Which employers do students find most attractive in The Netherlands?

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1 PRESS RELEASE Which employers do students find most attractive in The Netherlands? Dutch Universum rankings The Hague, (June 20 th, 2014) Once more, Universum has conducted a survey among bachelor- and masterlevel students throughout The Netherlands. Based on the preferences of more than students from top Business and Engineering schools (Hogescholen and Universiteiten), Universum has released the 2014 Dutch Ideal Employer Ranking. A peek on the Top 10 most attractive employers among students in The Netherlands In the business ranking, the waters are unsettled. Google, still number one, is the only employer that remains stable and keeps its leader position. KLM steals the 2 nd place from Heineken (3 rd ), with a strong ascent of three places. Unilever (4 th ) gains two positions and moves ahead of Coca-Cola (5 th ). L Oréal Group (6 th ) makes up for its fall last year by seizing three spots, Nike (7 th ) takes one place while Shell (9 th ) continues its ascension leading them to return to the top 10 podium. There are only two employers dropping in the ranking, being Apple (8 th ) that continues to descend the ladder together with Rabobank (10 th ). We zijn er natuurlijk heel trots op dat we onder Business Master studenten als meest aantrekkelijke werkgever worden gezien. In de huidige war on talent is het voor ons belangrijker dan ooit om echt met studenten in gesprek te gaan over wat zij belangrijk vinden in hun carrière en hoe dat wel of niet aansluit bij de visie en cultuur van Unilever, bij onze focus op duurzame groei, en bij het brede scala aan mogelijkheden voor ontwikkeling en groei, al vanaf de eerste dag van je Unilever-carrière. We zien dat deze aspecten veel studenten aanspreken en dat dat dan tot uiting komt in deze uitslag, daar kunnen we alleen maar heel blij mee zijn. Marije Veenbergen, Leadership Development Director Benelux Unilever. In the engineering ranking, the battle to stay on top proves to be challenging. We again find Google as the number one Ideal Employer, followed by Philips. Shell (3 rd ) steals the bronze medal of Apple (6 th ) while Rijksoverheid (4 th ) moves up one place. TNO (5 th ) shows the best performance, taking four positions. KLM escalates to 7 th place while we see BMW Group (10 th ) reappear in the top 10. After a massive climb of five places last year, Unilever (8 th ) loses one spot. Rijkswaterstaat (9 th ), a newcomer in the survey, makes its entry straight into the Top 10. De Universum-lijst bevestigt dat we ook op universiteiten een sterk merk worden gevonden en populair zijn onder studenten. Dat is mooi want ook dit jaar nemen we in Nederland weer bijna 200 direct afgestudeerden aan. Andere onderzoeken laten zien dat we onze reputatie ook waarmaken, en medewerkers professioneel uitdagen en helpen in hun ontwikkeling. En daar gaat het uiteindelijk om.. Sander Nieuwenhuizen, verantwoordelijk voor Global Recruitment bij Shell

2 Undeniable industry trends with several clear distinctions Since a few years, we have noticed that a solid Employer Branding strategy is in need to enable companies to defy their sector inclination and steal the spotlight. This year, this observation is confirmed in a number of industries. We first detect a general drift, in which one or two companies stand out and go against the current of their industry trend. This tendency is doubleedged: on the one side, each company can survive in a sector facing difficulties; on the other side, the industry attractiveness can sometimes be insufficient to attract the right talent. In both cases, the importance for a company to establish an effective communication strategy around their Employer Branding image has never been so crucial. Another interesting element is that students and young graduates are becoming more interested in a greater number of companies. The times have indeed changed: young graduates these days are more open-minded and less picky, and are not afraid to step outside their comfort zone to look for companies in different sectors. This means that each employer has now the possibility to capture talent by focusing on specific and appealing criteria, and not just on their sector attractiveness. Students career goals: What do they want? When we ask students what is important to them in a future employer, out of four drivers, it is the Job Characteristics that takes back the lead: challenging work, variety of assignments, international travel opportunities, etc. Right below comes the driver People and Culture, also increasing in significance. Students are indeed becoming more sensitive to the work environment, the values of the company, the dayto-day atmosphere in which they will evolve. Both drivers Remuneration and Advancement Opportunities and Employer Reputation and Image are perceived to be less meaningful, yet continue to be very close to one another. As we take a closer look at their career objectives, we see that To be entrepreneurial or creative/innovative comes back on top among business students, taking the place of Work life balance, which clearly shows that it is a central element for young talent. As a matter of fact, business profiles seem more concerned about enjoying their job and above all finding a purpose in it. Work/life balance is nevertheless still very important to them but what would be a job without a bit of creativity and innovation? Another proof of that is that this year for the first time as well, the career goal To be competitively or intellectually challenged is third, above Having an international career and Be a leader or manager of people. Gen Y is definitely after a purpose and having meaningfulness in their career. In contrast, engineering students still consider Work/life balance to be the top most important career goal since 2013, followed by To be entrepreneurial or creative/innovative. Interestingly, two goals that have gained a major boost in importance are To be competitively or intellectually challenged and To be a technical or functional expert. Engineering profiles want their knowledge to be well used. Another interesting observation concerns the career goal To be secure or stable in my job. For both business and engineering students, the importance of this goal decreased in 2014 for the first time since This could be explained by the fact that we are slowly rising from the crisis, allowing the students to feel more confident about their career plans, thus taking more risks when picking potential employers to work for.

