Research: The Number of Employees Looking for a Positive Work Environment Is Increasing in the Baltics
In today's job market, every employer should understand what kind of employers candidates are looking for. Stafferty conducted a study in the Baltics, interviewing people of various ages, genders, and education levels in all three countries, trying to find out what criteria candidates set for employers when looking for a job.
The survey consisted of a total of 16 questions aimed at finding out the criteria candidates put forward for potential employers. The first four questions were related to the demographic data of the survey participants, which revealed that most participants in the survey were women (almost 77 percent of respondents). The most active age group was between 25 and 34 years old – more than 43% of respondents belonged to it. Most of the participants in the survey (almost 76%) have a higher education and more than half of the participants hold a specialist position in their current workplace (more than 55% of the respondents).
The fifth question of the research was intended to find out the priorities of the people who participated in the research, so we asked them to choose the three factors that have the greatest influence on the respondents when choosing an employer from the five options provided - "competitive salary and bonuses", " opportunities for career growth and advancement", "positive company culture and work environment", " strong alignment with company mission and values” and “reputation and brand image of the company”.
The vast majority (approximately 90%) of all survey participants chose "positive company culture and work environment", but not far behind this criterion was "competitive salary and benefits" (over 87%). The third place was taken by "opportunities for career growth and advancement" (almost 70%), and the fourth place was taken by "reputation and brand image of the company" - this aspect was chosen by a little more than a third of the respondents (approximately 34%). The last place for the participants in the survey was " strong alignment with company mission and values" (over 18%).
"I have not seen a study in which the first place is not taken by the salary. Since the majority of participants were highly qualified specialists, it can be assumed that it is important for them not only to receive a salary depending on work results but also to have a positive work environment where they spend most of their time," comments Aušra Bendikaitė, General Manager of Stafferty Lithuania. "Specialists often do not have side satisfaction factors at work, so not only a hygienic salary is important to them, but also the team, a good working environment, and other factors included in the concept of a positive company culture and working environment".
"According to the interviewees, the company brand is not such an important aspect when choosing an employer. In principle, the quality of life, and the work-life balance life has become very important for employees, so specialists choose to work in a job that gives a chance for a quality personal life.
The company's values and mission stand next to the company's brand. An employee will not be happy because of the company's mission and values, so this factor is important for the employee only if those values and mission contribute to a positive work environment and company culture."
This question was followed in the survey by questions evaluating the importance, which asked to evaluate the importance of the presented factor on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 – not important, 5 – extremely important).
One such question asked to rate the importance of salary and benefits in choosing an employer on a scale of 1 to 5, as mentioned above.
None of the survey participants stated that salary and bonuses are not important to them. More than half (65%) of the survey participants chose the option "extremely important".
"Such results only prove the fact that employers should stop chasing the illusion that people work for other things," says A. Bendikaitė. "A company's environment, mission, values or image are important when competing for talents, but companies will never compete well if pay is not in line with the market."
The next question of the survey was related to career opportunities, so we asked the survey participants to assess how important career growth opportunities are to them when choosing an employer on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 - not important, 5 - extremely important).
Almost 3% of survey participants do not consider career growth opportunities when choosing an employer. More than 4% of the respondents chose this factor as "slightly important", almost 13% - as "moderately important", two fifths (40%) - as "important" and the remaining two-fifths (almost 40%) of respondents evaluated this factor assessed as "extremely important".
"The results of this question cause a kind of paradox – the survey participants rated career opportunities as the third most important aspect when choosing an employer, although it seems that it remains an important aspect," says A. Bendikaitė.
The next question was about work-life balance, which has been a hotly debated topic in the HR world lately. The survey participants were asked the question "How important is the work-life balance offered by a potential employer?" Rate the importance of this factor on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 is not important, 5 is extremely important)'.
Not a single participant in the research chose work-life balance as a "not important" or "slightly important" factor. Slightly more than 5% of survey participants rated this factor as "moderately important", slightly more than a quarter (over 28%) rated it as "important" and slightly more than two-thirds (over 66%) rated work-life balance as an "extremely important" aspect that influences when choosing an employer.
