What Employees Really Want

<h1>What Employees Really Want</h1>Author: <a title="Megan Tough" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/megan-tough/79080.htm">Megan Tough</a> A major problem for business owners and employers today is getting the best employees and then keeping them. Sounds easy, but any employer will tell you that these activities take up the most time and have the biggest impact on business results. So how do you go about retaining the good people once you’ve found them?  Understanding what your employees want from a workplace sounds like a logical place to start. After all, if you know what your employees are after, you simply need to provide it and all will be well. This is a great theory, but research shows that employers are not that successful at identifying what their employees actually want. In fact there is a significant disconnect between the things that employees say are important to them, and how highly employers rank those same things. This survey first came out in 1946 in Foreman Facts, from the Labor Relations Institute of NY and was produced again by Lawrence Lindahl in Personnel magazine, in 1949. This study has since been replicated with similar results by Ken Kovach (1980); Valerie Wilson, Achievers International (1988); Bob Nelson, Blanchard Training & Development (1991); and Sheryl & Don Grimme, GHR Training Solutions (1997-2001). When asked to rank a list of ten criteria, the employees and managers/owners ranked them very differently: What Employees Want 1 Full appreciation for work done 2 Feeling “part” of things 3 Sympathetic help on personal issues 4 Job Security 5 Good wages 6 Interesting work 7 Promotion/growth opportunities 8 Personal loyalty to workers 9 Good working conditions 10 Tactful discipline What Managers Think Their Employees Want Good wages Job Security Promotion/growth opportunities Good working conditions Interesting work Personal loyalty to workers Tactful discipline Full appreciation for work done Sympathetic help with personal issues Feeling “part” of things What does this mean if you are an employer or a manager in business today? Frequent pats on the back will go a long way towards making your employees more satisfied at work. Happily, it’s not always about the money. WHAT EMPLOYEES SAY THEY WANT (in order) 1.            Full appreciation for work done 2.            Feeling ‘part’ of things 3.            Sympathetic help on personal issues 4.            Job security 5.            Good wages 6.            Interesting work 7.            Promotion/growth opportunities 8.            Personal loyalty to workers 9.            Good working conditions 10.        Tactful discipline WHAT MANAGERS THINK EMPLOYEES WANT (in order) 1.            Good wages 2.            Job security 3.            Promotion/growth opportunities 4.            Good working conditions 5.            Interesting work 6.            Personal loyalty to workers 7.            Tactful discipline 8.            Full appreciation for work done 9.            Sympathetic help on personal issues 10.        Feeling ‘part’ of thingsAbout the Author: Megan Tough is director of complete potential, a leadership and HR consultancy based in Sydney, Australia. 
 
At complete potential we understand people - what engages them, what encourages them to perform, and what drives them away. With over 20 years experience working on HR issues in business, our job is to help you make the most of your investment in people. To learn more visit <a href="http://www.completepotential.com" target="_blank">www.completepotential.com</a>Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/">ArticlesBase.com</a> - <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/what-employees-really-want-634064.html" title="What Employees Really Want">What Employees Really Want</a>

A major problem for business owners and employers today is getting the best employees and then keeping them. Sounds easy, but any employer will tell you that these activities take up the most time and have the biggest impact on business results. So how do you go about retaining the good people once you’ve found them?

Understanding what your employees want from a workplace sounds like a logical place to start. After all, if you know what your employees are after, you simply need to provide it and all will be well. This is a great theory, but research shows that employers are not that successful at identifying what their employees actually want. In fact there is a significant disconnect between the things that employees say are important to them, and how highly employers rank those same things.

This survey first came out in 1946 in Foreman Facts, from the Labor Relations Institute of NY and was produced again by Lawrence Lindahl in Personnel magazine, in 1949. This study has since been replicated with similar results by Ken Kovach (1980); Valerie Wilson, Achievers International (1988); Bob Nelson, Blanchard Training & Development (1991); and Sheryl & Don Grimme, GHR Training Solutions (1997-2001).

When asked to rank a list of ten criteria, the employees and managers/owners ranked them very differently:

What Employees Want

Full appreciation for work done

Feeling “part” of things

Sympathetic help on personal issues

Job Security

Good wages

Interesting work

Promotion/growth opportunities

Personal loyalty to workers

Good working conditions

Tactful discipline

What Managers Think Their Employees Want

Good wages

Job Security

Promotion/growth opportunities

Good working conditions

Interesting work

Personal loyalty to workers

Tactful discipline

Full appreciation for work done

Sympathetic help with personal issues

Feeling “part” of things

What does this mean if you are an employer or a manager in business today?

Frequent pats on the back will go a long way towards making your employees more satisfied at work. Happily, it’s not always about the money.

WHAT EMPLOYEES SAY THEY WANT (in order)

1. Full appreciation for work done

2. Feeling ‘part’ of things

3. Sympathetic help on personal issues

4. Job security

5. Good wages

6. Interesting work

7. Promotion/growth opportunities

8. Personal loyalty to workers

9. Good working conditions

10. Tactful discipline

WHAT MANAGERS THINK EMPLOYEES WANT (in order)

1. Good wages

2. Job security

3. Promotion/growth opportunities

4. Good working conditions

5. Interesting work

6. Personal loyalty to workers

7. Tactful discipline

8. Full appreciation for work done

9. Sympathetic help on personal issues

10. Feeling ‘part’ of things

Megan Tough is director of complete potential, a leadership and HR consultancy based in Sydney, Australia.

At complete potential we understand people - what engages them, what encourages them to perform, and what drives them away. With over 20 years experience working on HR issues in business, our job is to help you make the most of your investment in people. To learn more visit www.completepotential.com

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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/management-articles/what-employees-really-want-634064.html

Article Tags: Business, Promotion, Security, Opportunities, Employees, Activities, Successful, Owners, Interesting, Conditions, Survey, Discipline, Loyalty, Appreciation, Really, Criteria, Logical, Identifying, Sympathetic, Disconnect, Tactful

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