LONDON. (February 22, 2007) – The latest research conducted by the Kenexa Research Institute (KRI), a division of Kenexa® (NASDAQ: KNXA), a leading provider of recruitment and retention solutions, suggests that employees around the world who work for multi-national organisations do not necessarily share similar perceptions of their experiences with their employers.  Using recently compiled data from 2006 Kenexa organisational effectiveness surveys on U.S. and European multinationals – that included data on more than 29 million survey item responses – it appears that the employee experience varies from country to country despite companies’ attempts to standardize policy and practices and to instill a common organisational culture.

In sharing the results of this research, Jeffrey Saltzman, New York Practice Leader for Kenexa, said, “Kenexa has an unequaled treasure trove of world-wide employee data that gives us unparalleled insights into organisational culture on a global basis.  This business-critical information enables international organisations to better maximise their overall performance.”

In the “employee experience” study, Kenexa found that Indonesian employees of U.S. and European multi-national organisations top the list of most positive employees at 77%.  In contrast, Japanese employees of these multi-national organisations report the least favourable perception, at 45%. The world-wide average came in at 62%.

Saltzman explained, “How we feel about our working environment is influenced by not only our experiences with our employer, but also our local socio-economic standards, desires, and customs.  For instance, it’s ironic that American employees of U.S. and European multi-nationals share more similarities with Russia in terms of employee positiveness, than with their neighbour to the immediate north, Canada!”

Saltzman continued, “Though it is very clear from our research that the fundamentals of what employees around the world desire out of their work environment is very similar, how that environment gets implemented and the perceptions of that implementation varies widely.  Multi-national organisations are sometimes influenced by myths and differing assumptions of what employees around the world are looking for and how best to meet those needs.  This data shows that the perceptions of these implementations are uneven at best.”

The top ten ranked countries for the “employee experience” at U.S. and European multi-nationals:

Saltzman summarized, stating, “A number of conclusions can be drawn from this survey data.  For example, one could surmise that in Indonesia, an employee perceives more advantages to working for a U.S. or European multi-national compared to Japanese employees of a U.S. or European multi-national. Additionally, we could surmise that a U.S. or European company in Indonesia is offering compensation and benefits similar in magnitude to what is offered in their other locations, which might be exceptional in Indonesia, but average in Japan and therefore help contribute to employee perceptions.”  He shared, “For Japanese employees working for a U.S. or European multi-national in Japan, there might be a perception that they’ve veered off the career path most commonly followed in their country.  There are, of course, additional local cultural factors and customs that also account for some of the differences we’ve uncovered in the employee experience.”

The complete listing of countries identified in the Kenexa Research Institute study, as well as interviews with Mr. Saltzman, can be requested from the media contacts listed below.

About Kenexa
Kenexa Corporation (NASDAQ:KNXA) provides outsourcing, employee research and software to help organizations more effectively recruit and retain a productive workforce. Kenexa solutions include applicant tracking, employment process outsourcing, onboarding, skills and behavioral assessments, structured interviews, performance management, multi-rater feedback surveys, employee engagement surveys and HR Analytics. Headquartered in Wayne, Pa. (outside Philadelphia), Kenexa employs more than 1,200 people worldwide. More information about Kenexa and its global locations can be accessed at www.kenexa.com.

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