Resignation rates are increasing as organisations fail to meet the needs of their staff, new research suggests.
A survey of 22,480 individuals shows that despite an increase in earnings, UK executives have become frustrated by company pay structures and lack job satisfaction.
The 2006 National Management Salary Survey, published by the Chartered Management Institute and Remuneration Economics, reveals a labour turnover rate of 11.9%, compared to 7.6% for the previous year.
Resignations stand at 4.6% for managers, compared to 3% in the 2005 survey, and requests for internal moves have climbed to 4.9%, from a low of 1.4% 12 months ago.
This desire to change jobs comes despite employers offering an average increase in earnings of 5.7% – the highest annual increase since 2002. Over the last year, 79% of organisations have given bonus payments to their staff, compared to 70% in the previous year.
This wide-scale distribution represents a return to the heights of 2002 – the last time more than three-quarters of UK employers made bonus payments to all executives. The average managers’ bonus is now worth 10.9% of their salary.
However, despite the increase in earnings, UK employers are finding that financial rewards alone are no longer enough. More than half of organisations reported retention problems in the 2006 survey.
Many organisations cited dissatisfaction with the working environment, frustrations with company pay structures and a lack of skills or development opportunities as reasons for this problem.
Jo Causon, director, marketing and corporate affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, said: “The reported increase in resignations is a matter for concern, especially as organisations continue to identify skills gaps in specialist areas.
“Of course, a certain amount of labour turnover can be a good thing, but if the current trend is allowed to continue, it could breed dangerous levels of uncertainty and impact on the strategic development of UK organisations.”
