The Lumesse ‘Inspiring Talent’ survey shows that issues remain in the way many employers use the talents of their staff. Training, performance reviews and workplace trust remain an issue with only half of employees reporting that they have an effective appraisal process and only one third saying that good training is regularly available. Less than one in five employees said they would always be rewarded for taking extra responsibility or working harder.
Regionally, the survey found wide variations in attitudes across the 14 surveyed countries. US staff were most upbeat about their companies’ success. The happiest employees were in the Nordic countries, with over 80% saying they enjoyed going to work; the least happy in Hong Kong, with only half claiming to be happy.
However, the UK also did not fare well, being second last in the happiness stakes. When it comes to loyalty 57% of French employees planned to stay with their employers ‘for ever’ – at the other end of the loyalty scale the UK and Netherlands (24%) were beaten only by Singapore, in last place for long-term loyalty at just 17%.
The report also found UK employees rank second last for job satisfaction. Chinese staff are almost three times as likely to report large pay rises as the global average and globally, more men (10%) than women (8%) report a large pay increase (over 20%) since 2008 Less than a quarter of employees always feel trusted to make important decisions and almost 40% of older workers (56 – 60) believe they will be recognised and rewarded if they work harder or take extra responsibility; only 19% of Gen Y (18 – 25) agree.
Lumesse revealed the first findings of ‘Inspiring Talent’ - a detailed, independent survey of employee attitudes to their jobs and employers. Sourced from almost 4000 employees in larger companies in 14 countries worldwide, including the US, UK, Germany and China, the survey reveals the different attitudes to work and employers among older and younger workers, men and women, and different regions.
The survey found, for example, that the oldest and youngest workers were the happiest, with employees starting work and nearing retirement consistently reporting higher levels of workplace satisfaction than their stressed-out, mid-career colleagues.
Differences in pay rises, training opportunities and job satisfaction between men and women were still common, suggesting that not all employers have made good progress in equalising the workplace experience between the sexes in recent years.
StepStone Solutions, the talent management company also today announced the rebranding of the company as ‘Lumesse’. “As Lumesse we are building a new kind of company, a high technology talent management business that doesn’t talk about technology, but about people and their potential,” said Lumesse CEO, Matthew Parker (pictured).
“Our rebrand is a watershed in our company development, but it’s much more than a change of name. We’re building a global talent management business that acts like a local company – a company that can help both employers and employees have better jobs and better results. And our ‘Inspiring Talent’ survey shows that many companies have a long way to go in getting the best from their people and in giving them careers that really inspire them.”
The full report, Inspiring Talent 2011, will be available from Lumesse later in June 2011.
“Many companies seem to be doing a great job in providing inspiring, supportive workplaces for their people,” added Parker. “But the report card for many others has to be ‘could do better,’ especially in areas like training, career development, performance appraisals and job recognition. As Lumesse we’ve set out a clear statement of our company values, based on what our people said they wanted the company to be, with a strong emphasis on our ability to provide a working environment and culture that inspires people – in Lumesse and in our customers - to do better and have more fun.”
