MARCH 2017 NO. 128
Over the last several years the job market has not only been recovering, but transitioning— bringing with it an entirely new type of candidate behavior.
And it’s these working professionals that are leading the way —becoming all too aware that the current candidate-driven job market puts them in an advantaged position where they can be more selective when making career decisions.
A new study reveals that not only will working professionals be harder to find this year, they’ll be expecting more from the hiring process, and what they want in a job.
Are organizations and the business community meeting their needs? Is yours? Let’s find out.
EMPLOYEES WILL BE EASY TO LOSE AND HARD TO HIRE IN 2017
At the end of 2016, the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.7%. While this is good news for employees and job seekers, it should be a wake-up call for companies that take workers for granted. The Execu|Search Group’s recently released 2017 Hiring Outlook report reveals employees are geared up to seek employment elsewhere, and some are interviewing for multiple positions.
According to the report:
- 50% of employees say they plan to stay at their current company for two years or less
- 61% of respondents in the candidate survey reported interviewing simultaneously for two or more roles
So why are employees jumping ship? Survey respondents listed their top 4 reasons for leaving a company are as follows:
- Lack of advancement opportunities
- Lack of salary growth
- Negative work-life balance
- Poor corporate culture
And even though salary growth is a driving factor, more than half of the respondents are determined to leave regardless; 55% say they would reject a counter offer from their current company.
Several experts discuss the importance of advancement opportunities, negative work-life balance, and poor corporate culture.
ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND EMPLOYEES
Most advancement opportunities require professional development, but according to Isaura Gonzalez, Psy. D., licensed clinical psychologist and CEO of Latina Mastermind, a private practice in tri-state NY, many companies hesitate to develop employees because they fear the workers will decide to leave them for greener pastures. “But not investing in your workers is like not tuning up your car – eventually things will stop working the way they are supposed to.”
Professional development is good for both the employee and the company, because the organization benefits when workers learn new skills. “Professional development gives the employee the opportunity to go and grow beyond their everyday job requirements and challenge themselves both professionally and personally.” Billionaire investor Warren Buffett recently shared his belief that learning public speaking skills was essential to his success.
Gonzalez says when companies invest in their employees, they’ll see the return on their investment. “Employees are able to perform not only what is expected of them, but will often go the extra mile to reach new levels.”
WORK LIFE BALANCE
A recent survey reveals that more than half of employees don’t use all of their vacation time, and 25% of millennials don’t use any of their time. While some companies subscribe to the theory that overworking their employees leads to organizational success, Chris Boyce, CEO of Virgin Pulse, believes the opposite is true. “Employees and their wellbeing is mission critical to the long-term success of the organization.”
This is not a new concept, but in the past, Boyce says there was not sufficient data connecting well-being to business outcomes. “Until recently, employee well-being has been viewed as a ‘nice to have,’ but with more and more research (like Execu|Search’s report and Virgin Pulse’s State of the Industry: Employee Wellbeing, Culture and Engagement survey) directly connecting employee well-being to business productivity and performance, business leaders are recognizing it as a ‘must have’ from a business perspective.”
In addition to fewer occurrences of absenteeism and lower turnover rates, Boyce says companies that take employee well-being seriously also have higher business productivity levels and stronger stock performance. “As organizations focus on individual well-being as a positive driver of company culture, they are going to see happier, healthier, more engaged employees and better business results across the board – and that’s just good business sense,” Boyce concludes.
CORPORATE CULTURE
A commitment to providing opportunities for advancement and a focus on employee well-being are elements of a positive corporate culture.
Like me, many executive search consultants believe that job candidates must do their homework to ensure that they are working with companies that share their values.
Without a good cultural match between a potential employee and the company, a short stay is almost guaranteed. Companies who really have a true, positive, and encouraging culture that is carried out from top to bottom are much more successful at hiring longer-term, like-minded people.
If you don’t get culture right, nothing else matters.
Sources: GoodCall; Hunt-Scanlon Media