Increasing the pay of a disengaged employee will not boost commitment or retain them, according to new research from The Workforce Institute at Kronos and Coleman Parkes Research.
Respondents to the survey ranked remuneration as tenth out of 11 as a reason for resigning, whereas not feeling valued topped the list, with 60% citing this.
Nearly six in 10 (59%) of those working in small and medium businesses (SMBs) said they believe their CEO is only focused on the numbers rather than people, which contributed to their feeling of being undervalued.
When asked about their workload, 85% of SMB workers felt they were unable to complete all their daily tasks, with only 35% rating their productivity as strong. Additionally, only 34% of respondents rated employee engagement as strong in their organisation.
Joyce Maroney, director of The Workforce Institute at Kronos, said that SMBs should possess a real competitive advantage when it comes to employee engagement.
“This research shows that the prospect that SMBs often promote, of providing a healthy work-life balance and a flexible working environment, holds a strong appeal for employees,” she said. “If these are actioned properly, employee commitment to the organisation will increase, improving retention rates and increasing business efficiency. For SMBs, the impact of employees ‘going the extra mile’ will be much more impactful pound for pound against their larger counterparts and can be achieved through better communication and collaboration.”
Neil Pickering, industry and customer insight manager at Kronos, said that businesses must create a people-centric culture through an environment of understanding and support.
“While they may not have the deep pockets of their enterprise counterparts, SMBs can capitalise on their innate agility, together with less complicated structures and processes, to focus on boosting productivity, innovation, and growth through better employee engagement,” he said.
“A core element of this engagement strategy will involve enabling [the] better work/life balance that employees crave by capitalising on the improved productivity and cost efficiency that can be achieved through a flexible working environment.”
