Employees ready to quit? Alarm bells in 2018
On the employment front, 2018 turned out to be a year of alarm bells, closing with survey findings that nearly three quarters of respondents were either looking [wpmem_logged_out]
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[/wpmem_logged_out]for work, or would consider jumping ship if approached with the right opportunity.1 The first warning came back in January with findings that fully 89% of workers were prepared to leave their job for the right opportunity.2 In mid-year, other findings indicated that 43% of employees would leave their job for higher pay. 3 By December, when additional surveys produced similar results, it seemed almost certain that some employers had faced the “nasty surprise” predicted as the year began.
The “nasty surprise”
The “nasty surprise,” that the job marked has changed, was predicted in the Globe and Mail by Rowan O’Grady, president of the recruitment agency Hays Canada. According to O’Grady, many employers confident of their business and a strong economy may have overlooked the looming threat of employee turnover. Further, he says that at a time when employees are willing to move on, employers have not protected themselves. For example, they are offering pay raises of less than 3% – “a low we haven’t seen in six years.”
Now that 2018 is over, it is not clear how many employers have experienced the surprise. Still, there is consistency in the lessons from survey findings throughout the year: employers cannot take the loyalty of their people for granted.
Employers need to act fast
Much of the current situation has to do with the labour market. With unemployment consistently at its lowest level in 40 years, the focus is on employers to attract and retain staff. Lisa Sterling is head of human resources for the software company Ceridian that commissioned the research that hit the press in December. She notes that most employees said they knew within a year on the job whether they would stay long term. As a result, she says, “employers must act faster to work with junior employees on their career development and job satisfaction – things that naturally build loyalty.”
Millennial influence
Although the Ceridian survey, like others, showed that better pay was the reason most often cited for leaving for a new job, it was closely followed by factors such as not finding the job interesting, not feeling respected and a lack of opportunity to take on new responsibilities. Today’s differing job expectations may be attributed to the influence of the millennial generation which, in turn, is affecting older workers. In Sterling’s view, millennials are driving a desire for meaning “across the organization regardless of age.”
What employers can do
One of the positive aspects of the current situation is that there is much employers can do to respond to the needs of their employees, including employers in small and medium-sized organizations. In addition to the obvious step of increasing remuneration, employers can act to make the work they are offering more meaningful.
Instead of the old career path to higher and higher levels of responsibility, employees may be looking for new and different experiences that provide fulfillment and satisfaction. That could mean, for example, training opportunities – in work-related areas and for general interest.
Listening to employees about to make a job change might lead managers to offer incentives or development opportunities that will keep them in the company. Ensuring that staff have good relationships with management, as well as training and mentoring opportunities, means employees will feel they are having their needs met.
In other words, attracting and retaining staff is not always about money. In fact, O’Grady says that with his two decades of experience, he can say “without fear of contradiction” that “people will accept less pay if the company offers a clear-cut career path and a workplace culture that matches their personality and work style.”
Benefits
In O’Grady’s view, benefits are important – not just the fact that benefits are offered, but how they are offered and whether they meet the needs of employees. He provides an example to illustrate that an investment in benefits can have a more positive effect than a higher salary increase:
… benefits can have a considerable impact. Often employers offer benefits that are disconnected from what people really want and make little to no difference on how people feel (car allowance, anyone?). Start by taking the time to ask staff what they want. My money says that training will come out close to the top. A 2-per-cent increase in salaries and investing in some professional training could cost less and have a more positive effect than a 3-per-cent companywide salary increase.
The surprise avoided
With a year of consistent research findings, Canadian employers should no longer be surprised if staff turnover has caught them short of employees when they need them most – the alarm bells can rest. Employers now have the advantage of research findings and advice from HR professionals to help them cope with a changed – and changing – work environment. As 2019 begins, there should be fewer reasons for employees to quit, and more workplace initiatives designed to make work more interesting and meaningful. bh
References
1 Weikle, Brandie. 2018, December 16. Most Canadian employees are ready to quit their jobs, survey finds. CBC News.
2 O’Grady, Rowan. 2018, January 23. Employers who don’t realize the job market has changed are in for a nasty surprise. The Globe and Mail.
3 Office Team. 2018, July 09. 43 per cent of Canadian workers would quit their job for a bigger paycheque.
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Note:
Brandie Weikle’s article about the Ceridian survey is illustrated with strategies in place at Klick Inc, a Toronto-based technology and health marketing company that has won many best-employer awards, including from Great Place to Work. Among its initiatives is “Klick University” which provides employees with hours of online training on a wide range of professional and personal topics. Keith Lau, SVP of Products and Innovation at Klick, provided the View from the Top for bh’s Spring 2017 issue.
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