Research has shown that some of the ‘perks’ that keep employees happy in their jobs are not the stereotypical ‘big ticket’ items that only larger businesses are able to offer.
Boredom, lack of opportunity and poor work-life balance are within the top four reasons that people leave their jobs, according to The Australian Human Resources Institute, rather than lack of perks such as corporate cards, cars and fancy technology. The Institute also found in a 2009 survey that employees value good communication and training opportunities over and above higher pay.
Other important considerations for employees, that are particularly relevant to smaller businesses that are unable to compete with large businesses on remuneration and work conditions, according to research undertaken by Deloitte, are:
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- Working close to home and greater flexibility with work hours
- Having a job that also allows time for family, study and other lifestyle decisions
- Feeling recognised and valued for hard work
- Organisational values: feeling proud of what the organisation stands for
- Good communication
Small-scale perks such as providing food basics in the staff kitchen, days or part-days off to reward good performance and team building events can also help to ensure that staff feel valued and appreciated.
These are all important tools to prevent employee disengagement, which can be very harmful to an organisation. The costs of employee disengagement are covered in our previous blog The Hidden Costs of Employee Disengagement.
RightPeople’s organisational surveys are like an organisational barometer, allowing you to investigate key aspects of your organisational culture that are related to employee engagement/disengagement, including:
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- Personal/Organisational values Fit
- Job satisfaction
- Work-related stress and burnout
- Work-life balance climate
- Trust in the organisation/management
- Perceptions of organizational support
- Communication satisfaction
- Opportunity for advancement/promotion
- Opportunity for learning and skills development
- Perceptions of fairness re remuneration
- Intention to leave
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Any areas of weakness can be identified and plans made to improve those aspects of your organisational culture so that you can help keep your employees engaged and motivated to work for your business.
And you don’t have to be a survey expert! We develop the surveys, analyse the results, provide detailed recommendations and can provide face-to-face feedback at your request.
Help ensure that you keep your valued employees. Contact us to discuss our PeopleMetrics survey tools today!
