A new survey from job site Glassdoor finds that 35 percent of hiring decision makers expect more employees to quit in 2018. Among those surveyed nearly half (45 percent) indicate that salary is the top reason for employees changing jobs, followed by career advancement opportunities, benefits, and location.
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The survey includes responses from 750 hiring decision makers in the United States and UK. A hiring decision maker is defined as an individual in recruitment or HR who is responsible for hiring.
The Salary Conundrum
Although pay is the primary reason employees are expected to leave, companies have not been avoiding the issue. Two-thirds (64 percent) of those surveyed believe their organization is satisfactory/very satisfactory at clearly setting pay and benefit expectations within job postings.
Nevertheless, separate analysis, from Aptitude Research Partners, a research-based analyst and advisory firm specializing in human capital management, finds that fewer than one in 10 Glassdoor job listings include pay data.
At the same time, more than one-third (37 percent) of hiring decision makers say retention rates would increase significantly if new hires were better informed during the hiring process.
In addition, a separate Glassdoor survey from 2017 shows that nearly all (98 percent) job seekers and employees say it would be helpful to see pay ranges included in open job listings.
“Pay can be a big motivator for employees to take a job; however, very few job listings actually include pay information, even if this is overwhelmingly what job seekers want. If candidates were better informed about how their pay and career could progress during the initial job search and recruiting process, they would be less likely to take a job that turns out to be a bad fit,” said Carmel Galvin, chief human resources officer at Glassdoor.
“Recruiters and hiring managers need to manage expectations and use all channels available to them to communicate with potential candidates to ensure pay realities meet expectations. It shouldn’t be a battle for job seekers to gain insights into salaries, benefits, culture, and what their career path might look like in a job.”
Weighing Pay
Half (48 percent) of hiring decision makers indicate that salary/compensation is the most influential factor for a candidate decision on where to work. As such, pay offers from rival firms are a significant consideration for employers; two-thirds of survey respondents indicate that competing offers are a major challenge in attracting and hiring informed candidates.
Still, even though pay is the top reason hiring decision makers cite for employees changing jobs, it’s not the only reason.
“There is almost always going to be a rival firm that could potentially pay your best people more, but Glassdoor research and other third party studies confirm that company culture matters more than pay as a driver of long-term employee satisfaction and engagement. If you can improve your workplace culture and offer people career advancement opportunities, this will help you hold on to people longer,” said Galvin.