Are you an ICT Employer of Choice? How many of your employees are completely satisfied with their jobs and your company? How many of your employees have actually applied for other jobs in the past six months? If you don’t know, does this concern you?
Recent surveys of organisations in USA found that just 47% of their staff were satisfied in their jobs and 21% had applied for another job in the past 6 months. In IT in South Africa, the cost of losing just one skilled employee could be as much as 156% of their annual remuneration.
Becoming an employer of choice means that applicants are eager to work for you, that people envy your employees, that you receive unsolicited resumes, and that your most talented workers stay with the company throughout their careers.
So, how do you make your current employees stay with you? How can you change the way that they view the company?
In short, how can your company become an employer of choice – an IT Leading Employer?
Since 2009 IITPSA (Institute of IT Professionals SA), the Professional Body for ICT in South Africa, together with TalentAlign have been offering the annual IT Leading Employer of the Year award. And NOW is the time for you to participate in 2014 and become recognised as an ICT Employer of Choice.
Click here to let us know that you would like to be the 2014 ICT Leading Employer, and to help you on your way, here is a short list of attributes of an employer of choice. How does your company stack up?
- Interesting work. Challenging but not difficult; straightforward but not easy. Most workers want to be stimulated, challenged, or inspired by their work. Are your positions actually interesting? Or do they ask too much or too little of the employees?
- Career advancement. If you want workers to stay with you for their entire careers, you have to give them a career. This includes a clear path to promotions, regular and fair evaluations, and training for new skills. And don’t forget about a mentoring program – which is lacking at most companies!
- Social Responsibility. Many people want to feel that they’re doing good. If your company isn’t in the rainforest-saving industry, you can still recycle, partner with a charity, and engage in fundraising activities. This attribute also includes business ethics.
- Recognition. Not just fair pay but also rewards for work well done and for time spent with the company. Contests, such as Customer Service Employee of the Month, also help employees feel valued, as can bonuses, free food, and other perks.
Becoming an employer of choice isn’t easy. It means taking an honest look at your current workforce and what you want it to become. It means acknowledging some difficult truths and making internal changes.
The rewards, however, are hard to overstate. You’ll have the best workers, doing their best work, increasing profits — and not leaving.
It means that people will choose to work for you. It means that people will choose to really dedicate themselves to your success. It means that people will choose to stay with you, even when they are being courted by recruiters from other employers — recruiters with exceptionally attractive inducements.
In the years ahead, workforce stability will be a company’s competitive edge…the most successful employers will be those who legitimately inspire highly talented workers to stay with them and join them
So, to start building this future for your organisation today, click here and let us know that you would like to be the 2014 IT Leading Employer of the Year.