Dive Brief:
- Contrary to what is being reported about the recovering job market, the economic boost is not driving employees to seek out greener pastures, reports the Washington Post. If anything, the article says, U.S. employees are "staying put."
- The article, from Jean Martin and Brian Kropp of corporate research and advisory firm CEB, said data from CEB’s most recent Global Talent Monitor, a quarterly report providing visibility into employees’ needs and motivations, shows that U.S. employees are more likely to stay with their current employers than they were at this time in 2014.
- In addition, the CEB survey found that those same workers are willing to put in additional effort at work, as the number of employees who report going the extra mile has steadily increased over the last three quarters. According to CEB, today’s U.S. workforce is one of the most engaged in the world (though most surveys on employee engagement paint a differnt picture).
Dive Insight:
The article quickly corrects the idea that America's workforce is happy. On the contrary, they probably don't believe there is a better option right now.
"We think that’s the case," according to the CEB duo. Why? Because when asked about the availability and quality of other job opportunities (based on location, industry and function), U.S. employees report declining optimism.
Where does that leave employers who need to recruit and retain talent they need? The key, the article says, is understanding the employee perspective both when they are looking for a job and when they are considering their future within their current employer.
"To build the strongest employee proposition possible, the best organizations don’t try to be good at everything; instead they focus on the drivers that matter most to employees," according to Martin and Kropp. They add that employers must "go beyond compensation" and emphasize a "supportive working environment – one that includes work/life balance, stability and health care – in order to retain and land top talent."
Strategies such as "focusing on building career paths, offering development experiences and improving manager effectiveness" can create an employee value proposition that cuts annual employee turnover by almost 70%, according to the article.
