If you’re struggling with hiring or with employee retention, it might be time to evaluate what you’re offering besides salary and benefits. Job seekers, especially those whose talents and skill levels put them in demand, are looking for more than just a paycheck. What are they looking for, and how can you provide it?
CEB, an executive advisory firm, regularly studies employee behavior, and they have found that the top consideration for employees when choosing a new job is:
- Stability. Not money, not other benefits, not even respect. They want to go to an established company that has its act together and can offer long-term potential. Even if your company is newer, they’ll want to see that your organization has a plan, both overall and for each employee.
- Next on the list? Overall compensation. As unemployment percentages shrink, employees are not accepting work just to make money anymore—especially not at reduced salaries. They’re looking for competitive compensation packages that include benefits and other perks. If you don’t provide them, they’ll look elsewhere.
- Respect is the newest addition to the top five list. It’s something that employees are starting to expect. The “just do your work and keep your head down” mindset is very much in the past. Employees want to be recognized and respected for their contributions.
- Number four on the list is health benefits. Healthcare benefits play a big part in employee satisfaction and retention, with more than three-quarters of employees who say they have good healthcare benefits reporting high job satisfaction in a recent MetLife survey. Seventy-one percent of those workers also report strong feelings of loyalty for their employers, while only about 25 percent staff members who are dissatisfied with their benefits feel loyal to their organization.
- Work-life balance rounds out the top five, but it is still a top reason for employees to leave their current jobs for new—and more flexible—opportunities. Women and men are both looking for the ability to make or adjust their own hours. Work-life balance isn’t about trying to shirk responsibilities, but about having flexibility in the time and place that work is done. Younger employees place a serious emphasis on work-life balance, so if you hope to attract and retain a Millennial workforce, this is one great way to do it.
At Synerfac, we get to know our client companies, and we listen to feedback from our candidates, so we know what makes a great company. If you’re looking for advice on how to make your company more desirable to employees, call us and ask!