Organisations have made some progress in providing work/life balance over the past decade, but leaders and managers - not employees - are the ones who have benefited, new research shows.
Graduate programs that separate recruitment from development are at risk of over promising and under delivering, says David Cvetkovski, national manager of strategy and delivery at Fusion Graduate Management Solutions.
Despite foregoing pay rises and perks throughout the downturn, most employees now require very little from their employers to become re-engaged at work, says retention expert Lisa Halloran.
A company that helps its workers to further their careers, not just within the organisation but also beyond it, has achieved "Best of the Best" status in Hewitt's 2009/10 employer accreditation program.
A Perth law firm that implemented a "people first" strategy to address high staff turnover and low engagement achieved momentum and success by getting some "quick wins in place" early on.
An "engaged" employee can still be "a real flight risk", says SHL director Stephanie Christopher - especially in a situation where a leader, "who they may have personal respect for and loyalty towards", leaves the company.
Almost nine in ten employers in Australia and New Zealand have established flexible work practices, but many admit their employees are unaware of the benefits - and less than half are using them to attract new candidates, a Rubicor survey has found.
When the budget for running staff surveys is tight, employers need to focus on where they can get reliable answers fastest, says Retention Partners director Lisa Halloran.
Executives say that they value work/life balance over any other employment factor, but the single biggest reason why they will change jobs is for more money, according to new research.
