What Do Your Employees Really Want?

Have a short contest among your company’s supervisors at your next management team session and ask them this: Which do employees value more, money or the opportunity for advancement?

Most managers would answer “money.” And they’d be wrong: Most employees want advancement opportunities rather than a fatter paycheck.

Right Associates conducted a survey in late 2011 that asked employees about their “highest priority in your next position”

Their replies?

  • 27 percent wanted more advancement opportunities
  • 21 percent wanted a better management team
  • 21 percent wanted a more flexible work environment
  • 17 percent wanted better compensation
  • 14 percent wanted a less stressful workplace

More advancement opportunities beat out more compensation by a full 10 percent!

What does this mean for employers? Well, for one thing, it means that your staff is hungry for advancement opportunities. Which means you have a great opening to retain top performers without necessarily raising their salaries.

You also might consider offering more educational reimbursement options to employees so that they may receive additional education and/or training in order to earn a chance at advancement.

This survey also should serve as a wakeup call to employers who need to realize that long-term, successful employees need some love and recognition, especially now, as the effects of the recession, while lessening, appear to be lingering.

To help staff members advance, you might try these strategies:

  • Cross-train employees. This gives workers variety in their tasks.
  • Move people to different work teams. This allows them to meet with other staff members and learn “how the other half lives.”
  • Meet with employees to get a sense of their career goals. Set individual goals with each worker that will allow workers to show progress in their skills and responsibilities. If possible, set benchmarks so that when an employee meets them, he or she can expect a promotion (or, yes, even a raise in salary; workers in the survey didn’t say they didn’t want raises, after all!).

When you need great employees quickly for you Riverside or San Bernardino county company, when you don’t want to worry about having to recruit the right people, contact Arrow Staffing Services. We look forward to learning how we may be of service!

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