The results of a leading survey suggest HR’s continuing inability to create good workplace cultures is to blame for employees choosing to leave companies.
A lack of workplace culture and leadership has been blamed for the willingness of employees to look for new challenges and advancement at other companies.
The latest Australian Institute of Management’s National Salary Survey has found 66.8 per cent of employees left a current job to start a similar role elsewhere.
AIM’s survey found businesses are worried that workplace culture is to blame, with 63.7 per cent naming this the HR issue they are most concerned about.
In addition, the survey found that four in five Australians, or 81.9 per cent, leave their current role in search of new challenges, and more than half, or 56.5%, see limited career advancement opportunities as a factor in their decision.
This has become a drag on operational costs, with AIM’s results suggesting the cost of replacing staff is about half of the average salary, or $26,410.
AIM CEO David Pich put the ‘restlessness’ down to a festering lack of career advancement opportunities, not enjoying time at work, and poor leadership.
He said HR has become a critical to business, and AIM would suggest building a positive workplace culture by having open streams of conversation, offering training and professional development support, and providing leadership.
“People don’t leave companies; they leave leaders. Great managers and leaders make decisions that impact people’s lives and that impact can be felt well beyond the workplace,” he said. “We spend about a third of our working-age lives doing just that – working. So it is vital our experiences in the workplace are positive as they impact on our overall well-being and on society as a whole,” he said.
AIM found a variety of economic factors were contributing to the employee turnover problem, including national salary growth that has plummeted from 4.1 per cent in 2012 to in line with inflation at 3 per cent in 2016.
The downward trend is predicted to continue in 2017, with Queensland and Western Australia experiencing the lowest salary growth due to the mining downturn, which has particularly impacted construction and manufacturing.
The survey found 34.5 per cent of employers are making super contributions above the superannuation guarantee level of 9.5 per cent, though employees are less likely to salary sacrifice as they attempt to maintain standards of living.
