What do employees want?

If your business is looking to attract the best talent, then it's important for you to be able to demonstrate that you understand what your current employees want and that you're providing it. Staff are looking for more than just fair compensation and job security (though they are vital), and the rise of flexible working has made that more obvious than ever. Fulfilling your employees want does more than just attract new talent. A happy and engaged team is a productive team.

Flexible Working

All of us have responsibilities outside of work and making sure we have the ability to manage those and still have the time to take a break is what work-life balance is all about. Often employees want flexible working arrangements (many considering it a need!) so that they can care for young, disabled, or elderly members of their families. Flexible working has become so popular, that 73% of employers agree that flexible working is essential not just to attract new talent but for staff retention.

Most people think of remote working when they think of flexible work, but there are many options when it comes to offering flexibility, and you might find that your employees want things like part-time contracts or flexible working hours.

Flexible working is a great benefit for companies to offer as it can help reduce stress among staff and improve overall well-being. Both of these things improve productivity, and when a potential recruit looks at your business, they'll see a business committed to supporting staff needs and welfare.

Fair Compensation

The amount you're willing to pay is obviously important when it comes to recruitment and retention – the number should be competitive and reflect the employee's skills and experience. Employees that feel fairly compensated for their labour are motivated, engaged and more likely to stay – if you can't afford to offer an employee a fair raise, you can't afford to find someone to replace them.

However, what employees want out of their salary goes beyond just how much they're being paid (as important as that is). Fair compensation has three core pillars: Transparency, Predictability and Equity. Your staff want to know how their pay is calculated, and what factors influence that. You should be able to talk them through that at any time. These calculations should be predictable, in the sense that employees should know what to expect.

 If you offer bonuses, they should know when they happen, and what they need to do to receive them.

This is also true for raises – if you have conditional raises (such as rewards for a certain amount of business brought in, or years of service), your staff should know how to achieve these and when they will happen.

The most important is Equity. In some cases, failure to compensate your staff equitably can get you in trouble with the law. Your employees should know that their wages are fairly relative to their peers and based on skill, experience and performance.

Financial rewards for a job well done don't have to be tied to pay packets. Stock options, pension contributions and private health insurance are all great ways to show your staff that you value their contributions and are actually rewards that employees want.

Career Goals

For a lot of people, having their contributions to the workplace recognised is key to them feeling valued at work. Having a clear path to career progression is a great way to show how your business recognises those contributions. Whether it's promotions, new responsibilities or opportunities for learning and personal development, employees want to know where they're headed.

By laying out a clear path for career advancement, you create a staff that is more motivated and engaged with their work, who are more likely to stay with your business long term. Offering training and development improves their future prospects and earning potential, but also makes them a much more valuable employee whilst they work with you.

It's important that any career progression you offer is fair, transparent and based on merit. Employees want to see a clear and objective process for determining promotions and career advancement. You should be able to demonstrate how decisions are made based on skills, experience and performance.

Most people will want to have input on their career development. We all have goals and aspirations that should be considered when we're working towards a step up in our careers. Having a say in the shape of their careers will give your staff a sense of agency and motivate them to reach their goals.

A Truly Great Culture

Ultimately, people want to work in an environment where they're respected and valued. They want to feel that their work has meaning, that they're being supported and that they're part of the team. All of these things stem from genuine care for the people who work with and for you.

There are small steps you can take to start cultivating a workplace culture that's positive:

Recognising the work that your employees do and celebrating their achievements is an everyday thing that makes a big difference. Public recognition, rewards, incentives or simply a sincere thank you for their hard work makes an employee feel seen, and committed to their work. Making recognition of your staff a part of routine prolongs and boosts the effect – people will know without being told that their work is being seen, and feel more inclined to go above and beyond.

Enable your staff to have autonomy over their work and trust them to make decisions. Building a culture where your employees feel a sense of agency means you will have a team that runs efficiently and is able and willing to rise to new challenges and responsibilities.

Build a process that gathers honest feedback from your staff and then actively use that feedback to implement the change that your employees want to see. By putting their feedback into action, you demonstrate to your staff (and potential recruits) that they have a seat at the table. Plus, you can use positive feedback to demonstrate that your company is a great place to work!

If you or someone you know is interested in working in a professional, supportive, and friendly environment, please click on the link as we are presently in the process of recruiting. Visit our recruitment page to find out more.