3 When asked how long students see themselves working for their first employer, around 45% of them said 5 years or more, and only 5% said one year or less: who said Gen Y was not loyal? Management and Strategy Consulting: top of mind industry among business students Just as last year, this sector remains the number one most attractive industry to work for among business students with The Boston Consulting Group (27 th ) perceived to be the number one most attractive next to McKinsey & Company (28 th ), who has however lost four places. Accenture (41 st ) gains two positions while Booz & Company (49 th ) climbs up an impressive number of nine places. As for Bain & Company (52 nd ), we see a slight decline together with Roland Berger Strategy Consultants (45 th ), dropping 4 and 6 places respectively. Among engineering students, the story is reversed. We notice a plummeting pattern for all the companies: each and every company is plunging. McKinsey & Company (-10), The Boston Consulting Group (-15), Accenture (-22), Bain & Company (-23), Roland Berger Strategy Consultants (-36). We see here the effect of the rising importance of becoming a technical expert for engineering students, according to Rosemarije Haasnoot (Research and Consulting Project Manager, Western Europe). They think this goal is within better reach in the engineering and manufacturing sector than in other sectors such as the management and strategy consulting or the auditing and accounting industries, leading to a decrease in attractiveness of the latter. Banks: still struggling Despite being the second most preferred industry among business students, the bank sector has had trouble in distributing its seduction power among young talent in the past couple of years. Almost all banks have dropped in the business ranking: JP Morgan (-15), Deutsche Bank (-14), ABN AMRO (-4), Goldman Sachs (- 1), Rabobank (-3). However, two banks have managed to distinguish themselves from the rest: Van Lanschot Bankiers (+12) and ING Group (+1). The overall negative trend is even stronger among engineering profiles, with Rabobank (-28) and ING Group (-20) as the worst performers. The Big Four: stable among business but falling hard among engineers The Auditing and Accounting sector is relatively stable among business students, EY (17 th ) being on top next to PwC (21 st ), KPMG (26 th ) and Deloitte (29 th ). Yet, the industry is significantly dropping in attractiveness among engineering profiles. We see an overall important drop: Deloitte (-41), PwC (-41), EY (-30) and KPMG (-26). The FMCGs: an ever trendy sector to be in The FMCG sector remains strong and has gained an even greater appeal in the eyes of students compared to last year. There is an overall positive trend, as much as in the business than in the engineering rankings. We actually see a similar trend on a European level. In the business ranking, Danone (+7), PepsiCo (+6), FrieslandCampina (+5), Nestlé (+5), L Oréal Group (+3), Unilever (+2), Procter & Gamble (+1): they are all winning points in attractiveness. On a general note, this industry unites attractive employment criteria in the mindsets of students: attractive/exciting products and services, challenging work and a creative and dynamic work environment.

