One in three employees is on the way out

34 percent of employees plan to leave their current job in the next twelve months, even though they are actually satisfied. The reason for this is a lack of long-term career opportunities within the company (23 percent) or the prospect of better options on the labor market (11 percent). Another 3 percent are very dissatisfied in their current job and would therefore like to quit within the next six months. These are findings from Mercer's 2017 Global Talent Trends Study, which examined more than 7500 records from managers, HR leaders and employees worldwide. The study also shows that the lack of employee confidence in career planning appears to be unrecognized by many HR leaders. For example, 70 percent of the HR managers surveyed are satisfied with their talent management process.

Flexibility - required, but not sufficiently given

The perceptions of employees and managers or HR directors also diverge on other topics. More than half of the employees surveyed say that both their direct manager and their colleagues support flexible working (61 and 64 percent respectively). However, one in three employees report that they have asked for flexible working in the past but were not granted it. One in two employees (50 percent) are also concerned that working part-time or in a home office will negatively impact their career opportunities. And although nearly two-thirds (77 percent) of full-time employees are interested in new types of employment on a contingent or contract basis, neither business nor HR managers have yet shown any openness to this. They believe that the so-called "gig economy" will not have a major impact on their business over the next two years.

According to the study, however, change is generally a big issue for organizations. In fact, 93 percent of companies plan to significantly change their organization in the next two years. At the same time, however, only 4 percent of senior managers say that their organization is driving these change processes systematically and in a modern way. In fact, HR leaders in Germany do not have the topics of organization and adapting role profiles on their 2017 priority list (see chart 2). "At a time when digitization, robotics and artificial intelligence are challenging and in some cases overturning traditional business models, companies in some places are relying too much on new technologies to ensure the company's competitiveness. In the process, the employee factor is quickly overlooked," said Dieter Kern, partner and leader of the People & Organization Excellence Practice at Mercer. "Growth is based on properly motivating and empowering employees. Companies are ultimately driven forward by employees who have the necessary skills and are given sufficient opportunities to develop innovative solutions."

Backlog demand for digitization of HR tasks

HR departments are also lagging behind the expectations of senior management and the workforce when it comes to technology. Sixty-one percent of managers believe new workplace technologies, such as robotics and wearables, will have the greatest impact on their organization within the next two years. But less than half of HR professionals (49 percent) agree. Organizations rate employees' digital skills low. Only about one in three companies surveyed (35 percent) say employees can handle more than standard HR tasks (leave requests, etc.) digitally.

"The world of work and talent pools are changing far too quickly to stick solely and permanently to traditional methods," comments Kate Bravery, Global Leader of Career at Mercer. "Some companies are rightly already beginning to develop new approaches to how employees access knowledge, leverage technology, lead, communicate and shape their personal career biographies."

Health more important than wealth for employees

61 percent of employees say their health is more important to them than their wealth. Leaving salary aside, the biggest plus point for the employees surveyed worldwide when choosing an employer is vacation or time off - in the form of sabbaticals, additional vacation days or fewer working hours for a lower salary. Benefits such as fitness studios or recreation rooms at the workplace, on the other hand, are less important to employees.

In addition to flexibilization, individualization is also necessary to create an overall satisfactory working environment for employees. Less than half (49 percent) of employees say their company is aware of their individual interests and skills. However, 53 percent would like to see exactly that.

Source: Mercer