"This aspect is related to a positive company environment and culture, and the large percentage of survey participants who rated this factor as "extremely important" or "important" when choosing an employer only proves the importance of work-life balance for candidates," says A. Bendikaitė.
The next research question was about positive company culture and how important it is to candidates when choosing a potential employer. We were asked to rate this phenomenon on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 – not important, 5 – extremely important).
More than half of the survey participants (almost 57%) chose it as extremely important, and more than a third of the respondents (about 38%) chose it as an important factor when looking for a new employer. A little more than 2 percent of the respondents rated the positive company culture as moderately important, almost 2 percent - as slightly important, and a little more than half of the respondents rated the positive company culture and favorable working environment as not important factors.
"A positive company culture is about communication, work-life balance, respect, strong leadership, etc. Since the respondents assessed this aspect as the most important when choosing an employer at the beginning of the survey, such a positive assessment in this matter does not surprise me," comments A. Bendikaitė.
Another survey question asked respondents to rate a potential employer's benefits package, such as additional health insurance or additional paid vacation days, on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being unimportant, 5 being extremely important).
A little less than half of the respondents (almost 41%) rated this factor as extremely important, and a little more than a quarter (almost 28%) rated it as an important factor when choosing an employer. About a fifth (almost 19%) of the survey participants rated the additional benefits package as moderately important, almost 8% - as slightly important, and just over 4% of the respondents rated the additional benefits package as a not important aspect when choosing an employer.
"The importance of this aspect varies, so there is no clear trend as to whether it is important or not," says A. Bendikaitė. "Judging by the results of the survey, I would like to draw the attention of employers that the benefits package is not a big competitive advantage when trying to attract talent."
Next, the survey participants were asked to evaluate the company's reputation and brand image when choosing an employer on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 – not important, 5 – very important).
More than a quarter (almost 27%) of the respondents rated the company's reputation and brand image as an extremely important aspect when choosing an employer, and slightly more than a third (37%) rated it as an important factor. Another quarter of the survey participants (almost 28%) rated this aspect as moderately important, slightly more than 5% - as slightly important, and one of the 29 survey participants - as a not important factor when choosing an employer.
"It seems that there are few people who care about the reputation and brand of the employer. This was not the leading aspect determining the choice of the employer", - says A. Bendikaitė. "In principle, everyone cares about a company's brand, but it is not a factor that influences when choosing an employer."
Another survey question asked respondents to rate the company's location and commute time as factors in choosing a potential employer.
For most of the survey participants, this factor was important in one way or another: slightly more than a quarter (almost 27%) of the respondents rated the location of the workplace and travel time to and from work as extremely important, and more than a third (almost 38%) rated it as important inspector when choosing an employer. Almost 21% of the respondents rated this factor as moderately important, almost 9% - as slightly important, and slightly more than 6% - as unimportant.
"The option 'not important' was probably chosen by people who have not encountered this problem or live in a favorable place," says A. Bendikaitė. "However, the vast majority rated this factor as an important aspect, and the possibility of remote work, which is common these days, contributes to this choice. My recommendation to employers is that the location is not a critical aspect, but when planning investments in office or production premises, the location should not influence the business decision in terms of attracting employees. The poor location of the office or production facilities can be compensated for by benefits such as working from home, fuel or public transport ticket reimbursement, transportation of employees to and from work, and similar benefits.”
Another question asked in the survey was related to the still widely discussed topic of working from home. Survey participants were asked to rate how important a potential employer's remote work method is when choosing an employer, on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 - not at all important, 5 - extremely important).
Slightly more than two-fifths (over 43%) of the survey participants assessed the option of remote work as extremely important, almost 22% - as important, and just over 17% - as a moderately important aspect when choosing an employer. Remote work offered by a potential employer was slightly important to just over 11% of respondents, and an unimportant factor to almost 7%.
"Frankly speaking, this data surprised me, because we communicate with candidates every day, for whom remote work is a very important aspect when looking for an employer," says A. Bendikaitė. "Perhaps the people who rated remote work as not important are professionals whose work is related to a fixed workplace where it is not possible to work from home, or people who have children and transport them, in which case they still move so much and working from home is not a necessity for them.
