(The 3 Things Employees Value Most)
The social contract that once bound employees to organizations for entire careers is no more. Single-job careers of 40+ years have become an endangered species. Free agency now dominates the workplace and the term workforce has become a verb.
With career-long employment off the table and career mobility picking up speed, employers should be asking the question, what do employees want and value?
The results of our latest survey shed light on what workers are looking for from the organizations that employ them. When asked, here’s what we found:
- Pay me! Not surprisingly, compensation lead the list of top-ranked incentives.
- Protect me! By far the most often ranked as a top 5 incentive, benefits remain a critical factor among incentive options.
- Play me! Second in top-ranking and second in overall number of top-5 mentions, personal development rounds out the dominate incentives leaving other options far behind.
The take-away…
Since there is only so much payroll to go around and so many benefits you can offer, the real opportunity lay with bolstering employee self-realization. Organizational leaders, especially HR and L&D professionals would be well served to package and promote their developmental opportunities, and take steps to ensure employees know they exist and encourage their participation. With annual investment topping $150B a year, employee development is serious business. Unlike salary or traditional benefits, L&D activities are the most financially controllable incentives in your attraction and retention arsenal.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and questions at jeff@jeffkaplan.com
Until next week, STAY CONNECTED!
-Jeff
