Job Satisfaction Survey Results 2016Q2

The results of our job satisfaction survey are in!  And there seems to be a bit of a war going on between what employees say they want and what they’re getting.  Talent is sorely lacking in the UK and international construction industry and employers should engage specific talent attraction and talent retention strategies - and opening the cheque book is not the best answer either.  Read on to find out more!

In February-March 2016 we surveyed people on our database and social media connections from LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter about their Job Satisfaction

How loyal do you feel to your current employer?

We wanted to ask this question because loyalty is at times intangible - but will affect a decision to stay or leave when someone comes knocking - and offering more money but without the existing relationship.

In the responses above nearly three quarters of people felt loyalty to their employer - but 19% didn't.  If one fifth of staff aren't feeling loyal, this is a good opportunity for employers to ensure they are engaging with their workforce and are seeking to keep the staff they have happy.

When do you anticipate next changing jobs?

We asked this question to understand the balance between passive and active jobseekers - and the results were quite startling - nearly half of respondents are already actively looking!  In addition 86% of respondents are open for changing jobs 'when something good comes up' and only 13% are 'off the market'.  Sounds like the 'talent war' in construction is in full swing and that keeping talent and securing talent are two sides of the same coin!

How often do you look at job vacancy advertisements?

Another astonishing response - 86% of people questioned are looking at job vacancies on a regular basis!

How visible are the internal vacancies and the opportunities for internal promotion within your company?

How important is salary to you?

Perhaps not a startling response initially - until you see the response to the next question!....

Which is more important to you?

This is the most interesting of all the answers in the survey; although salary is 'very important' to the majority of people in the previous question, salary actually comes 4th in the list of things that are the most important when balanced with other factors.  Helping your employees to balance their work and personal lives, progress their careers and creating a positive working environment are all significantly more important than the money.  This information is very helpful when considering how to retain and attract construction talent.

How do you feel about working in a different country to the one you trained in?

Finally, it seems that being given the opportunity to work abroad is a big positive amongst employees.

If your company can offer this, is expatriation and repatriation handled efficiently and in a joined up and transparent way?

Thanks to everyone who participated in this survey.  Feel free to contact us for further discussion about the findings and to learn more about how we can help.