Firstly a big thank you for all of the people who participated in the poll and made comments it is greatly appreciated, and given the number of respondents it provides us with some interesting results.

The purpose of the poll.

The purpose of the poll was for me to take at look opinions from people who are not necessarily active job seekers and to see if this is different from my perception as a recruiter. The majority of people I speak to about such matters will naturally be active in the market.

As recruiters, an integral part of our screening process is to establish whether an individual has the right motivations to join a new employer, and that the process is as efficient as possible. When done correctly it ensures that applicants once placed are long term hires, and helps us match heir their motivations with their new position. Equally, it helps to prevent the classic counter offer and having to start the process all over again which can be costly both in real terms and in time spent.

The Result

Discussion

The most obvious conclusion is that the majority of people who voted believed that the role itself is the most critical factor, and if there is a better more suitable challenge then this may tempt them to seek a new opportunity. However it did throw up some other rather interesting points for discussion.

At the other end of the spectrum location came in as the least important factor only receiving 2 votes. Perhaps this is because for the majority of people in their careers they are not forced to, through circumstance, to work away from home, or willingly accept a position (for whatever reason) with long commute. It may be that this is not a common problem, but from my experience in the active job seeker market it plays a much greater role than what the poll suggests.

Job Security was interesting as there were no data to suggest voters between the ages of 30 and 45 were at all concerned with security with zero votes. Perhaps you younger voters are particularly susceptible to this given the amount of youth unemployment at the moment, and the media attention surrounding it. Also voters in the category of 45+ may feel that it will be harder to find alternative suitable employment. (In my opinion it is the opposite in this case, especially in Engineering). Either way it was not a great concern in the poll which is good to see.

The second most popular vote was colleagues and management. In effect the people we work with. This can also be considered to mean the culture in which we work. For employers seeking to retain the best talent (the most successful companies have lower attrition rates) then please take heed, as this is valued higher than salary and remuneration, and is firmly within the control of the organisation. I am glad to say that as a recruiter this is rarely the main driver in most professional organisations. (Although I can think of several good examples). In my opinion it is far more likely that a great working environment will keep people in place rather than attract them elsewhere, and individuals will compromise on other motivational factors.

Remuneration is king. Right? Well not really. It is important people feel valued, but this is not necessarily linked to money. People may want more money, and may consider leaving because of it. However this is the one area which is very easy for an employer to fix if there are no other underlying problems. To put it into context it only received 23% of the vote. In truth this is actually what I expected to see. If anything it is slightly higher than I anticipated.

The most popular choice is challenge. When we ask the reasons for people’s motivations for changing positions they rarely view it both a positive and negative sense. For example too much of a challenge can result in people working outside of their comfort zone, and too little results in boredom or frustration. For the most part I would agree that this confirms my own thoughts as to why individuals move on as this may be the one area that an employer has less control over if they are unable to offer promotion, or change the type of work a person is undertaking. Once this becomes apparent people heads may well be turned by another opportunity, especially if there are any other underlying factors such as the ones discussed above.

Richard Robinson is a Director of Calibre Search Ltd based in Leeds, who specialises in the recruitment of Consulting Engineering and Planning professionals.