Unilever Pakistan Named PSHRM Most Preferred Graduate Employer in Pakistan

December 18, 2007, KARACHI—The Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management (PSHRM) and Engage Human Resources, a Human Resources consultancy, have announced the results of the first Most Preferred Graduate Employer 2007 study. At the ‘PSHRM Graduate Employer Awards 2007’ ceremony held in Karachi yesterday, the following companies were recognized as the Ten Most Preferred Graduate Employers in Pakistan:

The top places in the Most Preferred Graduate Employer study have all been taken by multinationals with 68% of students preferring to work in a multinational with ‘the companies reputation’ and the prospect of ‘challenging and interesting work’ as the main reasons given for this preference.

Pakistan State Oil has won the Most Preferred Local Company award as the highest ranked Pakistani company with their perceived attractive compensation package as the main reason for their ability to attract talent.

The Financial sector has been identified as the most interesting industry to work for with ‘challenging and interesting work’ as the driving force behind its attractiveness. The following companies have been identified as the Most Preferred Graduate Employer in their respective industry sector:

Compensation is the most important factor cited by graduating MBA students in choosing an employer.

In Pakistan, growth opportunities are a key driver of employee preference, clearly reflecting the ambitions and aspirations of a restless and demanding workforce that is keen to ride the growth wave. As a result, organizations that are able to manage employees’ career aspirations and provide them with opportunities for growth and development will have a more engaged workforce. The study showed that ‘future career growth’ and ‘development opportunities’ were respectively the 2nd and 3rd most important factors in choosing employers.

44% of all students chose an organization out of the top 5 as their employer of choice, suggesting that there is ample opportunity for other organizations to challenge their domination of the awards through a dedicated and focused effort in Employer Branding.

Navroz Surani, President of the Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management, stated, “this was the first time that we conducted a Most Preferred Graduate Employer study in Pakistan. As PSHRM we hope that the study encourages more and more companies to apply innovative and leading HR practices with the objective to become Employer of Choice and in doing so help the advancement of Human Resources Management in Pakistan.”

About the Most Preferred Graduate Employer Survey
In September 2007 Engage Human Resources in partnership with the Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management conducted a preference study interviewing 550 graduating MBA students from 8 universities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

The universities (Lahore University of Management Science, Institute of Business Administration, Szabist, Iqra university, Lahore School of Economics, CBM, University of Lahore and Quaid-e-Azam university) were chosen from the latest Higher Education Commission ranking survey.

The survey was designed and conducted under the guidance of Nazeeha Husain, a marketing research expert with more then 20 years experience in senior and executive marketing research roles in leading multinational organizations.

Mr. Khurshid Hadi, Chairman, Engage Human Resources stressed on the employer branding perspective and said, “Now more then ever companies need to understand what it takes to attract, motivate and retain the talent. The Most Preferred Graduate Employer study provides invaluable insights not only into how Most Preferred Employers achieve this but also how other organizations can achieve similar status.”

The Benefits of Being Most Preferred Graduate Employer
According to the Economist, attracting and retaining talent is seen by 75% of CEO’s as their number one priority. As the competition for talent increases, the resulting salary cost increase will place additional strain on organizations. Attracting talent and being recognised as the employer of choice is as a result the ‘holy grail’ for CEO’s and HR professionals alike.

Paul Keijzer, CEO Engage Human Resources, notes “that becoming the most preferred employer is not about advertising. The top ranked organizations have all been able to create an aspiring employee promise with leading HR practices that deliver that promise. Having built that internal credibility, a focused communication effort then helps to spread the word making these companies stand out for graduating MBA students as the most preferred places to work.”

Being the Most Preferred Employer will have a significant impact on:

Attracting the most preferred talent and recognition in the marketplace for having a strong employer brand. Most Preferred Employers’ employees believe their companies are hiring the right people for the right jobs and deliver on their employment promises.

Retaining talent and increasing engagement of employees. Most Preferred Employers are seen to have leaders that provide a challenging and motivating work environment and provide growth opportunities for employees.

Driving your bottom line; being able to attract, engage and retain talent will have an immediate and dramatic impact on your financial results. Building a strong Employer Brand is a smart investment.

The Most Preferred Graduate Employers 2007 study report will be available from January 1, 2008. Please contact Sanober Ahmad MPEstudy@engagehr.biz) for more information.

About Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management
The Pakistan Society for Human Resource Management (PSHRM) is Pakistan’s first formal association devoted to the advancement of the human resource management profession in the country. Representing 40 senior Human Resources executives in leading organizations of Pakistan, the Society’s vision is to have highly competent and effective Human Resource Professionals in our member organizations and provide a support base for others to learn from.

PSHRM also aims to be an influential voice for the profession and serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most essential and comprehensive resources available.

About Engage Human Resources
Engage Human Resources is an end-2-end HR solutions and service provider; Helping you to grow your people to grow your business. Engage Human Resources is a one-stop shop providing a full range of HR services and solutions in resourcing, learning, reward, organizational design and performance management.

We stand for professionalism, HR expertise, innovation and delivery of our commitments and want to be known for our ability to translate business insights into innovative HR solutions.

Our client approach is to partner with clients to find innovative end-2-end solutions that make an impact, are sustainable and add value to client organization.

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