'As soon as that market turns, they will go and find a better place,' warns expert
Work-life balance has become a key priority for many employees in New Zealand, according to a new report, with employers urged to keep a close eye on employee expectations if they want to retain their talent.
The latest Workmonitor research from Randstad revealed that work-life balance matters to 88% of Kiwis when thinking about their current role.
More than eight in 10 employees also considered pay (85%) and job security (82%) as important in their current jobs.
These expectations remain strong despite a challenging job market for employees. Findings from SEEK NZ showed that while applications per job ad are on the rise, available job openings for Kiwis are declining.
But this won't always be the case in the job market, according to Sarah Bills, country director for Randstad NZ, who warned that unsatisfied employees are prepared to leave their roles once the market improves.
"If employees don't feel like they've been looked after, or the expectations aren't being met by their employer, history shows us that they will vote with their feet," Bills told HRD. "As soon as that market turns, they will go and find a better place."
While it is important for employers to meet evolving employee expectations, Bills acknowledged that addressing all of them may be a challenge.
"It's a tough one because there is no one-size-fits-all talent strategy. Every business is different," she said.
Another issue that Sarah pointed out is the presence of an expectation-versus-reality gap when it comes to what employees want and what employers can provide.
"In this case, I think it's important that they have those open and honest conversations with their employees, creating that sense of transparency that can foster their trust and increase employees' understanding," she said.
"Those open and honest conversations can also in turn allow a business and a leader to really tailor those benefits to their employee and increase those non-monetary benefits."
One solution would be to provide personalised work benefits, an approach that 56% of Kiwis said would make them trust their employers more.
According to Bills, there are also benefits that employers can provide based on employees' needs that have little to no financial burden on organisations.
"It might be volunteer days, it might be extra leave, which can be quite cost-effective but can make a real positive difference to an employee's daily work life," she said.
Employers may also offer work-from-home flexibility or professional development opportunities.
"It's important to consider employee drivers when thinking about hiring and retention strategies, as well as understanding current employees' values, their beliefs, their career, and personal goals as they will really help an employer when considering in determining their EVP," Bills said.
As an example, she said that one employee who's two to three years into their career may likely place greater value on professional development over working from home.
One way to address this expectation is to assign a mentor to work alongside them or to catch up with them monthly to support their professional journey.
"There are lots of things that organisations can do to find out what is important to staff that doesn't necessarily have to have a financial cost to them and that can actually make a real difference to an employee," Bills said.
