TWO OUT OF five employees are actively considering leaving their current employer within the next 12 months due to a lack of career development and promotion prospects, a poor working relationship with their manager and a lack of opportunity to be creative
TWO OUT OF five employees are actively considering leaving their current employer within the next 12 months due to a lack of career development and promotion prospects, a poor working relationship with their manager and a lack of opportunity to be creative.
Recent research conducted by Watson Wyatt, which surveyed more than 220 large private sector employers and nearly 3,000 employees of such organisations, suggested that employers tend to focus on the wrong reasons for employees leaving.
Rather than developing a retention strategy geared towards factors such as job satisfaction, better pay and better opportunities, companies were better off focusing their efforts on ensuring employees don’t feel the need to look elsewhere, according to Eddie Hodgart, head of total reward consulting at Watson Wyatt.
The Total Reward Survey 2004 also found that almost 80 per cent of employers intend to take a more holistic approach to managing their reward programs in the future.
Key reward elements with the greatest influence on positive employee behaviours, including commitment levels, are non-financial elements such as career development, promotion prospects and increased flexibility, the survey found.
It also indicated no material impact on employee turnover levels in providing above-market levels of traditional rewards, and suggested that greater value could be found by reinvesting additional funds available in some of the intrinsic elements of reward.
“Key people issues facing organisations in the future are skills shortages, changing the culture and controlling costs of employment,” said Hodgart.
“Reflecting these issues, the most common reward objectives are performance focus, controlling reward costs and ensuring fairness and transparency.”
Interestingly, few companies listed reducing employment costs as an issue, and Hodgart queried how many companies would choose to refuse some potential savings if given the opportunity, even to the extent that it was re-invested elsewhere.
“The perceived skills shortages –rather than labour shortages – of tomorrow will bring an interesting challenge,” he said.
