The results come from Intelligence Group’s European labour market survey 2022. For the report, data is collected annually from different target groups within the labour market. More than 100,000 respondents from 27 European countries took part in this survey. Based on this, the report with the most preferred employers was compiled, while the report also sheds light on each country’s preferred employer.
Europe’s top 10 most preferred employers
Beyond being dominated by American companies, the European top 10 also includes German (BMW, Lidl), Swedish (IKEA) and British (NHS) employers. Interestingly, IT and Technicians are more likely to be interested in the automotive sector, partly motivated by the masculinity of the target group. In contrast, the female target group is interested in companies in retail and social organisations. This includes European supermarket chains, fashion giants and drugstores. These do tend to be of European origin. It is also notable that among theoretically educated students, there is more than average interest in large consultancy companies. The top 10 most preferred employers by theoretically educated students:
- Amazon
- Microsoft
- Apple
- NHS
- IKEA
- Coca Cola
- Lidl
- IBM
- BMW
Hardly any truly European employers
Companies such as IKEA, BMW and Lidl transcend their national popularity even though it is perfectly clear from which countries these employers originate. Consequently, there are hardly any truly European employers in Europe. A playing field that US employers are gratefully exploiting in the ‘war for talent’. “The global tightness in labour markets and especially in Europe and America makes the importance of a strong employer brand obvious. American companies have a strong advantage in the global war for talent due to their strong preference among talent. European employers need to think and act bigger to make a fist in the European and global labour market,” said Geert-Jan Waasdorp, CEO Intelligence Group.
There are hardly any truly European employers in Europe. A playing field that US employers are gratefully exploiting in the ‘war for talent’.
In today’s tight labour market, it is a mission for companies to attract and retain talent. This year, employer branding is seen even more by organizations as a top priority to simplify the search for talent. This is because good employer branding helps attract, hire and retain talent. The first steps towards making the list of preferred employers is by offering good and fair terms of employment, taking good care of their own staff, offering future prospects, development and increasing public awareness of them.
Most popular employer by country:
Through the research, Intelligence Group is also able to pin-point which company leads the way in any given European country. Within the list, it becomes abundantly clear just why many European countries trend towards local champions – but also highlights the American dominance. Just think of Microsoft leading the way in Austria, or Google leading the way in Greece.
- Austria: Microsoft
- Belgium: Google
- Bulgaria: Lidl
- Croatia: DM
- Czech Republic: Cez Group
- Denmark: Novo Nordisk
- Estonia: Telia
- Finland: Nokia
- France: EDF
- Germany: Siemens
- Greece: Google
- Hungary: Mol Hungary
- Ireland: Google
- Italy: Amazon
- Latvia: Latvenergo
- Lithuania: Telia
- Netherlands: Rijksoverheid
- Norway: Equinor
- Poland: Orlen
- Portugal: Google
- Romania: Coca Cola
- Slovakia: Kaufland
- Slovenia: KRKA
- Spain: Amazon
- Sweden: Ikea
- Switzerland: Google
- United Kingdom: NHS
Want to read the full report?
Would you like to receive the full report? Then download it here. Would you like more information? Contact Geert-Jan Waasdorp, CEO of talent intelligence specialists Intelligence Group via geert-jan@intelligence-group.nl.
