Those times in which employees were very keen on working with major enterprises and corporate groups are over. The majority of Germans attach more importance to what the new job sought is all about rather than to the size of a potential new employer. Thus, only 17 percent of Germans prefer working with a major group and almost one quarter wish to be employed by small or medium-sized entities. These are the findings of the latest survey by the Stepstone European professional portal which was carried out among almost 17.000 site visitors in eight European countries.
When comparing SMEs and major groups the former is one step ahead: “The reputation of SMEs has markedly changed in recent years. More and more employees realize that working in smaller companies is quite advantageous. SMEs are becoming increasingly attractive as potential employers. Adequate positioning on the labour market is therefore all the more important now for companies”, comments Mr. Ralf Baumann, CEO of Stepstone Germany, on the survey´s findings.
The situation is similar in the Netherlands and Denmark: Whereas only 12 percent of the Dutch and 14 percent of Danes would most like to work with a major group, almost one third of Dutch and one quarter of Danes would prefer small and medium-sized entities.
Only Italians, French and Belgians see things differently in this respect: Almost one third of Italians and about one quarter of the French and Belgians prefer working for a corporate group rather than SMEs.
The total number of participants in the survey of Stepstone´s internet sites in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and France was 16.970. Detailed findings are available from Stepstone on the internet. 