Editor’s note: In a previous post, I introduced you to the Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement survey, which is conducted annually by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The survey is used as a tool to identify factors that influence overall employee satisfaction and engagement in the workplace, and it’s results provide insight to employee preferences and highlight key areas for businesses to consider as they develop and enhance initiatives for organizational improvement. The survey assesses 43 aspects of satisfaction and 37 aspects of engagement that are both categorized into eight areas, and I am dedicating a blog entry to each area. For this blog, we are focusing on the overall conclusion of the survey findings.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 5.8 million jobs were created in the years 2014 and 2015, which marked the best two-year stretch of employment since 1998-1999. Because of this, the country’s long-term unemployed–those without a job for 26 weeks or longer–declined. In the conclusion of the Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement survey, the Society for Human Resource Management notes that other data show that hiring could be even more robust than it already is, but is cannot reach full potential because applicable candidates are not available. “HR professionals reported elevated levels of recruiting difficulty throughout 2015, according to SHRM’s Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) report. In a separate SHRM survey, more than one-half (55%) of HR professionals said they had trouble in particular with recruiting highly skilled employees,” reads the survey conclusion.
Another issue when it comes to HR challenges is retaining employees by keeping them engaged with their jobs. According to the survey, even in this period of employment growth, workers are only moderately engaged, as some are detached from their current roles or fearful of losing their jobs. “Nearly one-half (48%) of those surveyed had some level of concern about the security of their job, and another 45% said there was some degree of likelihood that they would look for work outside of their organization within the next 12 months,” reads the survey conclusion.
The Society for Human Resource Management suggests that effective employee engagement can perhaps alleviate HR professionals’ struggles, such as the continual hiring and recruiting of positions left vacant by former employees looking for work elsewhere. According to a 2015 research report from SHRM, maintaining high levels of employee engagement was the most pressing human capital challenge in today’s economic environment.
“Data from this research show that many employees place equal emphasis on financial factors, such as competitive compensation and benefits, and non-financial factors, such as communication between employees and management and respectful treatment of all workers. As a result, creating a workplace environment that balances these factors should be a top priority of HR professionals,” reads the survey conclusion.
As a business owner or manager, you should be focusing on employee engagement when it comes to thinking about how to keep your employees happy. When employees feel as if they are actively participating and that their skill set is important and useful during every-day work, they are more likely to remain in their position with your dental practice.
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