Europe’s Top Employers are increasingly challenged by the growth of China and Africa 

As Europe’s Top Employers are announced by the CRF Institute for 2013, recognising the leading employers with the most effective HR policies across the continent, it’s also clear that Europe’s best are facing competition from elsewhere, especially Africa and China, in this global HR best-practice research programme.

Employment expectations are much more bullish amongst Africa’s and China’s Top Employers. In Africa, an average of 36% of the Top Employers expects to increase their employee numbers by more than 5%. This number is as high as 86% in China, but only 26% in Europe, a number that has dropped by 5 basis points from the previous year.

The representation of women in senior positions also seems to be lagging in Europe’s Top Employers. Measuring the percentage of women occupying the 50 most senior positions in companies, Europe’s scored the lowest proportion with 21.3%. In Africa, the percentage was 25%, and in China it was 29.7%. In all three regions, Top Employers expect to increase these proportions over the next three years.

Elsewhere in the CRF Institute’s data for Top Employers in each of Europe, Africa and China, there are closer similarities across the three regions. The top-three key performance indicators for Europe are employee well-being, workforce planning, and training and development. For Africa, the top-three are the same. For China, it’s performance review, recruitment, and compensation and benefits.

In all three regions, the HR function is a member of the executive team in almost all companies, and in most, the HR function reports to the CEO.  The HR function is central to the organisation in a large majority of Top Employers in all three regions.

Away from the HR function, the awareness of the contributions made by innovation varies by region. Once again, European countries seem to be lagging, albeit probably from higher starting points. For example, an understanding of how budget is saved as a result of innovations (as reported to executive management) is reported at 65% of European Top Employers, at 66% of African organisation and at 81% of Chinese companies.

“We have been conducting research into the HR policies and practices of some of the world’s most famous (and some of the lesser-known) employers for the past 20 years,” says David Plink, CEO of the CRF Institute.

In undertaking the survey, he says, “We examine every aspect of a company’s employee proposition: the career opportunities available, the primary and secondary benefits, working conditions, training and development, and company culture.”

“Over the years we have found that, while two organisations may look similar from the outside, the differences in what they may offer you as an employee can be significant.”

"The implications for the employees of such companies are obvious: who doesn't want to reap the rewards of a carefully thought-out HR strategy, which considers each aspect of the individual and encourages them to give of their best? With such employees on board, success for these organisations is inevitable." 

According to Johann Labuschagne, Global Sales Director for Europe, the difference in focus on the key performance indicators for each region is a reflection of their respective economic standing.

“Europe is in consolidation mode, and the Top Employers in Europe are concentrating on keeping the employees they have. In China, it appears that the Top Employers are gearing for growth, seeking to attract top performers with attractive recruitment programmes. And in Africa, the picture, while similar to Europe’s, is set in the context that Africa Top Employers are more likely to recruit in the year ahead.”

“What our data and research seem to show is that so-called developing regions of the world are accelerating in their deployment of HR practices designed to maximise employment engagement, satisfaction and performance. This obviously has long-term implications both for those in the developed world, such as Europe, and those in the developing world.  The CRF Institute Top Employers data help HR groups understand what works and what might need changing, which is so much more powerful than assessing what might be working. And these region and country comparisons provide clear clues about where individual organisations sit in the global HR performance hierarchy.”

The Top Employers Certification Programme is an objective, internationally applicable HR policy audit through which leading national and multinational organisations across 45 countries are certified. The insight is designed to assist the HR executive in improving the employee experience, engagement and attraction goals.  The programme scores each participating organisation against an objective rating standard across the five HR dimensions: Primary Benefits, Secondary Benefits and Working Conditions, Training and Development, Career Development and Company Culture.

The research methodology has been endorsed by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is audited annually by the independent auditor, Grant Thornton.