4 Johnson & Johnson and Henkel however show the two biggest drops of the sector by losing respectively 21 and 11 positions. The Retail sector: going back up Between 2008 and 2012, the attractiveness of this industry has remained very stable. In 2013, it suffered a significant drop but the trend is short lived as we see it come right back up at its original level. In this sector, we see wehkamp.nl (32 nd ) gaining nineteen places, placing them as the second highest climber in this survey among business students. Engineering and Manufacturing: back in the game After an overall decrease in attractiveness last year among engineering students, the sector is rolling back up. The biggest climb goes to General Electric (+29), then comes ABB (+24), Heerema Group (+20), SKF (+17), Damen Shipyards (+17) and ASML (+2). Bosch and Siemens go against the trend, and are the only two companies decreasing, losing respectively 8 and 2 positions. Software and Computer services A clear decline in appeal for this industry among engineering profiles: Microsoft (-5), IBM (-9), Capgemini (- 14): they have all dropped positions. Only SAP Nederland (+9) has managed to stick out from the rest, while Google preserves their leader position. We see something very interesting happening here: even though engineering and IT students are aiming at becoming an expert in their field, the attractiveness of the software and computer industry has declined. This shows the importance of not only being visible among your target group you wish to attract but also conveying the right messages to them. If they do not perceive you as to offer what they want, they will look at other options, explains Aurelie Pradier (Employer Branding Analyst, The Netherlands). Which companies stand out the most on key criteria? When it comes to choosing their ideal employers, some criteria are more important than others. What are students mostly looking for and who stands out? A key criteria is Professional training and development, which according to business students, is perceived to be most strongly associated with the management consulting firm, Bain & Company. Another crucial criteria is High level of responsibility, where Deloitte is seen as the most attractive company, indicating that business students believe they will get high responsibilities right from the start. Deloitte is a place where everybody can become a leader. This requires a high level of responsibility and trust. For those who have the ambition to learn and grow, our firm offers infinite possibilities. One of our principles is mutual flexiblity : at Deloitte you can create a career that perfectly matches your personal needs according to Talent Partner Ronald Meijers at Deloitte.

5 Deloitte is een plek waar iedereen een leider kan zijn. Dit vraagt om een hoge mate van verantwoordelijkheid en vertrouwen. Voor diegenen die de ambitie hebben om te leren en te groeien biedt onze organisatie grenzeloze mogelijkheden. Eén van onze principes is wederkerige flexibiliteit: bij Deloitte kun je een carrière creëren die optimaal aansluit op je persoonlijke behoeften. zegt Talent Partner Ronald Meijers bij Deloitte. Among engineering profiles, Dell wins the gold medal on both Good reference for future career and Opportunities for international travel. Not only are they perceived to be a great reference on a CV but students believe they can experience international travel opportunities within the company. Samenwerken met professionals uit allerlei culturen. Dell ontwikkelt zich van hardware-expert tot dé leverancier van hoogwaardige end-to-end IT-oplossingen. Mooie reden om er aan de slag te gaan. Zeker als je de internationale context van het bedrijf ziet. Door de vele acquisities wereldwijd kun je tegenwoordig tot ver over de grenzen doorgroeien. Maar ook binnen Nederland werk je intensief samen met professionals uit allerlei culturen. Het ene moment heb je een conference call met het hoofdkantoor in Austin, Texas, het volgende moment voer je overleg met Indiase collega s op doorreis. In de teams vullen mannen en vrouwen van verschillende nationaliteiten elkaar aan, net als aanstormende talenten en doorgewinterde krachten. Inderdaad, een mensenorganisatie. Een onderneming die diversiteit niet als verplichting beschouwt maar als basis voor haar succes. - Maron Bieri over de internationale werkomgeving bij Dell. Universum 2014 Ideal Ranking Dutch Edition Total number of respondents: Total number of partner schools: 32 Ratio between men and women: Men: 66%, Women: 34% Data collection period: October 2013 April 2014 For media queries, please contact: Michiel Pool Mobile: +46 (8) michiel.pool@ About Universum Universum is the global leader in employer branding*. Founded in 1988, the initial objective was to improve communication between students and the employers who want to recruit them. Today, that idea has transformed into an international corporation that surveys 700,000 students and professionals and provides Ideal Employer research, full-service communication and strategic consulting services to more than 1,200 clients worldwide. Our mission is to be a global meeting place for talent and employers. We offer services and products that help employers attract, recruit and retain ideal talent while helping talent learn about ideal employers. *Employer branding is the strategy companies use to achieve their desired appeal on current and future ideal talent.