Australian employees less likely to stay with their employers

According to research recently conducted by Infogroup|ORC, Australian employees are more likely to change employers within the next 12 months than staff in 16 other countries.

Infogroup Perspectives captured the views of 9,300 employees across the globe to understand the wider picture of employee engagement.

57% of employees surveyed across the world are engaged, with Australia placing seventh in terms of employee engagement, narrowly behind the US and Germany.

What inhibited Australia's ability to break into the top performing nations was not their willingness to contribute to the business, or the extent to which they advocate their organisation as a good place to work; it was in fact their commitment to stay with the organisation in the medium to long term.

For the question 'I intend to be working for my organisation in 12 months time', Australia scored 8% below the global norm. This score was additionally 16% below Germany, 14% below Russia, and 10% below Switzerland.

Similarly, the responses to 'It would take a lot to get me to leave my organisation' painted an unfavourable picture, with Australia scoring 6% below the global norm.

When exploring the data further, however, it becomes evident that employees' lack of commitment to stay with their current organisation cannot be linked to inefficiencies in HR practice. In fact, positive people strategies are apparent in Australian business, with 4 questions scoring at least 10 percentage points above the global norm:

• 'I believe my organisation is an equal opportunity employer'
• 'There are policies/practices in place to support me if I experience stress or pressure'
• 'Health and safety is taken seriously in my organisation'
• 'I am satisfied with the training I receive for my present job'

Further analysis identified a combination of two themes which are prevalent in terms of influencing staff to leave their employer: Line Manager Capability and Career Progression.

Over a third of the Australian employees were neutral when asked whether their line manager inspired them to work more effectively. Additionally, a quarter of Australian respondents actively disagreed with the statement 'I receive regular and constructive feedback on my performance'.

When combining these low scoring questions with the result that 60% of employees are either neutral or negative to the statement 'Opportunities for career advancement at my organisation are based on merit', it becomes apparent why Australian employees may become frustrated with their current organisation.

These feelings are further reinforced with a third (33%) of Australian survey respondents being neutral, and nearly a quarter (23%) being negative, towards the statement 'I am satisfied with the opportunities I have to get a better job in this organisation'.

Wendy McInnes, Infogroup's director of employee research for Asia Pacific, said: "The story the data is telling is not surprising. Time and again we hear staff leave their managers, rather than their organisation. Infogroup Perspectives has identified that Australian employees want to deliver value for their employers. However, if managers can't nurture, develop and recognise their employees talent, they will look elsewhere; no matter what positive feeling they have towards the organisation."