The Number One Reason Affecting Employee Engagement

Employee engagement has still not been done right in most cases, and employee retention rates are at their lowest.

The number of employees looking out for options outside of their current companies has also seen a massive increase.

The biggest reason why these employees reported to be wanting to leave their current companies is not compensation or relationships at work. The single most factor they blame for this is a bad workplace culture. Yes, weak company culture is the biggest factor to be blamed for these sad numbers.

In this survey, for all the employees who were likely to leave, many were in search of more than just a salary bump. They were looking for a culture that offered better work environments, work from home, good benefits and flexible schedules. And for employees who did show a high level of commitment to their organization placed the reason for a strong culture running the show in the backdrop.

Compensation Is Not A Major Driver Of Employee Motivation

Nobody is denying the role that financial compensations can pay in someone taking up a new job. But the salary is just a part of the entire equation. A lot of factors that motivate an employee to stay in a job have to do with factors such as their contribution to making an impact, their day-to-day work, career prospects in the job and their fulfillment levels. All these factors are largely determined by the culture of the workplace.

People are even willing to take salary cuts if they see a promising culture ahead of them in some other organization. If employees feel valued, it would take them a lot more than money to change their mind to move elsewhere. Because they also know how rare it is to feel belonged.

Organizations have to differentiate themselves culturally to gain that competitive edge. The only way to retain employees is to create a culture they cannot live without. With strong economies around us, employees have a lot of job opportunities to choose from. And when the culture is average, they are more likely to move to a place where they can feel more fulfilled.

Differentiating From The Regular And Focusing On What Matters

Culture can be very hard to understand since it involves a plethora of aspects. It is important that only the most important aspects are focused on. Here are some as per the survey:

The relationship between employees and managers remain critical

Employees must be given the space to be able to provide upward feedback about their managers as well. This is a major indicator of workplace happiness.

Employees need to be challenged continuously

Employees want to grow in their jobs and the for this they need to feel challenged in their jobs. They need to be offered the tools and guidance which can enable them to look for solutions themselves and through collaboration. They need to feel like their work matters and there should be no scope for boredom to set in. Because boredom will mean the end.

Effective onboarding

The way the employee is treated in the first 90 days can set the mood for retention. It is important that the onboarding experience is real, honest and top notch. This will create a lasting impact on how the employee feels about the organization in the long term.

In conclusion, workers need to be offered a safe space where they can voice their opinions, where they are challenged, mentored and where they can grow continuously as professionals. Tangible aspects of culture such as compensation do not have a high correlation to employee happiness, but culture can make or break it.