When it comes down to it, employee retention is all about meeting the needs of your employee and keeping them happing in the workplace to a level at where they are not inclined to leave your company. One of the best ways to keep employees happy is to simply listen to their greatest complaints and discover what they are looking for. Executive search firms have compiled the top ten complaints that most employees have shared about their employers so that others may learn from these mistakes and grow from them in order to help companies better understand what it is that most employees find to be lacking in their jobs and in the workplace, and conversely to help them improve their employee retention strategies,
A Lack of Competitive Compensation
Apparently this is a matter that needs to be addressed, while it may seem like a fairly elementary issue. Rather than viewing their employees as an investment for the future profit and success of their organizations, all too often employers instead are asking themselves how cheaply they can acquire an individual. This method will only set an employer up for failure as they see their employees jumping ship at the first sign of better pay.
Unequal Pay Increases Among Employees
The notion of a fair and equitable system in the workplace is fundamental for most employees to feel contentment in their positions. Many employees will discover if new hires are being paid more than those who have been longer so this need for fairness extends into the compensation aspect as well. even adjusting to a more equal pay grade, or simply correcting this issue to compensate employees with more seniority over newer employees can go a long way to promoting employee happiness and the perception of equity throughout an organization.
Insufficient Benefits Programs
Most elementary benefits programs commonly include health and dental coverage, retirement, and paid vacation time, while most employers provide this, many employees will find these programs insufficient at meeting their needs. In order to retain these employees, these issues will need to be considered and resolved quickly before these employees start taking jobs with companies that provide a comprehensive benefit package that is suited to meet their needs.
Micromanagement
When individuals were asked why they left a particular position, one of the most cited issues was poor supervision of one kind or another, though more often than most was issues of micromanagement among the supervisors. Its stressful having someone standing over and critiquing, criticizing and making the job more than a hassle and no one would want that. However, distant and unresponsive manager can be just as problematic as the other and managers should be careful that they do not go too far in the other direction as well.
Failure to Reward Appropriately
Another complaint that many employees have is a lack of recognition and reward for their hard work and success which makes them feel as though they are underappreciated and unvalued by their employers. Perhaps the most effective is the use of bonuses and pay raises to demonstrate just how much an employee’s efforts have meant to the organization, though such rewards can take on any number of shapes and forms.
The final five most common employee complaints collected by executive search firms can be found in the second half of this article.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
