2009 Archive

Missing: praise and recognition

In research encompassing more than 3,000 employees, 62 per cent of respondents rated their bosses as "very poor", "poor" or "satisfactory" in relation to giving specific and timely praise. Almost one third of employees said they would resign if they didn't get any recognition at all. The survey also revealed that two-third of workers think their managers don't know what motivates them to be better performers.

Source: RedBalloon (December 2009)

The keys to effective communication

A new survey has found that 61 per cent of companies that communicate effectively with their employees have managers that deal openly with resistance to change. Likewise, a similar number report that their management teams are competent at addressing the needs and concerns of their staff members.

Source: Watson Wyatt (December 2009)

The high cost of stress

60 per cent of employees around the world say their stress levels have increased over the past two years, which is higher than the Australian rate of 55 per cent. The report found that workers in China were the most highly stressed at 88 per cent, while people employed by larger companies were twice as likely to suffer from stress than those who work in small businesses.

Source: Regus (December 2009)

Christmas Party antics

A survey in the UK has found that 10 per cent of employees know someone who's been fired or given a final warning as a result of their drunken behaviour at a staff Christmas party. A third of these were for fighting, one-fifth for threatening actions, 17 per cent for sexual harassment, 12 per cent for bullying, and 8 per cent for other forms of discrimination.

Source: CIPD (December 2009)

Employees changing jobs - even for a pay cut

The number of employees taking a pay cut to start a new job increased from 28 per cent in 2008 to 42 per cent of job movers in 2009. The number of people who found their new job via networking increased from 22 per cent in 2008 to 39 per cent in 2009, while those who went via a recruitment agency fell from 30 per cent in 2008 to a mere 12 per cent in 2009.

Source: Right Management (November 2009)

Employee morale plummets

44 percent of employees say that employee morale has fallen within their company this year, but only 26 percent of managers feel this way.

Source: Hudson (November 2009)

Two-in-three employees thinking of resigning

Two-thirds of Australian employees are at risk of resigning within the next 12 months while 64 percent of them are disengaged. An international survey of 29,000 employees found that only 36 percent of Australian workers are "committed to making the organisation a success", compared to 11 percent in Japan, 43 percent in New Zealand, and 44 percent in the United States. Engagement levels in Australia have been declining over the past four years.

Source: Right Management (October 2009)

Managers not equipped to deal with conflict

86 percent of Australian HR leaders feel that their organisations' line managers don't have the necessary skills to deal with internal complaints.

Source: HR Advantage (October 2009)

HR not seen as vital

Only 5 percent of staff members see HR as being essential to business survival.

Source: European Leadership Programme (September 2009)

Most people unaware of flexibility options

A survey of 500 HR practitioners has found that over 80 percent of managers and employees have very little knowledge of how to request flexibility or how to respond to flexibility applications. Only 9 percent of respondents thought their current flexible work practices were highly effective, while more than 25 percent felt they weren't effective at all. Two-thirds believed that flexibility isn't implemented consistently across the company.

Source: Aequus Partners and CCH Australia (September 2009)

Employee exodus post-financial crisis

More than one-third of employees want to change their careers in Australia and the UK once the global economic crisis is over.

Source: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (September 2009)

Best employers make more money

The organisations that are deemed to be the 'best employers' in the country (when assessed on their employee engagement levels and HR practices) have total shareholder returns, revenues, and profits that are 30 percent above market.

Source: Hewitts (August 2009)

Rates of work/life interference

A survey of 2,700 Australian employees has found that full-time workers would prefer to work almost 6 hours less each week, and women experience more work/life interference than men.

Source: University of South Australia (August 2009)

Stress levels are falling

87 percent of Australians are stressed, down from 91 percent last year. Women were more stressed than men, with the biggest triggers being finances, the future, health, and relationships.

Source: Lifeline Australia (August 2009)

Training still a priority during the downturn

A new report has found that almost two-thirds of managers say that maintaining engagement and morale among employees is their main concern during the global financial crisis. Almost half of the respondents say they've increased staff training and development, while 56 percent have ramped up their focus on productivity.

Source: Hudson (July 2009)

Workplace wellness a key engagement driver

An international survey of 28,000 employees from 15 countries has revealed that 55 percent of workers employed by organisations that take wellbeing seriously are engaged in their jobs, as opposed to just 7 percent of those where wellbeing is poorly managed. The research found that 65 percent of employees in wellbeing-focused workplaces plan to stay with the organisation for the next five years compared to only 42 percent in other companies. The study also showed that companies that don't promote health are four times more likely than their competitors to lose highly talented employees within the next 12 months.

Source: Right Management (June 2009)

Australians not taking annual leave

Aussie employees take less holidays than every other country, except for Japan and the United States. Australians are on holidays for an average of 16 days per year. 44 percent of Aussie workers don't take all of their entitled annual leave, which is an increase from the 38 percent recorded in 2008.

Source: Expedia (June 2009)

Most trustworthy professions

Nursing comes out on top as the most trustworthy profession, with 89 percent of people surveyed saying that nurses are the most ethical and honest. Car salesmen came last with 3 percent, followed by advertising people (6 percent), and newspaper journalists (9 percent).

