Forget security - employees now focused on higher pay, recovering forsaken benefits

AUSTRALIANS are this year more focused on receiving higher pay and benefits from their employers. It is a significant change from recent years in which most were seeking greater job security - and it looks like employers are being called to recognise the faith of their loyal employees after difficult times.

The new findings come from surveys of 7000 working age people by recruitment and human resources (HR) services provider, Randstad.

The research, released ahead of the third annual Randstad Awards, are an about-turn on last year's figures, where people placed long-term job security and an employer's financial health as the two most important factors when selecting a place to work.

According to Ranstad, the past few years have been difficult for both employers and employees, with increased workloads, higher performance expectations and limited or no employee benefits. This is the year employees seem to be looking for rewards for the hard work they've put in - and it's time for organisations to repay the faith of their loyal employees.

This year, receiving a competitive salary and benefits is now the most important factor, according to one in five (20%) Australians - up from only 11 percent in 2012. The number of Australians valuing long-term job security has fallen nine points, from 26 percent down to 17 percent.

A good work-life balance is now the third most important factor, with almost three times more Australians (11%) now viewing it as the most significant factor, compared to just 12 months ago. 

Speaking ahead of this year's Randstad Awards, on March 26, where the most attractive employers in Australia will be crowned, Ranstad managing director Asia Pacific, Deb Loveridge, said organisations needed to realise it has been a tough couple of years, not just for their own business, but for their employees.

"Working through challenging economic conditions, people have had to deal with smaller budgets, less resources, increased workloads, higher performance expectations and limited or no employee benefits," Ms Loveridge said.

"Management need to tread carefully to ensure they recognise, reward and retain top talent by carefully managing expectations in terms of future performance and compensation to keep people happy, engaged and loyal.

"As we move further into 2013, workers increasingly want to be rewarded for their loyalty and hard work over the last two years. For many businesses in Australia, 2013 will need to be the time to repay the faith of their employees."

Ms Loveridge said the results show Australians are open to accepting attractive employment benefits which are relevant to them.

Aussies are starting to evaluate what's important to them within a work context, and then placing these issues at the top of their list of requirements when looking for a job," she said. "This is good news for businesses, and highlights while salary is important, employees will be open to other benefits if a pay rise is still not a possibility in the short term.

"To ensure employees are satisfied and engaged, businesses need to be open to thinking outside the box when rewarding employees. Listen to the factors which are most important to your workers, and focus on satisfying these requests. Organisations who don't could find themselves losing talent and along with that, their intellectual property and relationships with customers which
can set your business back six months or more."

Ms Loveridge said employees may be unlikely to wait around if they feel there is a better offer elsewhere, or if their loyalty and hard work is not being adequately rewarded. This can lead to more movement in the market, and businesses may have to work harder to retain top talent.

"Organisations which invest in their people, in their business' unique selling points and invest regularly in improving their employer brand are usually the most attractive in an open labour market. It's these businesses which will most likely benefit from any shift toward offering workplace benefits when a pay rise is not an option," Ms Loveridge said.

The Randstad Awards aim to reveal the most attractive places to work in Australia, with the winner being decided by the public and
organisations unable to nominate themselves or determine categories or criteria for entry. The winner is determined from the largest 150 employers in Australia (by employee size).

For the first time this year, the Randstad Awards has opened up to include Federal Government agencies as part of the largest 150
organisations.

"We are looking forward to seeing how public sector agencies compare with commercial organisations in Australia in terms of their
perceived attractiveness as an employer," Ms Loveridge said.

Launched in Belgium in 2000, the Randstad Awards will be hosted in 18 countries around the world including, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Spain and the Netherlands capturing the perceptions of 160,000 potential jobseekers.

The 2013 Randstad Award winner will be announced on the March 26 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney.

International employer brand strategist Brett Minchington will be the keynote speaker at the event which will be attended by executives from many of Australia's largest 150 companies including Qantas, ABC, Newcrest Mining, Virgin Australia, Coca Cola, Lion, Nestle, Computershare and WorleyParsons.

Previous Ranstad winners in Australia include Newcrest Mining, ABC, Virgin Australia and BHP Billiton.

www.ranstad.com.au

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