A new survey released by Insync Surveys has reported that Australians and Kiwis want to work for a company with a good reputation and a fun working environment.

The ‘Dream Employers’ survey, which was open to the Australian and New Zealand public and was promoted with online advertising and email blasts to businesses, asked respondents whom their dream employee would if they could choose anyone.

Google topped the list of desired employers, followed by Virgin/Richard Branson, and being self-employed. Apple and QANTAS rounded out the top 5.

Insync Survey’s Genevieve Boyd thought the popularity of self-employment “quite surprising”.

“People really find being your own boss attractive,” she tells Marketing magazine. “But we did some demographic research, we asked a few people who own business and they said they are not a dream employer. So the grass is always greener on the other side, it seems.”

In the survey, organisations with a strong culture and brand performed well. 

“Offering a range of “people-centric” employment attributes such as flexible work hours and formal recognition is imperative for business success across all industries,” the report recommended.” More importantly an organisation must deliver on their employment value proposition or they will perish.”

“A strong employer brand also has a significant impact on Dream Employer status. Directly or indirectly, people – not products – deliver brand promises. Brands are a collective set of relationships. The brand is a promise held in the hearts of the people, and how people talk about an organisation is the most powerful way to build a brand.”