New research from Paychex - a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions - went directly to employees, not employers, to gain their perspective on what shapes an organization.
This research could be useful for any HR professional who wonders what the employees are thinking about benefits, retirement, pay equity, ghosting, HR technology and corporate social responsibility, etc. The survey was conducted on 750 full-time employees working in companies with 1,000 workers or fewer across the United States.
Maureen Lally - Paychex Vice President of Marketing - said:
"As businesses shift into the future of work, it's as important as ever to understand employees' workplace expectations, challenges, and requirements. While employers can implement changes from the top, employees ultimately define what the American workplace looks like. Their habits, preferences, and behaviors are what shape company culture.”
On the most complicated aspect of making annual benefit elections, of those surveyed 29 per cent said that it was keeping up with plan changes and 28 per cent stated attempting to envisage personal and family needs. Evaluating all of the providers and plan options was also cited by 28 per cent of the respondents - with 33 per cent of women stating that trying to predict personal and family needs when making benefits selections is the number one most complicated. For men, however, that appeared at 24 per cent - ranking third.
With regard to retirement savings, 51 per cent of employees feel confident in their levels but 25 per cent added the qualification that their confidence is dependent on Social Security remaining intact. As employees get older - those aged 50-65 years - their confidence in their retirement savings increases to 58 percent.
Regardless of gender, 48 per cent of employees surveyed say that at least once during their career, they have expressed verbal or written concern to their current employer that their rate of pay was not equitable to another employee with a similar role and responsibilities.
Referring to the auditing of employee pay for gender equity, 77 per cent of men and 74 per cent of women are confident that their employer is acting on this.
Of the employees surveyed, 71 per cent state that they expect their employers to give them a high level of employee self service - to enable them to complete HR tasks (such as update addresses, fill out tax forms, etc.) independently. Of these employees, 85 per cent expect that the self-service applications will be similar to the consumer apps used in their personal lives.
When questioned about leaving a current job or not reporting for a new job without informing the employer, 27 per cent of employees admitted that they had done so. In the age group 18 - 34 years, 33 per cent stated that they had ‘ghosted’; 30 per cent in the 35 - 49 years group and only 7 per cent in the 50 - 65 years of age group.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - caring about the impact the business and its employees have on things like the environment and the well-being of the local community or region - is extremely important to all employees, regardless of their age, with the lowest percentage being 90 per cent.
Laurie Zaucha - Paychex Vice President of HR and Organizational Development - stated:
"CSR is an important driver in attracting and retaining talent for companies today. More than ever before, candidates research prospective employers before applying and are looking for organizations whose values align with theirs."
