US employers are not in sync with their top-performing employees when it comes to pay, healthcare and retirement plans, a new study suggests.
Seven in 10 US top-performing workers ranked pay as one of the main reasons for leaving a company, but less than half (45%) of employers considered pay to be a major factor in the retention of staff.
The study of 262 US employers by consultancy Watson Wyatt and theWorldatWork membership association found significant differences between an employee’s priorities, and what an employer considered to be important.
One-third of high performers said limited promotion opportunities were one of the main reasons for not staying with their employer, but two-thirds (68%) of companies ranked promotion opportunities as an important retention tool.
There was also a significant gulf in US employers’ views of healthcare benefits, with almost one-quarter (22%) of top performers considering it as a main reason for leaving. But no US employers ranked healthcare benefits as a factor.
Both staff and employers were in agreement about work-life balance, however, with one-quarter ranking it as one of the top three reasons for staff leaving.
Laura Sejen, director of strategic rewards consulting at Watson Wyatt, said: “Companies that do not get the pay-benefits mix right risk losing some of their best talent.”
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