Worried HR Directors are offering additional incentives to retain the best employees. Image courtesy of Muriel Miralles de Sawick/sxc.hu.
HR directors are concerned about losing top performing staff from their companies over the coming year according to a new report from specialist administrative staffing recruitment agency,
OfficeTeam. The study revealed nearly three in four (72 percent) of worried HR Directors are offering additional incentives, other than financial remuneration, such as
remote working in an effort to retain the best employees.
The study questioned 1,800 HR Directors across the UK, Europe and Asia with the aim of understanding the
hiring plans and retention strategies among key decision makers within those companies.
Outside if the UK, HR directors were less anxious about losing staff with only 52 percent of those surveyed in Europe expressing concern followed by 50 percent in Asia
Of those questioned, British companies in particular aim to take further steps to enhance their work environment over the next 12 months. In the UK, four in 10 (38 percent) are offering, or planning to offer, flexible working hours to employees compared with 28 percent in Europe and just 15 percent in Asia.
Phil Booth, Director of OfficeTeam commented: “Retaining top performers is often a pivotal element in a company’s growth strategy; however, during uncertain economic times when additional financial rewards are limited, companies need to be able to offer alternative incentives to top performers. Work-life balance is becoming a priority for employees and for firms looking to attract and retain the best staff. Companies need to focus on aspects of the work-life environment that are important to employees, such as telecommuting and flexible working.”
Remote working has become more prevalent with four in ten (44 percent) of HR directors indicating that the practice has increased over the past three years. When analysing the number in continental Europe, this reduces to 35 percent and drops to 32 percent in Asia.
Booth, added: “Technological advancements continue to make it easier to work remotely. More companies are embracing
flexible working arrangements as a cost-effective way to motivate, reward and retain valuable staff members – many of whom continue to face inactive salary growth, mounting commuting costs and other expenses. It can also provide cost savings to organisations facing rising real estate expenditure and lost productivity due to illness. Furthermore, as companies look to manage employee disruptions during the Olympics, adopting a remote working practice now can help ensure that business priorities remain on track.”