Employer attractiveness: Praise from the boss is more important to skilled workers than a free weekend trip

Proximity to home, dealing at eye level and an honest thank you from the boss: skilled workers don't want extravagance when it comes to benefits, employer attractiveness or employee loyalty. This is the result of a recent study by the Munich-based company Suite&Co. For the survey, Suite&Co not only interviewed more than 800 professionals and 50 HR managers, but also conducted a group discussion in advance. "The results show how much employees' needs have changed. Company cars were yesterday," says Lisa Mellinghoff, co-founder of Suite&Co GmbH. She and Viktor Gilz support companies in onboarding by aligning and unifying the issue of "life and work" from the very beginning. The comprehensive survey is intended to help HR managers better classify points such as benefits, job-related changes of residence and the importance of corporate culture in the current environment. After all, even though the analysis shows that HR departments are aware of the wishes and requirements of employees, there are often significant differences in views on the part of employers and employees.

Workplace = feel-good place in a feel-good zone

Short commute times, more free time, less stress in commuter traffic: proximity to home and good connections are the most important criteria for employees to rate an employer as attractive. On a scale of 1 (unimportant) to 5 (very important), employers rate these criteria an average of 4 - in other words, as important. In addition, a company's interior and exterior design play a key role in determining its attractiveness as an employer: 28 percent of the skilled workers surveyed said this aspect was very important, and one in two said it was important (48 percent). This results in an overall approval rating of 76 percent. In comparison, criteria such as reputation or size and name recognition of a company play an insignificant role: while reputation is important for 59 percent of the skilled workers, size and name recognition are associated with employer attractiveness for only 27 percent of the respondents. "This underscores the opportunity for hidden champions, which actually had a hard time wooing skilled workers ten years ago. There has been a fundamental change here," explains Viktor Gilz.

Top priority for employer attractiveness: dealing at eye level

However, according to the Suite&Co study "Recruiting 2018 - Desire and Reality," it is not only rooms and space that determine whether a company can retain top employees. "The human aspect must also be right. Professionals want social interaction at eye level," explains Viktor Gilz. A dream car for the weekend, a weekend trip or concierge services? According to the study, this is not important to the majority of professionals. What counts are words of appreciation from their superiors: More than three quarters of all professionals surveyed (76 percent) believe that an appreciative thank you for special achievements can motivate them. In addition, status symbols such as company cars are almost obsolete. The results confirm that a company car is not as important as it was 10 or 20 years ago. For one in three professionals surveyed (35 percent), the company car is not a particular incentive. Company smartphones can also serve less and less as a figurehead: 443 of 873 respondents (51 percent) now see this benefit as a given for a company's professionals.

Scoring points with support in the search for housing

Instead, the "war for talent" requires companies to develop ever more creative measures that give them advantages in recruitment. "Customer-centric thinking is also appropriate here, as in sales and marketing. Orientation to the needs of employees is more important than ever. Because these are different today - and have a lot to do with the private living environment," says Lisa Mellinghoff. According to the study, 58 percent of skilled workers see finding a place to live as a major challenge in the event of a change of employer, and they expect their employer to help them with this. Lisa Mellinghoff: "Compatibility of family and career, for example, through support in finding a suitable apartment, are ultimately aspects with which companies can score points and retain employees. Both professionals and HR people are aware of this."

About the study

A multi-stage process was carried out as part of the study. First, the company held a roundtable discussion on the topic of recruitment 2018 in Munich in December 2017 together with HR managers, HR experts, headhunters and specialists. Based on this guided group discussion, twelve central theses were developed. The theses were quantitatively tested in February 2018 in extensive fieldwork together with the panel provider respondi. In order to draw as sufficient a picture as possible, two panels were selected and surveyed. In a decision-maker survey, 52 HR professionals, headhunters and recruiters were asked for their opinion. In addition, attitudes and data from 873 professionals were collected in a broad-based survey.

Source and further information: www.suiteandco.de