Employee Satisfaction At All Time Low

A recent survey by Mercer indicates that employee loyalty is dropping around the world. In the study conducted with over 30,000 employees in 17 regions, the number of employees reporting they are seriously considering leaving their organization increased by as much as 10% since the time of the last survey (conducted between 2003 and 2006). In the U.S., the percentage increased by 9%. U.S. employees reported the following reasons have the biggest impact on their feelings of engagement and motivation at work:

• Being treated with respect
• Work life balance
• The type of work they do
• The quality of the people they work with
• The quality of leadership of the organization

Employee dissatisfaction on the job has been on the rise for several years now and it has important implications for employers. Employees that are disengaged are less likely to create positive experiences for customers and contribute to lower morale among their team members, which ultimately affect the success of the organization.

So what’s an employer to do? First things first, start by working to understand the engagement levels of your employees. This can be accomplished using an employee engagement survey or through focus groups and discussions with your team. Next, identify the top two to three priority areas to focus on improving. Most likely, they will fall in one of these three areas:

1. Providing Clear Direction: Employees need to have a purpose and understand how what they are doing contributes to the vision of the company. People want to know how the company is doing and how it impacts their roles. Ensure the communication is frequent and ongoing.
2. Creating a Sense of Belonging: It is human nature to want to work in an environment where one feels respected, listened to and recognized. This is especially important when it comes to Gen Y and Gen X. Take the time to learn what is important to each of your employees: What are their goals? How do they prefer to be recognized and rewarded? Often times you will find that non-monetary rewards are just as important as pay.
3. Giving the License to Succeed: Employees want to be empowered to do their jobs successfully. Do they have the training and support that they need? Can they make decisions to take care of the customer? Spend time asking employees about the barriers that get in their way of success and then be willing to tackle those issues.

Given the state of the economy and unemployment, it is likely that low levels of engagement will remain for some time. However, focusing on your people now to ensure that they are able to thrive and be successful will pay off in retention of top performers and delivery of a consistent customer experience.

Click here for the details of the Mercer study: http://www.mercer.com/press-releases/1430455