Why are so many people switching jobs? According to recruiting experts Hays, it’s for more challenging or exciting work and a lack of career development.
61 per cent of 1,516 people surveyed by Hays said the number one reason they look for another job is for more challenging or exciting work. This was followed closely by a lack of career development (60 per cent), the opportunity to improve salary (58 per cent) and work-life balance (54 per cent).
Also cited were a lack of recognition or reward for completed work (43 per cent), a feeling that the current job feels routine and is stagnating existing skills (41 per cent), management’s failure to communicate business objectives to staff (30 per cent) and not being involved in decision making (24 per cent).
23 per cent said their decision to change jobs was due to a lack of performance feedback.
“People managers take the time to make sure they recruit the right person, but often spend very little time on their retention,” says Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director of Hays in Australia & New Zealand.
“People want to be challenged, they want new and exciting work, and they want the opportunity for their career to move forward. So why don’t more employers link the career development of their staff and the provision of new, exciting and challenging tasks with their organisation’s overall goals?
“For instance, if a skill shortage is impacting your ability to source the people required for an upcoming project, you could consider upskilling existing staff in this area.”
80 per cent of employees expect to be involved in projects that develop their skills
In its survey Hays also found that 68 per cent of employers align the career development of their staff with the current and future skills their organisation will need to achieve its goals. But 11 per cent do not, another 11 per cent only do so for their top performers and the final 10 per cent only do so for future leaders.
Yet 80 per cent of employees want – and expect – to be involved in projects that help develop their skills so that they can move into a higher-level role. To develop their career they also want internal training (69 per cent) and mentorship programmes (66 per cent).
According to Nick, this is positive news for employers and HR professionals. “Rapid technological change and the digitalisation of the workforce will make upskilling your existing staff even more important if you are to keep up with the rapid rate of change.
“This includes artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, which are expected to take over the routine and repetitive functions of a job, leaving staff free to focus on higher-level duties. How this will play out in your organisation should certainly be factored into your talent management strategy.”