Unemployed Americans will not Consider Working for Companies with Tarnished Corporate Images

NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine, in conjunction with Allegis Talent2, today announced the findings of the publication's first corporate reputation survey which found that 75 percent of Americans would not take a job with a company that had a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed.

In advance of its annual COMMIT!Forum, on October 2-3, 2012 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, CR Magazine commissioned a poll of over 1,000 employed and unemployed Americans to gain insights into how both corporate reputation and transparency can impact job decisions.

"The results of the new survey underscore American's desire to align themselves with organizations that do more for society than increase their bottom-line.  Even during a time when Americans face many fiscal challenges, most people would rather continue their search for employment than work for a company that has questionable business practices or ethics," said Elliot Clark, CEO of Corporate Responsibility Magazine, which hosts the Forum. "The survey results demonstrate that there is a cost of bad business behavior, which significantly affects the ability to attract and retain people.  At the COMMIT!Forum, we bring together companies to explore best practices and examine the costs of bad behavior and the endless opportunities that result from ethical business practices."

The findings also revealed that of the people surveyed that were currently employed, 58 percent would take a job with a company that had a bad reputation if they were offered more money. However, on average, these individuals would only consider the job if offered double their current salary.

In contrast, the vast majority, 87 percent, would consider leaving their current jobs if offered another role with a company that had an excellent corporate reputation. In fact, most people would only require a 1-10 percent salary increase to consider such a move.

"A positive corporate reputation is extremely high on the list of must-haves for the American workforce, especially as they examine career paths or future employment opportunities," said Randolph Gulian, Executive Vice President/General Manager, AllegisTalent2.  "Today's chief executives at companies across the globe, regardless of size, continue to put more energy and resources behind the improvement of their corporate responsibility and sustainability programs. More than ever, they understand that these efforts trickle down to sales, save money and improve asset values."

For more information on The COMMIT!Forum, please visit www.commitforum.com.

For more information on Allegis Talent2, please visit www.allegistalent2.com.

Methodology

This report presents the findings of a telephone survey conducted among two national probability samples, which, when combined, consists of 1,032 adults, 524 men and 508 women, 18 years of age and older, living in the continental United States.  Interviewing for this CARAVAN® Survey was completed on September 6-9, 2012.  682 interviews were conducted from the landline sample and 350 interviews from the cell phone sample. 

About CR Magazine

CR Magazine is the voice of the corporate responsibility profession covering case studies, best practices, and trends in the five primary segments of the CR profession: a) governance, risk, compliance, b) environmental sustainability c) corporate social responsibility, d) philanthropy, and e) workforce/diversity. www.thecro.com

About the COMMIT!Forum

The COMMIT!Forum, calls people to commit to changing the world. How? By inspiring, educating, and engaging them in ways that prepare them to make the commitments necessary to change themselves and their organizations. The path to COMMIT, which began on April 17th at the New York Stock Exchange with the announcement of CR Magazine's 13th Annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens, culminates October 2-3 in New York City at the Forum and continues well beyond through the commitments people make there.  http://www.commitforum.com/ 

About AllegisTalent2

Allegis Group Services and Talent2 formed a strategic partnership in 2010 to form AllegisTalent2. With Allegis's significant expertise and structure in the Americas and India, Talent2's significant expertise and structure in the APAC region, and a combined footprint across the EMEA region, this alliance provides AllegisTalent2 with a comprehensive global RPO capability.

SOURCE COMMIT!Forum