Employee loyalty not just down to pay
Challenging work, career progression, recognition and supportive co-workers all contribute to creating a loyal workforce, according to a recent global poll conducted by Monster.
While "good pay and benefits" was cited as the top reason for employees being loyal to their companies (27%), the survey found that a manager's work doesn't stop there, as "having a solid team" (21%) and "being recognised for good work" (21%) were also highly rated by workers.
When more than 40,000 employees were asked which single factor would make them most loyal to an employer, the most common answers included:
- Good pay and benefits (27%);
- Great boss and co-workers (21%);
- Getting recognised for what I do (21%);
- Challenging/interesting work (20%);
- Opportunities for advancement (11%).
Pay and benefits was the major factor driving loyalty for workers in North America, where 32% of respondents said so, as well as workers in Hungary (38%), the Gulf (38%), Singapore (31%), Canada (30%) and the UK (24%). However, these were the only countries to rate good pay and benefits as their main reason for loyalty.
Globally, having a great boss and co-workers, challenging or interesting work, and gaining recognition all recorded results of 20% or above, demonstrating that for many workers there is more to their loyalty than financial rewards.
Respondents in India (31%), Italy (27%) and Ireland (24%) cited "gaining recognition" as the main reason for them being loyal to their employers.
Challenging or interesting work was the most important factor driving loyalty in Finland (35%) as well as for respondents in both France and the Netherlands (20%). Overall, one fifth of workers worldwide felt this to be the main factor behind their loyalty.
Perhaps more surprisingly, the opportunity for advancement was the least important factor in securing employee loyalty, with only 11% of poll respondents worldwide citing it. In the Netherlands and Norway, this was exceptionally low with only 4% and 5% respectively, while in Spain this was the second most important factor at 23%.
"It's not surprising that pay and benefits top the list, but it is very important that an employer recognises they need to provide a good experience in the workplace overall," concluded Jeffrey Quinn, senior director for Monster Intelligence. "The results show that employers need to focus on the entire working experience, instead of just remuneration, to drive employee loyalty."
Sources: Monster Worldwide / The Marketing Factbook.
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