“What are they unhappy about?”, “What are they really thinking?”. As a manager, HR, employer or CEO, have you ever had these questions pop up in your mind before?
As society changes, people’s mindset changes too. The way employees perceive their job, the work culture they expect, the type of employer they hope for, how they adapt to their environment and interact with colleagues and managers, have all shifted.
It’s time for you to adapt to such changes and get into your employees’ shoes.
With that said, let’s dive into the top things that describes an ideal employer, an ideal company.
1. Work-life balance
Having a work-life balance is difficult to attain, especially in Singapore. Singapore is known as one of the most overworked cities in the world (ranked 2nd), revealed in a recent global report.
The report states that 23 per cent of professionals work more than 48 hours per week yet take only 14 days of annual leave on average.
As we enter the modern society, a work-life balance gradually becomes a criteria for most employees when sourcing for a job, especially the Millennials.
With that said, employees hope that their employers will respect and provide them with what they need (support) to achieve their goals of being successful in both their professional and personal lives.
Career is about work: having a job that provides autonomy, allows you to use your strengths, and promotes your learning and development. It’s at the heart of intrinsic motivation.
|Harvard Business Review|
2. Workplace flexibility
Workplace flexibility means employees are given the opportunity to choose when, where and how work is done. Basically, it is inferred as independence, work-life balance, friendly culture, and casual environment.
A work environment that is less strict or rigid with procedures and protocol, helps to maintain and attract the right talents.
Reason being, a comfortable environment with flexible work options is on the radar of most job seekers.
Adding on, workplace flexibility will not only reduce stress and boost productivity and efficiency but also make employees feel more valued and appreciated too.
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3. Constructive Feedback
Employees tend to crave for constructive feedback because it helps with their ongoing development.
By providing constructive feedback to your employees, it will nurture a strong and supportive work culture.
Thus, boosting employees’ confidence, reinforcing positive behaviour and correcting any negative behaviour.
A positive rapport between the employer and employees will be developed too!
With such a working environment, employees will be more loyal to the company as they will feel their goal of career growth and development is respected and cared for by their employers.
As a result, improving company retention.
4. Focus on Well-Being of Employees
“Take care of your employees and they will take care of your business.” – Richard Branson.
A happy working environment will produce loyal and satisfied employees, at the same time increase morale and productivity.
A happy employee will result in happy clients as employees are the ones directly in contact with them.
A happy client will result in higher profitability and an increase in customer loyalty.
With that said, it is important to care about the well-being of your employees and ensure that their needs are satisfied.
After all, every human being has feelings and their own perception of things.
Thus, always treat your employees exactly how you want them to treat your best customers. This will help you to improve employer branding too.
Ways to take care of your employees’ wellbeing [IFP]:
- Take mental health seriously
- Offer employees flexible working hours
- Look after employee physical health
- Provide the best working environment
Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person — not just an employee — are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability.
|Anne M. Mulcahy ,CEO of Xerox|
A plus point of building strong employer branding is that employees will enjoy working in the company and are more willing to share positive comments about it, encouraging curated passive candidates to join the company.
In which, it increases employee referrals, a great tool in hiring the best talents.
Looking for an employee referral programme? Try out Jobs007! A referral-based recruitment platform that allows you to tap on a network of curated talents.
5. Working with a sense of purpose
“Why do we do what we do?”, “What’s the purpose of this?” are common questions that even I ask myself at times.
How employees envision the outcomes of their daily routines will determine the extent they find meaning from doing them.
Hence, it is requisite for the employer to understand the true meaning of abundance in the organisation.
An abundant and ideal workplace is where employees feel belonged and significant to the company, in making a difference to the society, contributing to important endeavours.
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Next, companies inspiring and giving employees a sense of purpose of work will motivate them to have a goal in mind. Creating a drive in them to create value for customers and the future of your company.
Adding on to that, it will also boost the employees’ morale, productivity and overall job satisfaction. Retaining key talents.
It is evident that many modern-day employees have a strong desire to work with a sense of purpose, where their actions and efforts will contribute to the greater good of the community.
“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Thus, a company with a strong sense of purpose will definitely attract thriving talents.
