This Year's HR Challenge: Attract and Retain Talent... On a Stretched and Finite Budget

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, Millennials are expected to make up the majority of the workforce this year. It may be shocking then, to hear that a recent study by Aon Hewitt indicated that nearly one half of this vast generation expects to switch jobs in the next year, along with more than one third of the entire employee population.

The study did a thorough job of uncovering the motivators behind taking new employment. Although employee motivation and engagement has increasingly been correlated with things like better work/life balance and development opportunities, when asked what characteristic first attracted them to their employers, 52% of employees cited good pay and benefits. A flexible work environment came in at 35%, a far second.

Whether your organization’s benefits are up to snuff is likely up for some debate. Across the board when employees were asked whether their total rewards supported their organization’s ability to attract and retain employees, only half of respondents agreed, leaving much to be wanted in that area. Underlining the significance of this was the finding that employees who view their total rewards as competitive are 2.5 times more engaged than other employees.

It is not surprising then, that when employees were asked what qualities they would most like to see improved to increase their overall engagement or satisfaction, the top response was overwhelmingly good pay and benefits.

So then the question is: How do you improve compensation and benefits given that you have finite resources? Where do you find the incremental dollars to improve compensation and benefits packages? The answer could be right under your nose. Often times benefits plans and HR strategies go largely unexamined, wastefully leaving money on the table. Perhaps it is time to examine your existing programs and vendors and consider less traditional alternatives to employee benefits. Severance is a prime example. You might be surprised to discover that updating a severance program can still provide a generous benefit to terminated employees, yet free up significant dollar to put towards retention.

For insight and strategies to put more HR dollars back into employee benefits to maintain your organizations competitive edge, visit TSI on the web.

Aon Hewitt’s Inside the Employee Mindset study comes from a survey administered by The Futures Company online within the U.S. in August 2014. A diverse group of 2,539 employees working in companies with at least 1,000 people completed the comprehensive survey.

Tweet