Purpose, appreciation key to finding, retaining talent: Survey

Mumbai: To attract good talent and drive them for better results, companies are now investing in resources to improve workplace culture as most employees look for purpose, opportunity and appreciation in an organisation they would like to work for, a survey has revealed.

There are six aspects of culture that people look for in a great place to work -- purpose, opportunity, success, appreciation, wellbeing and leadership, said a survey by OC Tanner.

The research was conducted among 10,000 full-time employees working for mid- to large-sized companies between the ages of 25 and 50 years.

It was done in 12 countries, including India, US, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, UK, Germany, South Africa, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia.

On culture, stress was being used as a common term to describe workplace and a lot of employees were not satisfied with their current workplace cultures.

"On average, employees only rate their current workplace culture at 65 on a 100-point scale, which clearly leaves a lot of room for improvement," it added.

The survey revealed that organisations that marginally improve in each of these six areas witness dramatic improvements in recruiting, engagement, tenure, satisfaction, and other business metrics such as revenue growth and expansion.

It said over the past decade, organisations have struggled to understand why their employee experience is not moving the needle on attracting great talent, inspiring employee engagement and keeping great people around.

"We have found that the more organisations try to force loyalty and engagement on their employees the less they get," the survey added.

It said organisations should create an attractive workplace culture that employees want to engage with, a place where people choose to work, find it easy to engage and do their best and desire to stay.

Employees, the survey found, want to be treated as people and not just as a means for the organisation to make a profit.

The survey also found that employees appreciate environments where their well-being is considered and acknowledged. They want to be trusted to have an honest relationship with work in an environment where employers recognise their physical, emotional, social and financial needs equally.