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UPFRONT
HRPA EMPLOYMENT TRENDS SURVEY REPORT
To help HRPA members and HR professionals understand how
their HR practices stack up against others across the HRPA
membership, the association’s research team recently released
an Employment Trends Survey report, examining benchmarks
around vacations, time off, recruitment, training and development,
turnover and more.
“A total of 1,090 HRPA members took part in our survey during
August and September of 2014,” said HRPA librarian and
co-author Jeff Smith. “The major sections of the surveys reflect the
most popular benchmarking requests we receive at the Resource
Centre.”
The data is also industry-specific, with benchmarks cross-referenced
by sector, including public, private, manufacturing, retail,
financial, government, health, agriculture, extraction, engineering
and energy.
The data yielded some interesting results, according to Smith.
For example:
■■ Only 7.2 per cent of respondents offer completely unpaid
internships
■■ 18 per cent of respondents do not provide any paid sick days
■■ 92 per cent of respondents retain interview notes of
unsuccessful job candidates
HR HEADCOUNT GOING UP
The best news of all for HR professionals?
“Thirty-four percent of respondents said they plan to increase
their HR headcount, which means that more jobs will be opening
up for HR professionals,” said Smith. “And if you already have
a job in HR, fear not. Only nine per cent of respondents indicated
that they will be reducing their HR headcount.”
The full survey is currently available for free to all HRPA members.
To download the survey, visit the Resource Centre homepage
found at www.hrpa.ca/resourcecentre, or email jsmith@hrpa.ca.
WHY DO EMPLOYEES QUIT?
Money, as the saying goes, makes the world go round. But it
also may be what keeps employees in place. According to recent
research from Robert Half, workers interviewed cited poor compensation
as the primary reason they would leave their job.
The research also shows a strong disconnect between employers
and employees on this issue. When chief financial officers
(CFOs) were asked why people quit, limited opportunities for
advancement was cited most commonly, with inadequate salary
and benefits far behind.
The two surveys were developed by Robert Half, the world’s
first and largest specialized staffing firm, and conducted by independent
research firms. The CFO survey is based on interviews
with more than 270 CFOs from a random sample of Canadian
companies. The workers survey includes responses from more
than 400 employees 18 years of age and older who work in an office
environment in Canada.
CFOs were asked, “Which one of the following is most likely
to cause good employees to quit their jobs?” Similarly, workers
were asked, “Which one of the following is most likely to cause
you to quit your job?”
Their responses:
CFOs Employees
Inadequate salary and benefits 8% 30%
Unhappiness with management 7% 24%
Limited opportunities for
advancement
41% 15%
Bored with their job 15% 15%
Overworked 9% 11%
Lack of recognition 2% 5%
Other/don’t know 18% 0%
“CFOs should be aware that salary and benefits are playing
a larger role than many executives think when it comes to employees
leaving their jobs. Talented workers with in-demand
skills who feel they aren’t being compensated fairly know they
have options, especially in the current hiring environment,” said
Greg Scileppi, president of Robert Half, International Staffing
Operations. “It is important that managers regularly benchmark
salaries to stay current with market trends. To remain competitive,
compensation levels must be at or above market standards,
especially for in-demand positions.”
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HRPATODAY.CA ❚ FEBRUARY 2015 ❚ 9