Brand Building A Focus for SMEs

Singapore - Small to medium enteprise (SME) employers need to concentrate on building a strong brand in order to attract and retain talent staff, according to research conducted by the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and branding company StrategiCom.

StrategiCom and SNEF undertook the research to discover the crucial employer brand attributes that drive talent attraction and retention for SMEs. Surprisingly, the study showed that salary was not the most important factor for candidates when looking for jobs. An attractive overall compensation and benefit package was only the fourth most important factor, under ‘freedom to work on own initiative', ‘recognition of, and appreciation for work', and ‘opportunity for long-term career progression'.

The actual size of business also doesn't matter, with the research showing that a ‘small organisation' is ranked as one of the least important attributes.

"Although strong candidates tend to be attracted to MNCs, this is not because they are attracted to a large company, but rather it is the lure of a strong brand, and the promise of long-term opportunity," Dr Wilson Chew, CEO of StrategiCom, said.

"It is clear from the findings of our study that SMEs must focus their attention not on raising salary offers, but on building a forward-looking brand to attract, and by default, help retain quality staff.   The research shows that a successful brand is one built solidly around the values of recognitions and appreciation of employees work, the opportunity for career progression, training and development, and benefits.

"We mustn't forget that SMEs make up 60% of our workforce in Singapore, and their success is vital to the country."

The research, which took five months to complete, used both qualitative face-to-face interviews with senior management and a quantitative questionnaire which was administered to post graduate MBA students; final (honours) year undergraduate students and working professional managers in the Marketing, Quality Management, Human Resource, Information Technology (IT); and Accounting & Finance fields.

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