We’re always quite curious about what our audience thinks when it comes to employment, business, learning or anything work related. Whilst The Talent Boom is located in three different continents, our corporate office has been based in Cape Town, South Africa for the past 11 years, so we’ve seen many start-ups bloom across Africa. It’s interesting to discover the changing landscape of company preferences among business professionals with these start-ups in mind.
We conducted a LinkedIn poll a couple of weeks ago which reveals some intriguing insights into the types of companies professionals now prefer to work for.
Let’s imagine it’s the early 2000’s and you walk up to someone and ask ‘what’s your favourite kind of company to work for?’
There’s a good chance that person would’ve chosen to work for a global company with thousands of employees. Due to number of start-ups now launching and scaling, that outlook may have changed. Africa for one, saw a boom in new micro-businesses.
Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt collectively saw 2476 start-ups launched in the period 2018-2022. That’s a whole category for new opportunities, growth and exceptional talent landing new careers with the next best product or service!
With this in mind, The Talent boom decided to see what the public perception on this was and put together a LinkedIn poll.
Study:
The LinkedIn poll went live on the 13th July and was open for a week. The title of the poll was ‘Favourite type of company to work for’.
Method:
This study makes use of random sampling. The poll is a closed ended questionnaire where respondents can only answer 1 out of 4 responses to a question.
Respondents may also leave comments pertaining to the study in the comment section.
Findings:
The nature of the responses varied in nature. Below we have the responses to the question “What’s your favourite type of company to work for?”
A Global firm/Network company 49%
A small established start up 25%
Boutique/ Independent company 18%
A Non-Profit organization 8%
This data is better reflected on the pie chart below:
Discussion:
The results indicate that a significant majority of respondents, 49%, prefer to work for a Global firm or network company. This suggests that despite the rise in remote and hybrid work options, many professionals still value the stability, resources and potential for growth that larger multinational companies can offer.
On the other hand, 25% of respondents favoured small established start-ups. This finding suggests that a considerable portion of employees are drawn to the innovation, flexibility and potential for greater impact that smaller, more agile start-ups can provide.
The poll also revealed that 18% of respondents preferred boutique or independent companies. This result indicates that a notable number of professionals are attracted to companies with a more specialized and unique focus, where they may have more opportunities for personal growth and a sense of belonging.
Lastly, 8% of respondents indicated a preference for non-profit or NGO organizations. This finding suggests that a smaller portion of employees value working for a cause-driven organization, where they can contribute to a greater social or environmental mission.
In conclusion the LinkedIn poll conducted by the Talent Boom provides valuable insights into the preferences of business professionals when it comes to their ideal type of company to work for. The data indicates that a majority of respondents still favour big, global firms or network companies, appreciating the stability and growth opportunities they offer.
Overall, the findings demonstrate that while large global companies remain popular choices, the evolving business landscape, especially in Africa, has given rise to a greater appreciation for start-ups and niche companies. The diverse preferences highlighted in the poll underscore the importance for companies to understand and cater to the unique needs and aspirations of their employees to attract and retain top talent in today’s dynamic job market.