Press Release Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management and Engage Human Resources announce the PSHRM HR Awards 2008 PSHRMMost Preferred Graduate Employer 2008 Unilever Pakistan Engage HR Best Place to Work 2008 GlaxoSmithKline PSHRM HR Excellence Award 2008 Telenor Pakistan November 25, 2008, KARACHI The Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management (PSHRM) and HR consultancy Engage Human Resources announced the PSHRM HR Awards 2008 today at a ceremony held at Sheraton in Karachi. The following awards were distributed, honouring the country s best in the award categories: PSHRM Most Preferred Graduate Employer 2008: Unilever Pakistan Engage HR Best Place to Work 2008: GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan PSHRM HR Excellence awards 2008: Telenor Pakistan PSHRM Most Preferred Graduate Employer 2008 The Pakistan Society of Human Resources Management and Engage Human Resources announced the results of the Most Preferred Graduate Employer 2008 study. Through this forum 1100 graduating MBA, Engineering and IT students were interviewed and asked which company they would prefer to work for upon graduation. The results of the study recognised the following as the Ten Most Preferred Graduate Employers in Pakistan: Most Preferred Graduate Organization Employer 2008 1 Unilever Pakistan 2 Microsoft 3 Mobilink 4 Telenor 5 Procter & Gamble 6 Siemens 7 Schlumberger 8 IBM 9 Oil & Gas Development Company 10 Nestlé
The main reasons cited by study participants for selecting Unilever Pakistan as the Most Preferred Graduate Employer 2008 were the company s reputation, learning and career opportunities and compensation packages. The Most Preferred Graduate Employer study this year, covered students from Business Administration, Engineering and Information Technology. The following companies were identified as the Most Preferred Graduate Employer for the different disciplines: MBA Students 1 Unilever Pakistan 2 Procter & Gamble 3 Royal Bank of Scotland Engineering Students 1 Siemens 2 Schlumberger 3 Mobilink Information Technology Students 1 Microsoft 2 Telenor 3 IBM 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 2008 in their respective industry sector: Industry Sector Banking Consumer Goods Telecom Information Technology Oil and Gas Engineering Most Preferred Employer for Sector Royal Bank of Scotland Unilever Pakistan Mobilink Microsoft Schlumberger Siemens Compensation is the most important factor cited by graduating students in choosing an employer. Graduating students are most interested in companies that provide them with ample learning and career opportunities. 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. Not surprisingly in the current economic climate, the job security companies can provide is also an important factor in choosing their employer of choice. About the Most Preferred Graduate Employer Survey In September 2008 Engage Human Resources in partnership with the Pakistan Society of
Human Resources Management conducted a preference study interviewing 1100 graduating MBA, Engineering and Information Technology students from 27 universities campuses covering 7 cities in Pakistan. The universities 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. Engage HR Best Place to Work Study The Engage HR Best Place to Work Study was initiated to provide a complementary view to the Most Preferred Employer study. The Most Preferred Employer study is based on the perception of students, whereas the Best Place to Work study focuses on employees working within anorganisation. Twenty companies have voluntarily participated in the Best Place to Work survey. In this survey, 100 random employees of each company were interviewed and questioned about their sense of belonging with the organisation, their alignment, the opportunities and the commitment levels of these employees. All these elements together formed the basis of the Engage HR Engagement score of an organisation. During the PSHRM HR Award ceremony, the Engage HR Best Place to Work 2008 awards were presented to: Best Place to Work Best Place to Work Runner Up Best Local Company to Work GlaxoSmithKline Telenor Pakistan Engro Foods Employees at GlaxoSmithKline are specifically proud to be part of the GSK team and are very satisfied with the support they receive from their line managers. Telenor employees appreciate the open access to their senior managers and the commitment of their company to the community and environment. The Best Place to Work survey results will provide companies with an insight in the engagement levels of their employees and compare it with the Best Place to Work companies in Pakistan, allowing them to identify specific areas where they can improve and become an Employer of Choice. The Benefits of Being the Employer of Choice According to Economist magazine, 75% of Chief Executive Officers see attracting and retaining talent as their number one priority. As the competition for talent increases, resulting salary cost increasescontinues to place additional strain on organizations. For this reason, the recognition received from being labelled the employer of choice is an attractive bonus and adds valuable benefit to an organisation s leverage within the job market. Engage Human Resources CEOKeijzernotes that becoming an employer of choice 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 employees and students alike as the most preferred places to work.