In general, the job market is tight right now, so employers who do not offer remote work options are essentially missing out on about 65 percent of potential candidates. There are such recruitment projects, during which we can offer the client two to four potential candidates. But, if the client does not offer the possibility of remote work, we can present the client with only two out of four candidates, or only one out of two. Therefore, employers must accept candidates' willingness to work remotely if they want to remain competitive in today's job market.
Analyzing the survey data, I, as a manager, asked a colleague of mine who met the key demographics of the survey participants: if we set up a nice, big office with snacks, and entertainment, but canceled remote work, would she look for another job? She said yes without even thinking.”
This question was followed by another, which asked the survey participants to rate the potential employer's sustainability and social responsibility policies as a factor that determines the employer's choice and rate it on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 - not important, 5 - extremely important).
Just over 11% of survey participants rated sustainability and social responsibility policy as an important aspect when choosing an employer. More than 29% of respondents rated this aspect as extremely important and the same percentage of respondents rated it as moderately important. Almost 22% of the survey participants rated it as slightly important and a little more than a tenth (over 11%) as an unimportant aspect.
"Society is still indifferent to this aspect and has not yet matured to it," comments A. Bendikaitė. "From the point of view of recruitment, this aspect does not increase the competitiveness of the company and there are more important benefits for the candidates."
The penultimate question of the survey was designed to assess how important the reputation of the management team is when choosing an employer, on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 - not important, 5 - extremely important).
A little more than a quarter (over 28%) of the respondents considered the reputation of the management team as extremely important, and more than a third (over 35%) of the respondents - as an important factor when choosing an employer. More than 23% of survey participants rated this factor as moderately important, almost 9% - as slightly important, and slightly more than 4% - as an unimportant aspect when choosing an employer.
"Managers often create not only the company's culture but also the brand image," he says. A. Bendikaitė. "It seems that those who at the beginning of the survey rated a positive company culture as one of the most important factors when choosing an employer chose this aspect as important as well.
Those for whom the reputation of company managers is of little, or no importance perceive this aspect as part of the company's image. If we are talking about large companies with high-ranking managers, an employee who has worked in a specialist position for several years may not even see that manager, so the manager's reputation is not important to such people. In such companies, a positive company culture is usually amortized by team leaders."
The last question of the survey was hypothetical and was designed to find out what type of company the respondents would like to work for. This question had four response options from which participants could choose one: "startup", "corporation", "private business" and "government institution".
A little less than a quarter (almost 22%) of the respondents would choose a job in a startup, a job in a corporation - almost 28%, a job in a private business - almost half (47%) of the respondents, and a job in a state institution - just over 4% of the respondents.
"It seems that private business offers salaries higher than the market," A. Bendikaitė comments. "Most corporations have well-known brands because they are big and invest a lot in creating an employer image. Judging by the results of the survey, there are not many people who want to work in corporations, because when asked about the three most important aspects, few chose the image of the employer.
As for the desire to work in a private business, this type of business constitutes a large part of all business in the Baltic States. In such companies, the managers have the best conditions to passively observe, even to control the employees a little inconspicuously, and to give them the necessary attention or feedback. This is how they notice who is working well and who is not. As I mentioned, private businesses often offer above-market salaries to attract top talent.
When it comes to governmental institutions, such a small selection of this type of company is all about atmosphere. Also, specialists in public institutions earn less than in private business, do not provide flexible remote work opportunities, and do not offer many opportunities for career growth."
This survey helps to understand that there is an increase in the number of people in the Baltic countries who are looking not only for a good salary but also for a positive work culture. "Employers who want to compete in the labor market need three main aspects: hygienic salary, positive work environment, and opportunities for career growth," says A. Bendikaitė. "You are a competitive employer in the specialist market if you offer these three factors. In terms of company type, almost half of the respondents want to work in private business, which means that private business is an attractive employer because it offers the most positive company culture, the best salaries, and the best career opportunities."
