IT employers have 'retention deficit disorder', and telcos are even worse

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 22 May 2007 11:57

IT Industry - Market

Employment retention consultancy, BSI People, says that employers need to do more to empower their staff and create environments that are more likely to deter them from seeking alternative employment.

It contends that, in an environment where unemployment is at all time low of 4.4 percent, this 'retention deficit disorder' is "one of the key issues preventing business success in Australia."

BSI People's conclusions are based on an online survey of 1511 employees across Australia of which 119 were in the telecoms industry and 369 in the IT industry. The survey, and the analysis of the results were based on the Employment Value Proposition diagnostic (EVPd), a tool developed by BSI to measure the balance between employer and employee contributions to the working relationship. It is based on employees' answers to a series of questions and is designed to help organisations retain their best people.

According to Colin Walter, director of BSI Consulting: "In the face of increasing competition for high level talent and in order to retain the best performers, the quality of an organisation's X-factor – the employee offering that distinguishes it from the crowd - will form the basis of its future success." He claimed that: "Our diagnostic tool will help Aussie organisations do this."

The EVPd measures the balance between the employer contribution and the employee contribution. The employer contribution is measured in terms of the subjective perception of various 'drivers' or characteristics of the work situation. These include – corporate appeal, leadership, belonging, job design and working conditions. The employee contribution refers to the employees' work-related attitudes – emotional engagement, identification, motivation, team orientation and compatibility.

When the survey results were analysed, they showed a strong correlation between the balance of employer and employee contribution and the respondent's industry.