Pay, prospects and promotion problems but employees still engaged

It's a new year but with familiar issues for employees as new research reveals growing dissatisfaction with pay, promotion and prospects. Half of those sampled
(49 per cent) felt their level of basic pay was not fair, representing a two per cent increase from last year. The study featured the views of 400,000 workers in private sector organisations and was carried out by HR consultancy ETS http://www.etsplc.com.

In addition to frustration over pay, other concerns raised by employees included:

•55% feeling that the bonus scheme in their company is unfair (up from 49%)
•40% saying that the promotion system is unfair
•46% admitting to being unhappy with their prospects for career progression / promotion

Hannah Stratford, Head of Business Psychology at ETS, explains: "Widespread dissatisfaction with basic pay isn't a huge surprise. Many companies are being cautious with budgets due to continuing economic uncertainty, which has meant pay typically not keeping up with the rate of inflation. Clearly dissatisfaction over pay isn't simply an HR issue, however concerns around lack of prospects and career progression should prompt HR intervention."

Hannah Stratford continues: "Every employee - particularly high-potentials - should have a career and targeted development plan. Whilst there may not be budget for additional training, managers should commit to acting as coaches, supporting employees with their professional development. Such an approach will require minimal investment and will provide a timely boost for employees, giving them greater clarity around how they can develop and grow as professionals. This can often work well as a mechanism for retaining top talent in the face of lack of budgets for increased salaries."

There was better news with 91 per cent of employees saying they were willing to 'go the extra mile' for their company (increase of two percent) and 80 per cent admitting they would be willing to recommend the company as a great place to work (increase of one per cent).

Hannah Stratford comments: "These are relatively modest increases in truth but both are key measures of engagement, which is particularly noteworthy given the level of dissatisfaction with pay and prospects. It could be the case that companies have taken action to resolve issues and create a better working environment for employees. We should also remind ourselves however, that pay has been shown not to be a significant driver of engagement."