Eight-seven percent of those surveyed rated that quality very important in their job hunt – and the result was nearly identical for both the employed and unemployed respondents.
Other priorities for people seeking employment were:
- A challenging and fulfilling position, which 84 percent of respondents identified as very important.
- Job security, rated very important by 82 percent.
- An attractive benefits package, which 74 percent of those surveyed rated very important.
Coming in lower in the rankings were questions of dollars and cents: A high base salary was very important to 66 percent, and bonuses were very important to a little more than half of those surveyed.
The survey, which also polled human resources leaders, showed a strong connection between caring for the well-being of employees and financial protection beyond the paycheck:
- 86 percent of HR leaders indicated that making sure employees and their families are taken care of should something happen to them is an important reason for providing financial protection benefits.
- 82 percent of workers agreed that being offered financial protection benefits shows that a company cares about the well-being of its employees.
“Employees, job-seekers and human resources leaders understand the importance of a caring corporate culture in recruiting and keeping a talented workforce,” said Mike Simonds, senior vice president for Unum. “Benefits play an important role in supporting that culture.”
The research is consistent with findings of a recent survey of nearly 400 human resources decision-makers commissioned by Unum in partnership with Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.
That study found that the role of corporate culture is perceived as critical to driving engagement, recruitment and retention of a quality workforce:
- An attractive benefits package and an ethical, transparent culture were more likely to be viewed as very important in attracting and retaining staff than were a high starting salary and job security.
- Being a company that cares about the well-being of its staff was twice as likely to be viewed as very important in attracting and retaining staff as providing a high base salary.
“An engaged workforce is crucial to any company’s success, especially at a time when businesses are striving to recover from the economic crisis,” Simonds said. “A supportive corporate culture and benefits that help protect the financial stability of employees help build that engagement.”
