Pay and Flexibility Top Candidate Wish List
Unless you have been living in a bubble, you have heard much ado about the “Great Resignation” and how the pandemic has inspired many to rethink their relationship with work.
Candidates are in the driver’s seat about when, where, and how they work and many hiring managers are just along for the ride, waiting to see where they end up.
Data confirms this wild ride.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans quit their jobs at record-breaking rates this year, with nearly 20 million workers leaving their jobs between April and August 2021.
In a recent Indeed survey, 73% of employers are currently struggling to hire and retain employees and a third of employers are worried this trend will continue into the foreseeable future.
So, the $64,000 question is – What’s causing the exodus?
Simply listening to your employees can go a long way to both stem the tide of departing talent and better understand your industry’s job market. Why are they leaving? Where are they going? What opportunities are they seeing in the marketplace?
The definition of a “good job” has been fundamentally altered. In a recent MATRIX LinkedIn Survey, we asked this question:
“Would you consider accepting a job offer in 2022 that has zero remote work flexibility?”
Of the 2,000+ votes cast:
Yes - 23%
No - 77%
In another MATRIX LinkedIn poll which asked the question, “What is the #1 thing keeping you at your current employer?”, of the 1,012 votes cast, the top two choices were:
Flexibility - 38%
Pay - 24%
HR Executive confirms that employers need to give workers more autonomy with hybrid work options to prevent them from walking out the door.
“A new class of workers is emerging from the pandemic: If these employees don’t like your post-COVID policies or practices, they’ll move on, searching for greener deals. Perhaps central to all of these factors is flexibility—or a lack thereof. Based on a global survey conducted by professional services network EY, 87% and 88% of respondents believe workplace flexibility is important in where and when they work, respectively.”
Employees not only want this flexibility, they expect it. The good news? Unlike factors such as the people they work with and job security, job flexibility and pay are matters that can be negotiated as they are more directly under management's control.
Recruiters and hiring managers seem to be getting the message. SHRM reports that 73 percent of recruiters report an increase in negotiating for higher salaries among candidates and current employees—up more than 20 percentage points since 2020.
Candidates are very educated about their market value. How about you? At MATRIX, we keep on top of the situation with Labor IQ reports that deliver the latest in localized salary survey results. We provide these at no cost to our clients, so please reach out if you want to know the sweet spot for your top candidates.