Asthe employer of choice, there will be 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 they deliver on their employment promises. Retaining talent and increasing employee engagement: Most Preferred Employers are seen as having leaders that provide a challenging and motivating work environment as well as providing growth opportunities for employees. Driving your bottom line: being able to attract, engage and retain talent will have an immediate and dramatic impact on the financial results of your firm. Building a strong Employer Brand is a sound and smart investment. Chairman of Engage HR, Mr. KhurshidHadi,while stressing the importance of an employer branding perspective said, Now, more then ever, companies need to understand what it takes to attract, motivate and retain talent. The Most Preferred Graduate Employer study and the Best Place to Work survey report provide invaluable insights not only into how Employers of Choice achieve this but also how other organizations can achieve similar status. Survey result reports for The Most Preferred Graduate Employers 2009 and the Best Place To Work 2009 will be available soon. Please contact Engage HR at info@engagehr.biz for more information. For assistance from Engage Human Resources to help you build a strong Employer Brand and to be a contender in the Most Preferred Employer Awards 2009, please contact us at info@engagehr.biz PSHRM HR Excellence Awards Both Engage HR and PSHRM share the vision to lead the development of the human resources function in Pakistan. The PSHRM HR Excellence Award has been established to recognise organisations for having achieved outstanding business results in designing and implementing innovative HR initiatives. Board Member of State Bank of Pakistan, Unilever and Shell and former-chairman of PIA Zafar Khan and Director of the Institute of Business Administration and former State Bank Governor Dr. IshratHussainwere appointed as judges for the awards, with the mission to evaluate all award nominations. The PSHRM HR Excellence Award was awarded during the ceremony to Telenor Pakistan for their Employee Life Cycle Engagement HR Initiative. The judges cited the winners ability to develop an innovative approach in maintaining relations with people who have left the organisation stood out as an inventive and unique way to engage employees for long term. The life cycle engagement concept recognizes the potential that not all people would remain employed within the organisation for the entire duration of their careers. Through Telenor Pakistan s Alumni Outreach Program the company
actively maintains relationships with people who have left the organisation, with the goal of potentially re-recruiting them within the companyat a later stage in their career. President of the Pakistan Society of Human Resource Management, NavorzSurani said, This was the first time that we awarded the PSHRM HR Excellence Awards. At PSHRM we hope that the HR Excellence Award encourages more and more companies to apply innovative and leading HR practices with the objective to become an employer of choice and, in doing so, help the advancement of Human Resource Management in Pakistan. About Pakistan Society of Human Resource Management The Pakistan Society for Human Resource Management is Pakistan s first formal association devoted to the advancement of the human resource management profession in the country. Representing forty senior human resource executives in leading organisations of Pakistan, the society s vision is to have highly competent and effective HR professionals as its member organisations and provide a support base from which others can benefit. The aim of PSHRM is also to be an influential voice for the HR profession, serving the needs of HR professionals by providing the most essential and comprehensive resources available. About Engage Human Resources Engage Human Resources is an end-to-end HR solutions and service provider; Helping you to grow your people to grow your business. Engage HR is a one-stop-shop providing a full range of HR services and solutions in resourcing, learning, rewards, 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-to-end solutions that make an impact, are sustainable and add value to the organisation. Engage Human Resources (Pvt) Ltd. Engage Human Resources (Pvt) Ltd 2 nd Floor, Bahria Complex 2 M.T. Khan Road Karachi, Pakistan Telephone: +9221 561 1336 Fax: +9221 561 1328 Email: info@engagehr.biz URL: www.engagehr.biz