Accolades for Air NZ – again – at the Randstad Awards

Air New Zealand has been voted New Zealand’s most attractive employer for the third year in a row in the annual Randstad Awards – how do they do it?

BY Rose Sneyd 27 Mar 2013

Air New Zealand has, again, been voted New Zealand’s most attractive employer in the annual Randstad Awards, which were announced last Thursday. In a further accolade, the company became the very first inductee worldwide to the Randstad Award Global Hall of Fame for taking out the top prize for three consecutive years.

“We have long acknowledged our people are one of our greatest assets in the competitive airline market. Happy, engaged staff translate to more positive experiences for our customers, greater productivity, more innovative thinking and ultimately to strong business results,” Christopher Luxon, CEO of Air New Zealand, said.

The appeal of the brand lies in its prestige and distinct identity, according to an Air New Zealand spokesperson. “We believe New Zealanders want to be part of a successful business that achieved on the global stage, on that embraces its New Zealand identity and strives to promote and enhance our country,” she explained.

Their approach to developing the brand relies on fostering an internal culture that inspires its employees to tell their friends, family, and acquaintances what it is like to work at Air New Zealand. “Customers are much more likely to trust the word of their friends and wider circles of associates than they are traditional promotional activity,” the spokesperson said. But it is also a question of honesty, and using social media platforms to give a ‘realistic picture’ of work at the company.

Other chief award winners included New Zealand Customs Service , the most attractive employer in the public sector, and Massey University, the most attractive employer in the education sector. The Department of Conservation took out third place.

Companies do not enter the Randstad Awards themselves. Members of the general public vote via a questionnaire that is sent to ‘a representative cross section of 7,000 employees and job-seekers’, according to the awards methodology.

Respondents are asked to select the ten most important factors that define an employer’s brand, to identify which companies they recognise and whether they’d like to work for them, and to assess each company they would like to work for against the employer brand elements they nominated. With 160,000 participants globally, Randstad claims that it is the world’s largest piece of research into employer branding.

Top ten New Zealand employers: