What do Potential Employees Value Most in a Company?


While the dollar sign tends to be the bottom line, workers are placing new importance on factors other than salary especially when deciding what companies to work for.

A new study examining factors driving employee engagement found that flexibility, corporate culture and rewarding high performance were ranked most important to cultivate happy and productive employees, according to the Q2 2013 Engagement Study commissioned by Randstad, the second largest HR services and staffing company in the world.

“While employees’ salaries are a significant factor in workplace satisfaction, employee engagement is not all about financial compensation. There are many non-monetary programs employers can adopt to help improve the morale and productivity of its employee base,” said Jim Link, Managing Director at Randstad U.S.

The research also found employees tend to have mixed feelings about their supervisors.  While a majority of employees trust their managers (73%) and feel that their supervisors have their best interests in mind (67%), a majority also believe they could do a better job than their manager (53%). Furthermore, a considerable number do not feel their salary is adequate for their position or level of responsibility (38%).

The Center for American Progress estimates replacing an employee costs about one-fifth of that worker’s salary, highlighting how important it is that owners keep workers content and fulfilled in the company.

Randstad’s research also looked at the importance of company reputation in attracting new employees. Nearly all of those polled (96%) reported it would be important for their new company to have a good reputation among its employees, while nearly as many (86%) say it is important to have a good reputation in their community.

To read more about the Randstad Engagement Study and other Randstad research, visit Randstad’s Workforce360 thought leadership platform.


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