Dive Brief:
- Most U.S.employees favor working for growing organizations, even if it means working a longer week, according to Kimble's The Business Growth Report. Eighty-five percent of 1,000 respondents said working for a growing organization is important, and more than two-thirds said they would prefer to work a 50-hour week for a growing company than work a standard 40-hour week for a stagnant organization.
- Survey also found that half the respondents would consider relocating, either within the U.S. or abroad, to work for a growing organization, and a quarter said they already left an organization because it wasn't expanding.
- Growth wasn't the only reason respondents favored organizations: One-third cited money or career development opportunities as job motivators. Having meaningful work also was important to respondents, according to Kimble. Two-thirds said they would consider leaving for a new job that was more meaningful.
Dive Insight:
Forward-thinking employees are a perfect match for organizations focused on growth. Finding high-quality talent may continue to be a problem into the future, especially when it comes to finding workers with the right skills to help organizations scale and keep pace with changes brought on by automation. Knowing that some employees are game for growth — even if it means being challenged at work or making slightly less money — could help scaling organizations shape their hiring and retention strategies to promote their focus on growth.
Aligning the organization's goal to growth with a desire to help employees grow their careers is one way to craft this messaging. Career and development opportunities top the list of employees' reasons for staying with or leaving a job, and career growth and advancement is especially important to millennials. Employers that offer workers a path for growing professionally may gain an edge in the competition for talent.
Meaningful work should also be a part of employers' offerings talent strategies. Employees in a growing number of studies are no longer just satisfied with how much they earn — they also crave work that has purpose. Although workers describe meaningful work differently, organizations can help make employees' work experience meaningful by implementing charitable initiatives that support workers' own values. Employers could also consider programs that give employees more time to commit to their own charitable pursuits, as Starbucks did last year.