As companies slowly ramp up hiring, you’re likely going to be facing a chore you may not have worried about for awhile: keeping your best people. Now there’s new research that could help guide your retention efforts.
HR consulting giant Towers Watson took an interesting approach to looking at retention issues. Using its employee opinion database, the firm broke workers into two segments: those planning to stay with their current employer and those planning to leave.
Researchers then looked at how each group felt about key workplace management factors. The results are telling.
Take a look:
- Mapping their futures. More than three out of four employees (78%) who plan to remain with their employer believe their employer offers long-term career opportunities for them, the research said. Only one-fourth (26%) of those employees who plan to leave feel this way.
Three-fourths of those who plan to stay say they have a reasonably good idea of their career paths at their employer; that’s true of just 37% of those who plan to leave. - Taking care of the top performers. While eight in 10 workers who plan to remain with their employer believe their job performance is evaluated fairly, only 44% of those planning to leave think that’s the case.
Additionally, three times as many workers who are staying with their employer (60%) are satisfied with how they are recognized versus only 20% who are planning to leave. - Keeping them in the loop. About two-thirds of workers (63%) who plan to remain with their employer say management does a good job of communicating with people, compared to less than one-third of those ready to jump ship.
- Balancing work and life. More than two-thirds (69%) of those staying put feel management generally understands the problems they face in their jobs, and that the company culture supports their need to balance work and life. Conversely, only one out of three workers who expect to make a change has a similar feeling.
- Listening. Three in four workers (75%) who plan to remain with their employer feel sufficient effort is made to obtain the opinions and thinking of employees. Just 40% of those planning to depart think this way.
The research was based on responses gathered in 2010 from more than 900,000 in 89 organizations worldwide, Towers Watson said.
