Amman, Jordan,29 January2018: Nowadays, what makes a company or an organization an ideal place to work for in Jordan depends on many different elements. Bayt.com, the region’s leading job site, explored this topic and just released its latest report entitled “The Ideal Workplace in the Middle East and North Africa” in partnership with global online market research company, YouGov. According to this report,81% of respondents believe that innovation and creativity is highly important in any workplace. While less than a quarter (24%) claim their current workplaces promote innovation and creativity to a large extent, the great majority (84%) of job seekers say innovation and creativity is the most important attribute when selecting a potential workplace to join. What Matters Most to Jordanian Professionals In addition to innovation and creativity, fair evaluation is of great importance in the Jordanian workplace, according to85% of Jordanian respondents. The use of advanced technology in the workplace is also considered very important, as stated by84% of employees in Jordan. Other elements that were considered important in a workplace include work-life balance (82% of employees say it is important), transparent communication (82% of employees say it is important), challenging work (79% of employees say it is important), and teambuilding and fun activities (77% of employees say it is important). Besides attractiveness, retention is an element that many organizations strive to master. When asked about factors that mostly drive loyalty, the top responses were ‘job security’ (according to38% of Jordanian respondents), ‘training and development opportunities’ (according to35% of Jordanian respondents), and ‘opportunities for long-term career advancement’ (according to35% of Jordanian respondents). “It is essential to acknowledge what is most important to those employed in Jordan, as well as what they look for in potential workplaces. By understanding this, organizations can work towards boosting their attractiveness, retention, and even reputation and performance, all while meeting the needs of their employees,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com. Business values and culture In addition to workplace attraction and retention elements, respondents were asked about company culture and its impact when choosing a workplace.41% of Jordanian respondents said company culture is ‘one of the determining factors’ when joining a company,51% said ‘it is important but not a determining factor’, only4% said they ‘don’t pay attention to company culture’, while the remainder (4%) didn’t provide an answer. When asked about business values that make a company more attractive in Jordan,54% cited ‘good ethics and practices’,33% said ‘friendly company culture’,17% said ‘corporate social responsibility’, and10% said ‘green consciousness / efforts’, indicating that Jordanian professionals are wary of the various elements that make up a company’s mission and impact on societies. Physical attributes Not only do values and cultural elements matter to the region’s professionals, physical elements have a significant role as well. In Jordan, there seems to be a higher preference for larger companies, as51% of respondents feel that an ideal company size has more than50 employees. In regards to office layout, the opinions vary.25% of Jordanian professionals prefer ‘closed rooms’,22% prefer ‘open plan’,14% prefer ‘workstations’, and14% prefer ‘cubicles’, while22% have ‘no preference’ in this matter. When it came to the interior design of an office,34% of Jordanian respondents said that the interior design of their offices ‘reflects the company’s brand and value’.41% disagreed with this statement, while25% were unsure. That said, nearly two thirds of respondents in Jordan (65%) said they are allowed to personalize their workplace, at least to some extent. Finding the perfect workplace In order to pick the ideal workplace, professionals in the region need to access information on all the different attributes they value. When asked how easy it is to access information about company culture and work environment, the responses varied.11% of Jordanian respondents said it is ‘very easy’,28% said it is ‘somewhat easy’,33% said it is ‘neither easy nor difficult’,18% said it is ‘somewhat difficult’, and5% said it is ‘very difficult’. To understand this issue further, respondents were asked about the most useful company information to which64% of Jordanian respondents said ‘company benefits and perks’,39% said ‘employee testimonials and reviews’,18% said ‘awards and milestones’,18% said ‘company events and socials’, and5% said ‘photos and videos of the workplace’. Masri adds: “At Bayt.com, we’ve been working with over40,000 employers and over30.5 million job seekers across the MENA region for more than18 years. As part of our endeavor to provide the tools and information to all professionals in the region, we are working on making more company information readily accessible through a new and advanced Bayt.com company profile solution. As the survey indicated, professionals find online ‘company profiles’ to be the most effective for job seekers and professionals, and we look forward to rolling out this tool very soon to help align expectations and increase hiring activities.” “The ideal workplace survey allows employers to understand what they need to do to meet the needs of their employees and future talent as well as what types of information they need to make available. By doing so, companies and organizations can do a much better job at securing their talent needs and making more career opportunities available region-wide,” Anjali Chhabra, Associate Research Director, YouGov. Data for the2017 Bayt.com “Ideal Workplace in the Middle East and North Africa” poll was collected online from December6 to22,2017. Results are based on a sample of4,418 respondents. Respondents come from many countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Qatar and KSA.