A study by the Chandler Macleod Group has revealed that the Global Financial Crisis and poor communication has caused employees to lose trust in their employers, leading to many contemplating other employment options. With over 70% of surveyed participants admitting to actively seeking work outside their current employment.
Coach trainer and communication expert, Maureen Pound from Performance Toolkit said the results were disappointing for the Australian economy as the issue could have been proactively avoided.“When the GFC hit, organisations simply went into survival mode and failed to protect their most vital asset, their employees. People need to feel purposeful, valued and clear about where the organisation is going and their role in that.”
Figures from the study include:
- 95% of respondents are looking for work, of which 73% are actively looking and 22% are passive or open to offers, with most candidates (57%) optimistic they will find a role in the next three months (32% of which are very optimistic).
- Top reasons given by candidates for seeking new jobs were limited career opportunities (41%), feeling undervalued (24%) and losing faith in the current organisation (18%).
- The most important characteristics candidates are looking for in a new role are: job security (91%); and work-life balance (86%). Overseas posting opportunities (25%) and bonus structure (48%) are the least likely to be rated as important.
Given these results, it is important for employers to communicate a clear vision to their employees on where the company is headed and the important role that the employees play in future efforts. This will assist in increasing job security and employee morale and will go some of the way to reducing the number of employees considering leaving for another role.
