Employers meanwhile believe their product and brand reputation (71 percent) is the most important factor in attracting talent followed by being stable, market leader (68 percent). The pay packet ranks the second lowest in importance despite this being high priority for employees.
Clarian HR MD Clare Parkes says while only 20 percent of employees surveyed said they were actively looking for alternative employment, further one third are unhappy in their roles and are considering looking.
The number of employees actively or considering looking for another job is “wake-up call” for some workplaces, says associate professor Jane Parker from Massey University’s School of Management.
“This reflects disengagement from organisations by some employees and how online recruitment options have facilitated job searches in recent times.”
When asked about their personal level of engagement 21 percent of employees said they are not engaged with their work, and 59 percent are ambivalent or somewhat engaged.
Over third (38 percent) want better communication, 37 percent want improved development and career planning, 36 percent want better pay and 37 percent want closer attention paid to office politics and internal conflict.
Other key drivers of engagement noted by employees were lack of confidence in the leadership team (29 percent), feeling they cannot communicate openly and honestly without fear of retaliation (26 percent), and the company not caring about their personal wellbeing (25 percent).
Other key findings include:
• Ineffective leadership is the most highly rated barrier to better performance by employees (56 percent strongly agree) compared with just 25 percent of employers. The biggest barrier, in the employers’ view, is excess workload
• Over third (36 percent) of employees refer to lack of motivation as barrier to performance
• Half of employers are looking to cut costs and third are focusing on headcount
• Thirty percent of employers are looking at ways to increase productivity
• Nearly one quarter (24 percent) of employers expect significant change in leadership development, management capability and employee engagement.
