iHire‘s 2019 Talent Retention Report has shown that that 51.7 per cent of professionals have left a job voluntarily in the past five years, while 35 per cent of employed respondents admitted to job searching during work hours. Based on a survey of 1,171 active and passive job seekers the full report is now available for download: https://go.ihire.com/49yh
Key findings include:
- Job-hopping is no longer taboo; it’s the norm: In addition to the 51.7 per cent of respondents who’ve left their job voluntarily in the past five years, 75.5 per cent said they planned to stay with their current employer no longer than five years. Further, 31.2 per cent planned to stay less than one year. With frequent career changes, it’s not surprising that 35 per cent of employees have actively searched for a new gig while “on the clock” (and 7.5 per cent said they “preferred not to answer” this question).
- Employees aren’t highly engaged in their current roles, but they aren’t completely disengaged either: When asked to indicate their level of job satisfaction, 59.9 per cent of employed respondents were either “somewhat satisfied” or “neither satisfied nor unsatisfied.” With no shortage of job opportunities, it’s easy to see how mediocre sentiments toward one’s work can lead an employee to pursue a more meaningful role elsewhere.
- Money talks, but so do growth opportunities: When asked to cite the primary reason they would leave their current job voluntarily, 16.9 per cent of employed respondents said “unsatisfactory salary/pay” and 11.7 per cent said “few growth or advancement opportunities” – the top two responses. Similarly, 48.6 per cent of employees said a “raise or bonus” would increase their likelihood of staying with their employer if offered a new job elsewhere, while 21.6 per cent said the same about “clear growth opportunities.”
- Company culture holds weight in retaining top talent: Approximately 40 per cent of responses to the query on reasons for leaving one’s current job concerned company culture. For example, 10.7 per cent of employees would depart due to a “negative/toxic work environment” and 7.0 per cent said the same about a “poor work/life balance.”
“Qualified talent has become difficult not only to recruit, but also to retain due to a job market with more open positions than people to fill them,” said Steve Flook, President and CEO, iHire. “The possibility that a more rewarding career opportunity is out there is often too compelling for even the most tenured and loyal employee. That’s why employers need to make the extra effort to keep their best talent engaged, nurture staff’s professional and personal growth, and establish a workplace culture that cannot be found anywhere else.”
