Employees send a clear message to their employers - “Make work interesting, develop my skills, pay me fairly, consider my personal values and I’ll stay!”
New research by Employer Brand International of more than 1900 organisations shows that in most regions around the world, companies who provide employees with an employment experience offering interesting work, career development, fair pay, authenticity and opportunities to grow with the business are best placed to attract and retain talent. Failure to do so is likely to lead to higher levels of turnover.
The global study was undertaken to better understand the key drivers of the employer brand and the most important value propositions people consider in an employment experience, why people join companies, why they stay and how organisations can improve the delivery of the employment experience.
Brett Minchington, Employer Brand International Chairman and CEO said, “The global workforce is going through a massive transition driven by an uncertain global economy, rapid changes in technology, shifting social values and the demand for an employment experience aligned with personal values. Understanding the needs of your current and future employees will ensure your business strategy meets the needs of your most important assets – your employees and customers!”
Employee advocacy is a powerful talent attraction method. Globally, 68% of employees said they would recommend their company as a 'great place to work' to others. However, the study found there are many variances for this attribute and others when analyzed at a regional level which companies need to consider. Only 59% of employees in Poland would refer their company as 'a great place to work' to others, compared to 73% in UK.
The study found sharing knowledge inside companies is not a strength with a global average of only 49% of employees saying their company offer an active mentoring program. However, surprisingly it rated highest in Russian (54%) and Ukrainian companies (52%). Companies often underestimate the performance and productivity gains by ‘aligning the employment experience with employee’s personal values’. Workers in the UK and Scandinavia rated this attribute the highest (33% each) compared to the other 14 regions.
Whilst important, salary was not the main attribute employees are seeking when choosing a new employer or choosing to stay with their current one. However it was the number one area employers could improve on with 25% of employees wanting a better salary as part of their employment package. There are some regional variances though with UK workers appearing more content with their salary package. It did not rate in the top five attributes of what’s important in an employment package, nor did it rank as a top five reason why UK employees choose to stay with their current employer.
Some of the key regional variances included
Scandinavians (61%) and New Zealanders (51%) rated ‘interesting work’ the highest in importance in an employment experience. ‘Interesting work’ was included in the top three most important attributes in an employment experience in all sixteen regions included in the study except Turkey.
Career development’ rated more than twice the global benchmark in Scandinavia (72%) and it also rated higher than other regions in Colombia (53%).
With a global benchmark of 28%, the ‘importance of salary’ in the employment experience rated highest in Turkey (57%) and Ukraine (41%).
The reasons employees chose their current employer
Scandinavians (61%) and South Africans (59%) rated ‘interesting work,’ the highest in importance for why they chose their current employer.
‘Interesting work’ was included in the top three most important attributes in all regions except Turkey and the UAE.
‘Career development’ rated 25% more than the global benchmark in Turkey and Colombia (both 60%) and also rated higher than other regions in South America (58%), Poland and Scandinavia (both 56%).
With a global benchmark of 29%, the ‘importance of salary’ as a motivator for choosing an employer rated highest in Ukraine (44%) and Turkey (37%).
Workers in Colombia rated ‘alignment with personal values’ the highest (26%). It was also one of the main reasons why employees in New Zealand, Russia and the UK (23% each) chose their current employer.
The reasons employees choose to stay with their current employer
Scandinavians (56%) and Australians (45%) rated ‘interesting work’ the highest in importance. ‘Interesting work’ was included in the top three most important attributes why employees stay with their employer in all regions except Turkey and the UAE.
‘Career development’ rated twice the global benchmark in Scandinavia (50%) and also rated higher than other regions in Turkey (47%), which is 10% higher than the next highest (Colombia 37%).
Workers in USA/Canada rated ‘opportunities to grow with the business’ highest (36%) for this attribute. It is also one of the main reasons why employees in Turkey and the UAE (30% each) choose to stay with their current employer.
Choosing to remain with an employer based on ‘job stability’ was nearly more than twice the global benchmark in Poland (42%) and Spain (41%).
The employment attributes employers could improve include
Employees in Turkey (43%) and Scandinavia (39%) rated ‘salary package’ the highest in areas their employer could improve.‘Salary package’ was included in the top three most important attributes to improve in all regions except New Zealand, South Africa, UAE, UK and USA/Canada.
More staff benefits and a commitment to diversity were two others areas employees want their employers to improve. Russians ranked highest amongst the regions for staff benefits (36%) and South Africans rated highest for improving their commitment to diversity (29%).
Employees in the UAE rated ‘career development’ (40%) twice the global benchmark as a main attribute employers could improve as part of the employment package.
With the rate of technological change accelerating over the past five years it is clear this is having an impact on workplaces around the world. ‘Access to modern technology and equipment,’ ranked the fourth highest area employers could improve on. 40% of employees in the UAE rated this attribute more than twice the global benchmark and 31% of those in USA/Canada also rated it highly.
The ‘quality of senior leadership’ rated highest in South Africa (35%) and New Zealand (31%). ‘The quality of managers’ rated highest in the UAE (40%) and also rated higher than other regions in Scandinavia (28%).
Having trained and advised leaders in more than 45 cities around the world since 2007, Minchington said ‘The employer brand strategy has to be built from the ground up. The days of second guessing what will attract and retain the best talent are over – deep candidate and employee insights are needed to drive the people agenda!
For further information, including how to obtain a copy of the full report please visit the publisher’s site: http://www.collectivelearningaustralia.com
For media inquiries please contact Andrea Fielding Global Relationship Manager Employer Brand International andrea@employerbrandinternational.com
Total Responses
1924
Countries/Regions
Asia, UK, Australia, Colombia, Ukraine, Europe other (except Poland and Spain), New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Scandinavia, South Africa, South America (other), Spain, Turkey, UAE and USA/Canada
About Employer Brand International
EBI provides research, advisory and thought leadership in employer branding through strategic consulting, conferences/training, publications, research and Global think-tanks. EBI’s expert services are provided through an international network of expert employer brand Senior Associates. EBI’s Global Advisory Board consists of leading corporate professionals and academics from around the world. For more information, please visit www.employerbrandinternational.com