As talent poaching becomes rampant: Employee retention remains major concern of Phl firms

MANILA, Philippines - Thirty-one percent of Filipino employees are likely to leave their places of employment within two years of getting hired.

This was the finding made by the 2012 Global Workforce Study conducted by Towers Watson, a leading global professional services company that offers solutions in the areas of employee benefits, talent management, and risk and capital management.

Results of the online survey that was conducted last February and March were released to reporters in Makati City recently. The Towers Watson Global Workforce Study 2012 covers more than 32,000 employees selected from research panels that represent the populations of full-time employees working in large and mid-size organizations across a range of industries in 29 markets around the world.

In the Philippines, 1,000 employees from Metro Manila, Cebu City and other areas where there are export processing zones took part in the online survey, said Rafael Cepeda, Towers Watson’s Practice Leader.

Cepeda said the survey was conducted to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the attitudes and concerns of workers around the globe. The survey also intends to offer companies and their leadership teams insights into the elements of the work environment that help shape employee behavior and performance.

According to Cepeda, employee retention is one of the primary concerns facing  globally competitive organizations today as talent poaching becomes rampant.

Cepeda said organizations understand the critical role employee engagement plays in business performance. In the Philippines, he said, 87 percent of employees believe strongly in the goals of their organizations and are proud to work for their organizations while 92 percent of employees are willing to put in extra effort beyond what is expected to help their organization succeed.

“Organizations with highly engaged employees are more likely to leave their current employers within the next two years as compared to only 28 percent globally. Stress balance and workload are the primary drivers of sustainable engagement. Survey results show that most Filipinos are able to manage work-related stress,” said Cepeda.

“The first two years of employment is critical in employee retention because this is when commitment and engagement happens,” he added.

Of those surveyed in the Philippines, 15 percent belong to the education sector, government/public sector (14 percent), others (11 percent), manufacturing (9 percent), telecommunications (7 percent),  professional and business services (6 percent), banking (5 percent), high technology (4 percent), health care/hospitals (4 percent) anf food and beverage (3 percent).

Results of the survey also showed that 45 percent of Filipino employees consider job security as the most important reason in joining their current work organization as compared to 38 percent globally. The survey also showed that 47 percent of Filipino employees consider base salary as the most important reason why they would leave their present employment as compared to 42 percent globally.

“Organizations should move from the perception that the rewards are what are printed on the pay slips and other government mandated incentives,” said Cepeda.

According to Cepeda, Filipino employees need to know the value of their “total rewards” package. This includes pay and benefits, merit increases and career and training programs.

“While the focus is very much still on monetary rewards and clear sense of career progression, communicating with employees in the value of their total rewards package is critical to retaining and sustaining employee engagement on a long-term basis. Employers can do a better job of communicating that learning and career advancement opportunities, flexible work schedules, leave entitlements and other perks are also a part of the employment deal,” Cepeda added.