LONDON, KYIV, 13 MARCH 2014:  If companies are to be more successful in their approach to recruiting and retaining talented employees in emerging markets they need to understand what professionals value from them as employers, by country and by profession. A new EY report surveys 1,109 professionals in the BRICs – Brazil, Russia, India and China – and reveals the drivers of satisfaction, engagement and retention for each market.

Across the BRICs, the following drivers of employer attractiveness are outlined:

• Brazil: Promote a high energy and socially oriented culture
• Russia: Offer individuals career growth and positive work environment
• India: Emphasize speedy promotions and corresponding salary increases
• China: Demonstrate that you are a rapidly growing organization that caters to key talent

Bill Leisy, Global Talent and Reward Leader in EY’s Human Capital division says multinational companies have the best chance of recruiting top talent when they adapt their strategy to fit with cultural preferences of the market. “Multinational companies need to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Each market presents different challenges. Understanding cultural differences and professional preferences will position an organization to develop an employer brand that not only attracts the best people in the first place but also implements a strategy to engage and retain them.”

Olga Gorbanovskaya,Partner, Head of Human Capital practice in Ukraine, comments: "In Ukraine, as well as in the BRICs, experienced candidates demonstrate more strategic and thorough approach as they seek for the best employer. For employers, this means that it is essential to develop an attractive employer value proposition for employees and external candidates, which is why it is important to understand their agenda. In this case the results of regular labor market surveys could bring lots of useful insights. According to EY’s annual survey “Best Employer for experienced candidates in Ukraine”, opportunities for personal and professional growth are the most important criteria for an employer selection. This position was expressed by 94% of candidates, which turned to be slightly more important than the compensation package. Moreover, a potential employer’s position in the market, career opportunities and training, as well as opportunities to obtain an international working experience within the company are also of a great importance for the candidates.

In times of economic uncertainty pegging salary to a hard currency is a reasonable benefit for employees. The so-called "currency basket" helps reduce risks and to some extent offset the income reduction caused by the depreciation of the national currency. According to recent research that we have conducted in Ukraine, only 13% of leading companies (out of 185 respondents) pegged salary to a hard currency, and we are pleased to mention that EY is among these companies".

The report, Differentiating for success: securing top talent in the BRICs, also reveals the five key strategies that have the greatest impact on talent attraction and retention. These are:

1.     Accommodate different career goals across countries and professions

• Use differentiated job design, career paths and performance management processes to meet these differing career goals across professions
• Tailor career-management systems and processes to recognize national differences
• Re-evaluate the structure of your talent management programs in different countries and look beyond global mobility as a means of developing leadership skills and diversity experience

• Highlight different features of your organization when recruiting in different countries

• Acquire and develop the specific traits favored in each country, in your managers and teams, and embed them into your internal and external communications programs

• Rather than investing heavily in prime city-center locations, focus on the internal design of your workplace to create an environment that suits the cultural preferences of your team

• Promote future career paths and earnings, rather than chase local increases in base pay and complex variable pay models
• Tailor packages by country to achieve the greatest return
• Focus on building a benefits package that incorporates career development
• Use a flexible approach to benefits and career management so that professionals can adjust them to their own preferences within a common framework
• When recruiting business professionals and in order to retain in-demand talent, focus on your position as an industry leader

Bill Leisy continues: “Potential employees are attracted to one organization over another for different reasons, but they stay in an organization for one key reason: the ability of the employer to develop and enhance their careers through effective leadership development, performance management, learning and development, mobility and succession planning. How well organizations execute their talent strategy will determine how quickly they establish competitive advantage and experience fast growth in emerging markets.”

The most significant difference across professional groups’ surveyed (engineers, IT and business) is around the preference for benefits packages, with business and IT professionals having a higher preference than engineers for flexible work arrangements. Business professionals are also significantly more interested in quick promotions than those in IT and engineering and are more attracted to firms that believe they are industry leaders.

Olga Gorbanovskaya adds: “Indeed, it is very important for employers to remember about the effectiveness of differentiated and flexible strategies for attracting and retaining employees in order to create a competitive advantage, taking into account the characteristics and conditions of those labor markets where the business operates.”