f you are an employer, do you think you know the top four strategies for attracting and retaining high performing employees?
In April to June of 2014 the Towers Watson Global Talent Management and Rewards Study was conducted in 31 international locations amongst 1,637 participating organisations and with over 32,000 employees, and the preliminary results are beginning to be released.
Interestingly, while the top four strategies (in no particular order) are listed below, these did not rate with employers. That is, employers have a very different view as to what employees want.
- Career-advancement opportunities
- Job security
- Monetary remuneration
- Trust and confidence in senior leaders
This highlights a major issue for employers, that of understanding employees. No wonder nearly two-thirds of employers are having trouble attracting top performers and high-potential employees, and only 46% of employees feel their company does a good job in this regard. It is also indicative as to why 70% of employees want to be understood by their employers like they are required to understand their customers and clients.
Don’t let that last sentence pass you by – 70% of employees want to be understood by their employers like they are required to understand their customers and clients. Think about that for a while and contemplate the implications.
Other key findings of the study include:
- Communication is a major issue, and only 52% of companies manage to do a good job of explaining how employees’ base pay is competitively position in the marketplace.
- 27% of organisations monitor how effective their career management programs are (you can’t fix it if you don’t know it’s broken!).
- There is a high level of employee engagement (72%) where leaders and managers are perceived as effective.
- THE most important driver of leadership effectiveness – inspiring and motivating employees – and only 55% of employees say this happens.
So for employers there are two simple and very inexpensive imperatives:
- Take the time to understand your employees – they are very different to what you think.
- Invest in becoming effective leaders, which is best manifested by inspiring and motivating your employees.
The Avondale Business School can advise your organisation on being effective in these areas – find out how by contacting Warrick Long at the Avondale Business School.
P: 02 4980 2168