survey of 10,000 workers examines retention tactics and employee tenure
three in ten (30 percent) accounting workers would not consider another job offer, while just one-fifth (19 percent) of human resource and manufacturing workers feel that way, according to a new study by hudson highland, the human resources provider.
overall, the company says, workers still consider a competitive pay and benefits package to be indispensable, but employers need to offer more than that to keep employees satisfied and on the job.
nearly all of the workforce (96 percent) rated a fair salary as very or somewhat important and 93 percent said the same for benefits. however, when workers’ needs regarding career advancement, the relationship with their manager, and training are not being met, they are more likely to look for a new job than when their salary and benefits are poor.among workers who consider career advancement opportunities to be very important yet believe their employers are doing a poor job of meeting that need, 41 percent are actively seeking a new job. only five percent of the workers in this category would not consider another job offer.
the next most likely turnover trouble spots are the relationship with manager and training. when individuals rank these factors as very important but feel their employer is doing a poor job at providing them, 37 percent and 36 percent are actively looking, respectively. by contrast, 34 percent of workers who highly value salary but work for a company that does a poor job are actively seeking a new position, and 31 percent of those who feel the same about benefits are looking.
“while monetary considerations continue to be key elements in retaining talent, other, often intangible, factors can play a significant role in an employee’s decision to stay with or leave an organization,” says robert morgan, coo, hudson human capital solutions. “as employers confront issues of continually rising healthcare costs and restricted salary budgets, they should consider implementing programs such as flexible working arrangements and manager training initiatives as ways to reduce turnover.”
highlighting the need for a sound retention strategy is the decreasing job tenure within the workforce, as a significant portion (50%) expects to change companies within the next five years and over one-third (36%) within less than three years.
additionally, one-third (32 percent) of the workforce is actively job searching or has an updated resume and would consider job offers, while just one-quarter (25 percent) would not consider changing jobs at the current time.
“clearly, employment for life is no longer a realistic concept for most workers,” says morgan. “employers who can elicit just an extra year or two of tenure stand to benefit from dramatically reduced turnover costs.”
other key findings include:
— while there is virtually no difference between managers and non-managers when it comes to current job search efforts, managers were more likely to believe that top talent stays at their company (49 percent compared to 35 percent) and also more likely to recommend their employer to others (70 percent compared to 57 percent).
— workers are torn about retention among the top performers in their organization — 40 percent report that they stay and move up within the organization, while another 40 percent think they leave the firm to find better jobs somewhere else.
— a majority of u.s. workers (62 percent) would recommend their company as a good place to work.
only 36% percent of the respondents reported that their organizations conduct internal surveys to gather feedback from their employee base. of those, nearly three-quarters (72 percent) always participate.