Salary.com(TM) Annual Job Satisfaction Survey Results Show Impact of Economic Downturn and Underscore Challenge of Retaining Bes
February 03 2009 - 11:50AM
Marketwired
Salary.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLRY), a leading provider of on-demand
HRMS/payroll, compensation, and talent management solutions, today
released results from its fourth annual 2008/2009 Employee
Satisfaction and Retention Survey. According to the survey,
employee satisfaction levels are often overestimated by employers.
A set of questions new to this year's survey found that the current
economic climate was less of a deterrent to job seeking than
employers anticipated, while variables such as income, job level,
industry and age remained consistent factors that affect job
satisfaction year-over-year.
Key data points:
-- Overall, the survey showed that 65% of employees are at least somewhat
satisfied in their jobs while employers estimated that figure to be 77%.
-- Approximately 65% of employees admitted to passively or actively
looking for a new job, compared to employers' estimate of 37%.
-- While employers have a good sense of overall employee satisfaction,
they often overestimate the degree of extremely satisfied employees nearly
2 to 1.
-- The levels of satisfaction among employees surveyed varied by job
level and salary. Not surprisingly, the results of the survey suggest there
is a direct link between pay and satisfaction -- the higher the salary and
job level, the greater the number of extremely satisfied employees.
-- Age affects job satisfaction -- millennials report the lowest job
satisfaction.
More than 7,141 employees and 363 human resources (HR)
professionals participated in the survey which revealed new
insights into who is happy, who is looking, why employees stay,
where employers may be off target in their efforts to retain
employees and where they may be at risk when the economy recovers.
The survey offers new insights to help employers align with what
employees value and be more effective in designing retention
strategies that work.
"The most interesting result from the 2008 survey was the
evidence that employers were out of touch with their employees'
satisfaction levels and were overestimating the tough economic
environment as a deterrent to job seeking," said Nicholas Camelio,
senior vice president of human resources, Salary.com.
"Consequently, many employers have not placed enough emphasis on
important retention strategies. This could lead to their best
employees defecting during the next year, just when this talent
will be most needed to help turn businesses around."
Job Searching Defies Economic Environment
Many employers believe that during tough economic times their
employees will not be searching for a new job. According to the
survey, employers are underestimating the number of employers
searching for new jobs by nearly 2 to 1, revealing a potential
blind spot for employers. The survey revealed that the majority of
employees report they are looking and engaged in some form of
search activity such as networking, surfing job listings, updating
and posting their resume. Millennials are the most likely group to
look for a job, followed closely by Gen X'ers and Baby Boomers.
Industries including Financial Services, Construction and Retail
topped the list of extremely dissatisfied employees, while
Internet, Education/Government and Non-Profit, Software and
Networking topped the list of extremely satisfied employees.
Key data points:
-- 63% of employers believe their employees are not searching for a new
job compared to 35% of employees who indicated they were not searching for
a new job.
-- In fact, the survey indicates that 65% of employees are looking and
are engaged in just-in-case job search activities, such as surfing jobs
lists (63%), updating resumes (47%), networking with friends (40%) and
posting resumes (33%).
-- Surfing job listings has increased dramatically -- up 17% from last
year's results.
-- Nearly 80% of employers do not believe employees will begin a job
search in next few months while nearly 60% of employees intend to intensify
their job search in next 3 months.
Priorities Shift for Employees
Good Relationships with Co-Workers remains one of the top three
reasons why people stay in their jobs. In this year's survey,
employees cited new reasons why they choose to stay in their
current jobs. Job Security, Desirable Commute and Desirable Hours
have replaced Good Relationships with Managers and Adequate
Benefits for the most influential reasons why people remain in a
given job.
-- Top reasons to leave a job stayed same from last year's survey
results: Inadequate Compensation, Inadequate Development Opportunities and
Insufficient Recognition.
2008/2009 Employee Job Satisfaction and Retention Survey
Methodology
Salary.com invited a cross-section of individual employees and
business representatives from across America to participate in its
2008/2009 Employee Satisfaction and Retention Survey. Prospective
participants received an email containing the survey questionnaire.
Participants completed as many sections of the survey as they
desired, and then submitted their results to Salary.com
electronically.
Salary.com compensation professionals reviewed the data for
consistency and accuracy and excluded data that appeared to be
invalid. A total of 7,141 individuals and 363 human resource or
other company representatives responded to the survey. Among the
individual employee respondents, 6,812 were employed and provided
valid responses to the survey questions -- the remaining 329 were
excluded from all analysis.
Analysis included in this report utilized generational cuts
compiled using the following classifications: Retirement Age (68+);
About to Retire (58-67); Baby Boomers (44-57); Gen X (31-43) and
Millennials (18-30).
Recipients of this report will find it impossible to discern the
data contribution of any individual or company. Submissions were
aggregated with data submitted by similar groups before results
were calculated. Each numerical result reported in this document is
based on data submitted by at least five (and often many more)
separate respondents. This conservative approach is designed to
protect participant confidentiality, and is consistent with the
"Safe Harbor" guidelines adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice
and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
About Salary.com, Inc.
Salary.com is a leading provider of on-demand HRMS/payroll,
compensation and talent management solutions helping businesses and
individuals manage pay and performance. Salary.com's highly
configurable software applications, proprietary data and consulting
services help HR and compensation professionals automate,
streamline and optimize critical talent management processes
including: market pricing, compensation planning, performance
management, competency management and succession planning. Built
with compensation and competency data at the core, Salary.com
solutions provide businesses of all sizes with the most productive
and cost-effective way to manage and inspire their most important
asset -- their people. For more information, visit
www.salary.com.
Rob Halpin Version 2.0 Communications 617-426-2222 X117 Email
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