Tata Power Company is India’s most ‘attractive employer brand’, reveals the findings of Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2023 - the most comprehensive, independent and in-depth employer brand research in the world, conducted annually. 

Tata Power was followed by Amazon that climbed up rankings this year to emerge as the runner-up, to be joined by a new entrant in the top 3 - Tata Steel, which occupied the third spot.  

Tata Power Company scored 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 the ninth rank in 2022. 

Himal Tiwari, CHRO, Head CSR & Sustainability, Tata Power Company received the coveted award in a virtual ceremony hosted by Randstad India in partnership with People Matters. “We have been on the path of a fundamental transition. Our transformation program, Tata Power 2.0, works extensively on employee development. In the last 3 years, we have taken significant strides in leadership development and skill building for employees. Additionally, we have also revamped our talent frame and approach. We aim to make our policies employee-friendly and contemporary. Tata Power is becoming younger with the average age now at 38, and (expected to be) 34 shortly,” he shared after his winning moment.

Deepti Varma, VP HR, People Experience & Technology, Amazon Stores India & Emerging Markets and Mukesh Agarwal, Chief HRBP, Tata Steel received the first and second runner up awards respectively. 

Drawing insights from over 1.63 lakh respondents worldwide, covering 32 markets and 75% of the global economy, the Randstad Employer Brand Research Report is appraised as the standard benchmark for employer branding. 

In its 13th edition in India, the REBR report reveals that work-life balance, good reputation and attractive salary and benefits are the three most important Employee Value Proposition (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. 

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.

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.” 

Viswanath presented the trophies to all the three winners virtually, also announcing the top 10 employer brands of 2023. 

“At Randstad, we firmly believe that a strong employer brand is the foundation for attracting and retaining top talent. It is a testament to an organization’s commitment to creating a stimulating and inclusive work environment, fostering growth and development, and prioritizing the well-being of its employees,” he added. 

He further observed that, “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 about important EVP drivers such as salary, work-life balance, career progression and more.”  

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

The Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) Awards 2023 offered a broad perspective into how employer branding makes an organization unique amidst thriving competition and what makes talent choose an employer over the other. 

Roma Bindroo, Chief Human Resources Officer, Zepto shared her views on changing organizational culture and how companies can power their employer brand strategies with the help of technology at the REBR Awards 2023.

“Organizations must practice employer branding strategies that reflect the story they are trying to build. It’s imperative for them to marry innovation and creativity with technology to build a long term institution as candidates are becoming bolder in choosing their employers on parameters that go beyond money,” Roma said in her keynote address.

Randstad India’s Chief Marketing Officer, Revathi Raghunath also presented her thoughts on reinventing the employer brand for the future workforce. “Innovative approaches to talent engagement must be supported by sustained commitment by organizations to build a healthy mix of compensation, intangible benefits, culture, career growth and flexibility,” she said at the REBR Awards.

Generative AI has the potential to scale up business, measure impact and increase inclusivity at the workplace. During a freewheeling chat with Anjali Raghuvanshi, Chief People Officer, Randstad India on “Humanizing employer brand in the era of Generative AI”, Nirav Jagad, Chief People Officer, SUGAR Cosmetics observed: “Brands need to move away from being tactical to engaging. People leaders will have to build a repertoire in themselves and strengthen whatever they possess to make these shifts and create a sense of purpose (among employees), making work more meaningful.” 

The REBR Awards also hosted a great line up of leaders like Nilesh Mitra, Vice President - Talent Management, ITC Limited; Anupriya Jain, Chief of Staff to the Founder CEO, Lenskart and Nanjappa BS, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Infosys who came together for a panel discussion on “Turning Employees into Brand Ambassadors” as a powerful strategy to establish a strong market presence, foster customer loyalty, and drive business growth. 

Here were some of key takeaways from the REBR Awards 2023

• Brands must adopt the language that their talent community understands and is comfortable with 
• Personalization is key to cater to a multigenerational workforce comprising GenZs and millennials 
• Leveraging the right technology tools to recruit, engage and retain talent will be crucial
• It is important for an organization to understand what they stand for and what makes them click with today’s talent pool 
• Employers are waking up to the power of listening to create more value for employees
• A strong employer brand can create a healthy and happy employee experience
• Employer branding gives a 360 degree experience to all stakeholders 

Key Highlights of REBR 2023 Findings:

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 behavior 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 rejoining their ex-employer, out of which 56% consider a great employer brand to be the primary reason behind this decision. 

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. About 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 flat lined 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.