A recent study by Comprend reveals that jobseekers struggle to find essential details about career progression, onboarding programmes, and learning opportunities on corporate websites.
Comprend’s Webranking study evaluated the corporate websites of 110 of the UK’s largest companies, assessing their transparency and accessibility across key areas, including Careers, Investor Relations, and Sustainability. The results underscore the need for improvement, especially in addressing jobseekers’ expectations.
Lack of Careers Information
Insights from Edelman’s 2024 Trust Barometer show that 82 percent of employees consider employer-provided training to maintain skills a strong expectation or dealbreaker when choosing a job. However, only 37 percent of UK companies surveyed provided clear information on career progression and promotion opportunities. Furthermore, just 14 percent detailed their onboarding programmes – and a mere 3 percent included data on hours spent on learning and development.
The retail sector performed particularly poorly, with an average score of 38.9 out of 100 points for overall transparency. Retailers, including companies like Next and B&M, lagged behind in providing careers information, fulfilling only 39 percent of jobseeker-related criteria compared to the UK average of 56 percent. The sector also scored below average in sustainability communications, achieving a fulfilment rate of 40 percent compared to the UK average of 55 percent.
Investor Relations communications also showed weak performance, with UK companies meeting just 26 percent of the criteria required to address stakeholder expectations – slightly below the European average of 28 percent.
Sustainability and Accessibility Improvements
One area of progress noted in the Webranking report is sustainability communications. UK companies fulfilled over 52 percent of sustainability-related criteria, an improvement from the previous year. Many companies effectively presented their sustainability strategies and the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into their business models.
Digital accessibility also saw positive trends, with over 70 percent of companies now presenting an accessibility statement, in a proactive approach towards meeting the requirements of the European Accessibility Act, which will come into effect in 2025.
The study found that UK companies performed best in their “About Us” sections, achieving an average fulfilment rate of 61 percent for related criteria. High scores were recorded for presenting purpose, mission, and vision (97%), value creation for society (96%), and information about target markets or customers (92%).
Despite the growing importance of executive visibility in fostering stakeholder trust, only 5 percent of companies included direct leadership commentary in their business strategy presentations. This is much lower than the 34 percent that incorporated leadership input in sustainability strategy discussions.
A Chance to Stand Out
Deputy CEO, Comprend, Staffan Lindgren, said, “This year’s Webranking results highlight an excellent opportunity for UK companies to stand out by presenting vital careers information that jobseekers value most on their corporate websites. Companies that prioritise detailed and transparent career information not only attract high-quality talent but also build trust and strengthen their employer brand.
“By showcasing their values and aligning with the needs of potential hires, these companies position themselves as employers of choice in a competitive market. With UK companies scoring low overall, there is real opportunity here to win over jobseekers and differentiate themselves against the competition.”
Alessandra Pacelli is a journalist and author contributing to HRreview, an HR news and opinion publication, where she covers topics including labour market trends, employment costs, and workplace issues. She is a journalism graduate and self-described lifelong dog lover who has also written for Dogs Today magazine since 2014.
- Alessandra Pacelli
- Alessandra Pacelli
- Alessandra Pacelli
- Alessandra Pacelli