Source: Roy Morgan (June 2009)

Increased workloads leading to unbearable stress

80 percent of business leaders surveyed have said that there's been an increase in both managers' and employees' workloads over the past year, which has resulted in higher levels of stress. The major reason for the larger workload was a rise in the expectations associated with speed of execution, with two-thirds of business leaders saying that a growth in demand for immediate action and rapid turnaround times were significant causes. Another key factor was the continuing global expansion of the workplace, which has meant that employees have to work longer hours in order to meet the global demand. Less than 50 percent of those polled said that their workloads were reasonable, with inadequate staffing, conflicting priorities, and poor communication between departments all playing a big role. Only four-in-ten people said that their organisations had taken any action to deal with the workload issues.

Source: WFD Consulting (June 2009)

Most companies expected to restructure this year

A study of 7,280 employers across Australia has shown that more than half expect to restructure their operations this year, with the majority saying that the changed external economy is the main reason for this. The report found that employers believe the most important aspects of a restructure include: communicating clearly throughout the transition process (68 percent); providing managers with support (41 percent); treating employees respectfully (39 percent); and minimising the impact on remaining employees (39 percent).

Source: Hudson (May 2009)

HR not meeting employee expectations

Roughly half of Australian employees feel that their HR department has not been effective in helping them to achieve their employment goals. When asked what type of training they prefer, 48 percent of employees opted for on-the-job training, 31 percent chose professional development courses, 11 percent want self-initiated training, while 10 percent desired formal university or college qualifications. The national survey of 13,000 employees found that Baby Boomers were the most worried about the level of training they were receiving - or lack thereof.

Source: Kelly Global Workforce Index (May 2009)

Mass exodus of staff expected in 6 months

76 percent of employees who are currently working for organisations that have recently made people redundant, plan to change jobs within the next six months.

Source: CMG (May 2009)

Biggest concerns for employers in 2009

A national survey of employers has found that managers say their biggest challenges for the next twelve months will be internal change (20 percent), people and productivity (19 percent), and controlling people costs (15 per cent). Other interesting findings that came out of the research include:

• When it came to attracting employees, the respondents said that company reputation (42 percent), culture and values (18 percent), and career paths (8 percent) were the top three ways of getting talented new people to join the organisation.
• The methods of hiring new employees are largely unchanged, with 71 percent choosing online job boards, 60 percent going for print advertising, and 45 percent going down the headhunting route.
• Keen to minimise risk, 44 percent of employers use psychometric and personality testing before offering someone a job, while 25 percent put candidates through assessment centres to make sure they're the right fit.
• When it comes to resignations, 45 percent of employers conduct exit interviews, with half of these unsure that there was any positive outcome in doing so.
  

Source: Randstad (May 2009)

Higher unemployment not making recruitment easier for employers

An international study of 1,910 hiring managers has revealed that 44 percent of them rely on their gut instinct to make a decision, while 47 percent said it takes them less than 30 minutes to make a hiring decision. Over 40 percent of interviewers were worried that they weren't able to get enough information about the candidate prior to making a decision. 25 percent of those surveyed admitted they check social networking sites for information on their candidates. 60 percent of those who investigated the social networking sites, like Facebook, say that they were able to use the information they came across.

Source: Development Dimensions International (April 2009)

The career benefits of being good-looking

Two-thirds of Australians believe that good-looking people are more likely to have successful careers. The national survey also found that 80 percent of people feel that being good-looking is an advantage in job interviews, with three-quarters convinced that employers prefer good-looking employees. Only 10 percent of Australians were prepared to have cosmetic surgery to improve their career prospects.

Source: Nature (April 2009)

Motivation drops after downsizing

A survey of 6,300 employees and managers has found that 40 percent of employees become less motivated after their company goes through a downsizing period, with 41 percent losing respect for their employer as a result. To make matters worse, 46 percent of the remaining employees say they're less likely to recommend their employer as a good place to work.

Source: Hudson International (April 2009)

What everyone wants the most: respect

A global survey of employees ranging across all generations has found that the majority of them say that "respect" is the most valued attribute. They were asked to rank seven job attributes. Respect was followed by "financial stability", "opportunity for growth", and "learning and development". The final three were "flexibility within the work environment", "recognition", and "new work experience".

Source: AchieveGlobal (March 2009)

Top talent surviving the downturn

A survey of 705 UK companies has found that even though a quarter have had to downsize, 97 percent of them have hung on to their top talent. 18 percent of companies have even ramped up their focus on identifying, developing, and retaining their talented employees.

Source: CIPD (February 2009)

Gen Y happy for less pay in return for training

Almost 75 percent of new graduates say that training and development is the most important factor for them when choosing a new employer. 68 percent even say they'd happily accept less money if it meant they'd get more training.

Source: TMP Worldwide (January 2009)

Employees who survive downsizing are unhappy

Nearly three-quarters of employees who kept their jobs despite retrenchments going on in their company say their productivity is declining as a result.

The research, which is based on interviews with 4,200 employees across 320 companies, also found that 87 percent of surviving employees are now less likely to recommend their company as a good place to work; 64 percent say their colleagues' productivity is also declining; 81 percent admit that customer service has gone downhill; 77 percent claim that more errors and mistakes are being made; 61 percent predicted that their company's future looks bleak; and 47 percent of high-performers are actively looking for other jobs.

Source: Leadership IQ (January 2009)

Candidates getting incorrect information

Research conducted into 8,500 hiring managers and 19,000 of their most recently hired employees has revealed that 40 percent of new employees say the information they received when applying for the job turned out to be "less than accurate".

Source: Recruiting Roundtable (January 2009)

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