direction”, Viswanath added.

Trends in remote working:

While levels are far from those of 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work is still done by the majority. 40% of the surveyed employees work partly remotely, and 21% fully remotely.

In the past three years, the group of full remote workers has more than halved (48% in 2021 to 21% in 2023), while the number of partial remote workers has increased from 36% in 2021 to 40% in 2023.

India’s most attractive sectors in 2023:

The attractiveness of all sectors are increasing at similar rates. Last year’s top sector- IT, ITeS & Telecom is the outlier as it has flatlined over the past year, making it lose its top spot.

Automotive sector has claimed the top spot in 2023 (77%) followed by IT, ITeS & Telecom (76%) and FMCG, Retail & E-commerce (75%).

India’s key sectors have been quite close together in attractiveness over the past three years, and thus competition for employees between different sectors is predicted to remain high.

Other key findings from REBR 2023:

The report also reveals that 89% of employees find personal career growth to be important, with three-quarters (74%) of all employees finding it very important. In addition, Indian employees highly value D&I support from their employer, and 1 in 3 employees even mentioned that they would rather choose to stay unemployed rather than work with a company that does not align with their personal values.