The tight labor market is allowing workers to be more selective, especially if they have skill sets with high demand. But even for existing employees, if another company offers more opportunities, they will jump ship.
According to a survey from Instructure, this is the case for the majority of the respondents. If a company is known for investing in employee learning and development, 70% of US employees say they are at least somewhat likely to leave their current employer.
The challenge for small businesses is particularly evident because large companies have the resources to provide these opportunities. But today’s employees are looking for a work/life balance which includes a host of different options.
For a small business owner, it is an opportunity to be creative on the salary, benefits, scheduling, and even social incentives it can offer a potential employee. As a recent survey points out, employees want to be part of something and happiness is more important than salary.
The Survey
Harris Poll conducted the national survey on behalf of Instructure from April 26–May 3, 2019 across the U.S. A total of 310 employers and 1,433 full-time employees responded to the online survey. Only full time workers and companies with five or more employees took the survey.
Education, age, gender, race, region, income and size of the employees were considered to align with targets among employed Americans,
Importance of Career Development in the Workspace
According to Instructure, employers are struggling to keep their top talent and unlock the potential of each of their employees. So there is a need for employee development in workplaces across all industries.
In the survey, workers give their employers an F for employee development. This is in great contrast to the 98% of employers who say they provide career development tools. And when it comes to rating this effort, only 26% of employees are satisfied, meaning 74% are not convinced.
What American Employees Want
From the employers perspective, 69% feel career growth is extremely important to keep their employees in place. But only 34% of employees have left their job because they are looking for career development opportunities.
Next to compensation at 46%, development opportunities is the biggest reason to work for another company. Additionally, 77% of employees feel alone in their career journey or development. Businesses which can identify these issues and help employees find their path can keep them longer.
Talent Management Tools
There is no shortage of career management tools in the marketplace. But as the survey points out, employers feel there is something missing.
Almost all or 98% of employers say they already offer career development tools. Even though they offer it, 27% say they want to invest in the same thing. They are either not using the tools they have properly or the tools are not delivering as designed.
Instructure has created the Bridge Employee Development Platform to help businesses identify and deliver the learning and experiences for employee growth and development. It supports the employee, manager, and employer in the process
The employee receives productive onboarding, steady performance feedback, coaching, and setting long-term career vision and plans.
The manager gets tools so he/she can better understand what drives the career drivers of their employees. It provides a place to track 1:1s, goals and tasks and regular coaching conversations.
For the employer, the combined tools for the employee and manager will result in increased job retention, fulfillment and alignment to business performance.
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