HR leaders are not happy in their companies – and neither are their teams
About 44% of employees are looking for new jobs in the second half of the year, according to a recent Robert Half report, with HR professionals being the ones most likely to switch employers. The recent report revealed that aside from the 44% of employees looking for a new role, another 31% said that despite not actively looking, they are open to a new job.
By industry, the ones most likely to find another employer are HR professionals, with 62% of them currently or are intending to look for another work. Technology professionals are next in likely to pursue another job with 54%, followed by employees in business support with 39%, and then finance and accounting with 37%. The report also revealed that when it comes to gender, men (46%) are more likely to find another employer later this year, compared to women (41%).
When it comes to age, younger employees are currently looking or are planning to look for another job in this year's second half, with 58% of employees between 18 and 24 years old admitting to this, as well as 50% of employees between 25 and 40 years old.
Workers in New South Wales were also most likely to switch employers later this year (51%), followed by Western Australian workers (47%), Victorian workers (41%), and then Queensland workers (34%).
Why are employees leaving
Aside from the demographics of employees planning their departure, the report also unveiled the various reasons why employees are leaving.
Topping that list is low salary (48%), according to the report, followed by lack of career progression opportunities (37%), unhappiness with job content (30%), lack of flexibility (25%), and high workload (23%).
According to Robert Half director Andrew Brushfield, the current labour market still favours workers, and it is a great time for them to explore the job market and take advantage of various opportunities. However, he noted that while salary emerged as the top reason, it is still a "fragile" one to take on a new role.
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"While rising inflation rates position remuneration as an employee's primary concern as it relates to their work life, salary alone is a fragile reason to take on a role, particularly for a lateral move," he said in a statement.
"Career progression can often accelerate remuneration faster than job hopping between incremental offers, while the negative impact of poor work-life balance, toxic company culture, or repetitious workload will quickly outweigh the perks of a salary bump."
How to make employees stay
So, with a lot of employees planning on departing to new roles, how can employers prevent high turnover rates for their organisations?
For Brushfield, knowing what employees want would ensure strong talent management for organisations.
"We are at the juncture of extreme labour markets," he said. "But the core principle of strong talent management remains the same: listen to your employees."
And based on the report, here are the reasons why employees would want to stay with their current boss:
- Flexibility (53%)
- Relationship with managers and co-workers (42%)
- Competitive salary (37%)
- Job content (35%)
- Company culture (35%)
"If you know why people stay with your organisation, you know what to emphasise when recruiting new talent," said Brushfield. "Likewise, why people leave is the fastest way to understand how to improve the employee value proposition in future. In this market, even passive jobseekers are at flight risk, so it's crucial for companies to understand and address employees' priorities before they even contemplate a career move."
