Traditionally, money wasn’t the No. 1 motivator for employees.
Over the past few years, a booming economy and tight labor market drove the focus to money and benefits as employers competed for talent. Today, it seems to have come full circle, as our employee opinion surveys show that money isn’t the key issue anymore.
What do employees want? We are finding that they want to be involved in, and valued by, their companies. As retention of talent becomes a major concern for all employers, this is information to heed and use.
The economy has put employers in a bind. We have all seen the number of job openings increase and the amount of talent decrease. Attraction is a sore point and retention of talent is an increasing concern among all employers.
Employers wanting to keep employees have focused on salaries and benefits, and both have steadily increased.
– Local Employers
Offering Raises
The San Diego Employers Association conducted a 2000 salary survey that found employers are budgeting merit increases that outpace the national average for the second year in a row. Additionally, compared to last year’s data, three times as many employers are anticipating giving cost-of-living increases.
The survey also noted an increase in the number of companies offering a bonus or incentive program, up to 65 percent from 53 percent last year. But the day of keeping workers with money and benefits alone seems to be behind us.
The SDEA conducts employee opinion surveys for employers. The surveys look at nine areas in an organization: wages, benefits, working conditions, hours of work, management, training, supervision, job satisfaction and quality.
Using standardized statements along with customized, open-ended questions, each survey is analyzed in comparison with a running average of San Diego scores in order to help a company identify problem areas.
Most of the surveys in the past identified issues primarily in the areas of pay and benefits. Surveys conducted this calendar year, however, have all pointed to management style and employees’ ability to feel involved in and valued by the organization as more important concerns.
In other words, an organization can offer great pay, signing bonuses, incentive plans, all the latest work/life benefits and other financially driven perks , “We just bought everyone pizza last week” , and still have dissatisfaction and high employee turnover.
– Identifying Specific
Employment Concerns
The specifics of concern today, according to our last several surveys, go back to management style and philosophy. Management in this sense is about team-building and motivation.
Specifically, we are finding concerns with the following:
o Poor internal communication throughout the company.
o Departmentalization and lack of teamwork between departments.
o At its worst, animosity between departments hampering productivity.
o Ineffective and inefficient workflow throughout the organization.
o Management that doesn’t take employees’ concerns seriously.
o Management that isn’t interested in, or acting on, employees’ input.
o Management that doesn’t show it cares about individual employees.
o Performance management that doesn’t lead to advancement or growth.
o Inability to communicate where employees fit in the big picture.
o General lack of good management skills.
– Opinions Based
On Perceptions
The last point is due to a perception that people tend to be promoted into management for doing a good job, not because they have the ability to manage, motivate and lead people.
They seem to be perennial employee concerns, as are money and benefits. However, as pay has risen and benefits have been enhanced, the management issues have risen to the forefront.
We also believe that money is the key to attracting employees but that management is the key to retaining employees.
Sometimes employees see money as the Band-Aid. But it doesn’t create a sense of worth or loyalty over the long haul. And it isn’t even a form of golden handcuff anymore. Fewer employees are afraid to go back out on the job market, so they will leave a company that isn’t fulfilling their other needs.
These are results we are seeing across the board, in terms of industry, size of company and whether or not employees are unionized.
It tells us that management skills are essential to keeping employees and that constant improvement of those skills is probably one of the best investments you can make in the human resources area today.
Sczempka is president of the San Diego Employers Association.
