Employee retention has top priority
Employee retention, flexible working structures and promoting employability - these are the top 3 topics from an HR perspective. This is shown by the latest HR report from the personnel services provider Hays.
Despite or perhaps because of the hype surrounding digital and agile organizations: Retaining employees is the top HR topic for 2018. Making work structures more flexible ranks second on the HR agenda in companies. Promoting the employability of employees is the third most important item among HR topics for the first time. This is shown by the results of the HR Report 2018, which Hays and the Institute for Employment and Employability (IBE) have now published. Over 1000 people from companies and organizations were surveyed.
Increase employee loyalty through more flexibility
"Due to the pressure sparked by demographic developments, digitalization and the shortage of skilled workers, the battle for employees is increasing significantly. As a result, employee retention is at the top of the agenda and employees need to be given more flexibility. Due to the increasing speed of change, it is also an imperative to keep employees employable," Prof. Dr. Jutta Rump, Director of the IBE, explains the ranking. Employees can be retained above all by a good working atmosphere (57 %). This is followed by flexible working hours (46 %) and remuneration in line with the market (44 %). The companies surveyed have made progress in implementing these topics. The difference between the importance and implementation of these instruments has narrowed significantly.
Rigid processes stand in the way of development
For half of the respondents (51 %), the topic of agile organization already plays a large or very large role today. The importance of an agile organization increases significantly with increasing position. The respondents consider overly rigid processes and workflows to be the biggest hurdle (36 %). For 31 percent, it is the employees' lack of willingness to change. "In the future, it will be more important than ever to set up networked and integrated processes. These start from the customer and not from internal process manuals. At the same time, they must offer a high degree of flexibility in order to be able to react quickly to new market conditions," says Marc Lutz, Managing Director at Hays Switzerland.
Professional competencies determine management careers
The study also asked about career opportunities. For leadership careers, professional skills (43 %) are disproportionately more important than social skills (29 %). When asked how leadership careers are made, respondents' opinions differ. Half of the respondents see a systematic approach (25 % each consider recommendations and strategic succession planning crucial). On the other hand, a quarter think they emerge via internal networks, and for 21 percent, chance plays a prominent role.
The annual HR Report analyzes key HR issues in organizations. It is based on an online survey in which 1036 employees from companies and organizations in German-speaking countries took part. The respondents were managing directors (17 %), HR executives (22 %), department heads (38 %) and employees without HR responsibility (24 %).
Source: www.hays.ch
