Pay, job security and flexible working arrangements have been ranked as top factors for attracting and retaining talent in WTW’s (Willis Towers Watson) latest Employee Attraction & Retention research.
As the tight UK labour market sees employment vacancies hit a twenty-year high, over half (54 per cent) of employees are considering leaving their current role. In total,18 per cent of UK employees surveyed said they were actively looking for a new employer and 15 per cent were looking for a change in career. A further 21 per cent said whilst they were not actively searching, they were open to offers.
Employees continue to prioritise pay and job security as the most important factors in attracting and retaining them. More than half of UK respondents (58 per cent) cited pay as a top reason they would look for a new job. Two in five (43 per cent) would leave for a pay increase of 5 per cent or less. One in five employees (22 per cent) would even move to a new job for the same pay.
But a third (33 per cent) also indicated that flexible working arrangements were their third highest priority if they were to move to a new job. And those looking at job opportunities are also likely to be suffering from burnout or feel unable to voice their opinions.
“Pay is always an important factor for employees, but more and more we’re seeing job security and flexibility cited as key concerns for workers in their quest for career satisfaction,” said Alasdair Wood, work & rewards leader, GB & Ireland, WTW. “Employers must look to the strength of their overall packages in relation to the needs of their staff. In many cases, this means enhancing health and retirement benefits, offering flexibility and focusing on staff wellbeing.”
The importance of flexible working arrangements has come to the fore due to a change in work patterns, fuelled by the pandemic. As companies rev up plans to bring their workforce back to the office, the survey found that the majority of employees (59 per cent) want to work remotely, either most of the time (34 per cent) or in a hybrid arrangement that splits their time (25 per cent). Only 41 per cent would rather work onsite.
However, a third of workers (33 per cent) do not feel aligned with their employers’ arrangements around flexible work. The survey found that when preferences on work arrangements are not aligned, there is significant risk to retention, lower engagement and performance.
Women, younger people, and low-income workers are more likely to want different, more remote working arrangements. Yet, according to the survey, younger people are also most concerned that remote working will have a negative impact on their career development, with many missing the social interaction at work due to remote working.
Advantages and disadvantages for remote work both show strongly in the data. 71 per cent of workers agree that working remotely has helped them achieve a better work-life balance and 62 per cent agree that their working resources meet their needs for remote working. However, half of employees feel disconnected from their team while working from home and 39 per cent fear that remote working will have a negative impact on career development.
“The findings suggest that employees continue to job hunt at the same pace as last year and that the labour exodus is not yet over,” said Wood. “There’s a pressure for employers to find ways to better meet their workers’ needs, particularly on issues such as wellbeing, engagement, skills development and career structure in order to tip the scales, so that employees choose to stay.”
