SABC, govt departments scoop 2009 Ideal Employer Awards

A total of 12 top companies were rewarded in the categories of humanities, science, engineering and commerce at the ceremony hosted yesterday, Tuesday, 8 December 2009, at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg and attended by delegates from 50 companies.

Aspirations

The Ideal Employer Awards, organised by Magnet Communications, is a culmination of the Magnet Student Survey - an independent online and paper research market conducted at 23 South African universities - aiming at revealing young people's professional aspirations as they prepare their future after university.

SABC emerged as the winner in the category of humanities, followed closely by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs, and Media24 (fourth).

CSIR and the Department of Fisheries, Agriculture and Forestry came third and second respectively in the science category, while Sasol took home the top prize and came second in the engineering category, which was won by crisis-hit Eskom and tailed by Anglo-Platinum.

Absa, a division of UK's Barclays Bank, claimed the commerce award followed by KPMG and the South African Reserve Bank. Media24 came 45th, SABC seventh and SARS fourth in this category.

Wondered at the logic

Many wondered at the logic behind students choosing the SABC as their ideal employer despite all the problems the Auckland Park-based organisation it is facing and all the negative publicity it has been subjected to in the past two years or so.

But an SABC delegate joked, “As a public broadcaster we believe that bad publicity is good publicity.”

It is believed that the Department of Fisheries, Agriculture and Forestry's regular interaction with students at campuses, bursaries offers and consistent campaign of encouragement and career advice, mostly in rural areas, may have boosted its brand reputation and counted in its favour.

More than 26 000 students took part in this year's survey, up from 19 000 in 2008 and some 15 000 in 2007.

Employer branding specialist

Magnet Communications forms part of Sweden-based Universum Communications, an employer branding specialist which has operations in many parts of Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa.

“We assist companies and organisations in becoming more attractive employers through creating and strengthening their employer brand,” Sweden's Peter Johansson said.

Johansson added, “We help companies understand their image, audience and competitors, decide their desired brand position, plan their communication activities, and act by reaching the talent market through publications and events.”

Universum conducts such surveys in more than 30 countries around the world annually, covering a talent market of 350 000 respondents (MBA, graduates and young professionals) and providing clients with services in the field of research, strategy and communications.

“In return, companies buy our research report and develop a strong graduate recruitment programme, which takes account and identifies the kind of skills they are looking for in young graduates,” Cape Town-based Gavin Greenmeyer, Magnet Communications student panel manager, told Bizcommunity.com.

New questions

New questions such as demographics, salary expectations, communication channels (internet usage, employer career websites, social media and career fairs) were added in the 2009 Magnet Survey, 80% of which was done on paper and 20% online.

Most students (60%) said they learned about their ideal employer through the Sunday Times ads (Times Careers), and 82% said they were Facebook regulars, followed by 78% of Mxit.

The highest salary expectation, R327 000, came from North West and the lowest, R187 000, from the Western Cape.

For more information, go to www.magnetcommunications.co.za.