Western Australia is the only state in Australia where financial incentives overshadow flexible work options with almost 75 per cent of employers highlighting financial rewards as the key staff engagement tool, according to the latest Hudson Report released today.
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Employees in Western Australia are reaping the benefits of the booming state economy with almost 75% of employers highlighting financial rewards as the key staff engagement tool, according to the latest Hudson Report: HR Insights released by Hudson, a world leading provider of recruitment, talent management and managed services.
The survey of 384 Western Australian employers shows Western Australia is the only state in Australia where financial incentives overshadow flexible work options. Mentoring and high potential programs were highlighted as the two least popular engagement initiatives among employers in the west.
"Many employers look to the eastern states to fulfill their increasing need for quality staff and find they have to offer above average financial incentives in order to fulfill the expectations of people making the move west," Mr Tomich said.
"The nature of work in Western Australia is not always conducive to flexible work options. For example many roles on offer within the mining industry are regulated by structured work patterns where an employee might be working a set roster system of three weeks on, one week off with little flexibility during this period."
"The fact that flexible work options rated strongly against financial rewards is pleasing and suggests employers understand the fact that money alone is not a silver bullet to staff engagement."
"Even though the Western Australian business community is in a strong state at the moment and the use of financial incentives to engage people is considered effective, it is important that employers continue to work at implementing a range of initiatives to ensure they are able to hold on to good staff over the long-term.
" Mr Tomich says best practice strategies for improving engagement and retention levels within a business involve a multi-faceted approach that focuses on core elements including flexible work options, financial incentives, management support, job fit and career opportunities.
"Retention is the number one issue facing employers across the board today. An effective staff engagement program can prevent retention becoming a problem by ensuring staff needs are being addressed," Mr Tomich said.
"The cost of losing good staff outweighs the cost of implementing initiatives such as these. Ultimately it's about providing an employment proposition that encourages employees to stay."