Ways to provide employees with a fulfilling work [Forbes.com]:
- Create a company vision
- Show recognition
- Express gratitude
- Let employees know how their job impacts the company and its clients
- Frequently discuss the meaning and value of the company
- Share customer success stories
- Ditch tunnel vision and focus on the bigger picture
6. Community impact
Based on The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey 2019, it states that Millennials tend to support organisations that align with their values, consider the consequences of their actions and goals on the society.
“They also were more attracted to making a positive impact in their communities or society at large (46 per cent) than in having children and starting families (39 per cent).”, Deloitte states.
Other than that, the data also reveals that Millennials that disagree with an organisation’s business practices, values and policies, will be more than willing to end their consumer relationship with that company.
Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that your company has the mindset of finding solutions that will move communities forward, leaving a positive impact.
This is because Millennials will be the future of work, hence focussing solely on your company’s agenda will bring you nowhere in the future.
Cause is about purpose: feeling that you make a meaningful impact, identifying with the organization’s mission, and believing that it does some good in the world. It’s a source of pride.
|Harvard Business Review|
7. Advancement opportunities
“Travel and seeing the world was at the top of millennials’ list of aspirations (57 per cent)”, said Deloitte.
This shows that Millennials are achievers and values experiences.
a) International travel opportunities
Career development, expansion of network, gaining different perspectives and learning new skills are reasons why most employees eye for international travel opportunities when applying for a job.
Basically, they are willing to work overseas to pursue a meaningful career.
READ ME: Biggest HR & Learning Show Asia 2019 Takeaways and Highlights
Based on a recent study by Randstad (study of 10 Singaporeans), 78% of Singaporean jobseekers (18y.o. to 34y.o.) do not mind relocating to pursue a meaningful career.
Also, 79% of professionals will be keen to work abroad if BOTH criteria of having a meaningful career and good work-life balance are met.
A higher pay will also attract professionals to relocate.
“Every year, we see a small but growing number of our graduating students wanting to work overseas.”, states TodayOnline.
This shows that even fresh graduates and those still early in their career wants to pursue a career overseas despite knowing it would be much more challenging to secure such opportunities.
b) Regional job opportunities
Another factor that attracts local talents is being able to take on regional responsibilities.
Reason being, they value the opportunities of managing a larger team and gaining new exposure and experiences through connecting and learning from other countries.
Similarly to overseas work exposure, it would definitely boost their CVs and growth as a person and in career. Just that regional jobs usually attract talents that would prefer to stay in their own homeland.
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8. Recognition
Employee recognition is one of the main contributors in creating a positive and outstanding work culture.
Everyone, including you and I, appreciates heartfelt, sincere, specific recognition from their bosses and colleagues. It not only makes us feel good but also builds self-worth, knowing that our actions do contribute to the company.
Even a simple word of encouragement or thank you will make employees feel appreciated, leaving a warm, fuzzy feeling in them.
Community is about people: feeling respected, cared about, and recognized by others. It drives our sense of connection and belongingness.
|Harvard Business Review|
To sum it up, companies that have a more engaging and productive workplace will encourage motivation, boost employee morale, and enhance employees’ quality of life.
A great working environment will result in a great team and generate great results for your business.
Moreover, it will also increase the odds of employees remaining loyal to your company, lowering the risk of facing talent shortages.
Therefore, it is worth investing in employees, guiding them and helping them to perform at their full potential and develop personally and professionally.
READ ME: Embracing Digitalisation in Your HR Strategy
Key takeaway? Career, community and cause are the main motivators for every employee, regardless of whether you are 20 or 60.
They are what people look for in an ideal job.
Looking for talents to fill up your job vacancies? Let Jobs007 or our HR Concierge assist you in your hiring process!
With the power of Jobs007’s exclusive referral system and our in-house Applicant Tracking System, a huge pool of curated, passive talents will be accessible and your job position will be filled in no time.
Money is the source of survival and luxury but isn’t the only reason people work hard nor stay in the job.
IoTalents.com is an integrated platform for online Hirers and IT Workforce (Employees, Contract workers and Virtual Talents) to get intelligently connected and transact. We match companies to awesome talent, through a precise combination of data science and human judgement.
