No more losses in the War for Talent: Measure, understand and increase employee satisfaction

The battle for highly skilled young people is becoming increasingly fierce. Over the next few years, it will become harder than ever for employers to recruit students and recent graduates. It therefore makes perfect sense to learn how to retain employees on a long-term basis. Which is why we give you tips on how to understand and measure employee satisfaction and, above all, how to improve it.

What exactly is employee satisfaction? 

Employee satisfaction literally describes the attitude of employees to their working environment. It is the outcome of a comparison between what they expect from their working environment, i.e. the subjective target state, and what they actually perceive it to be, i.e. the actual state. If these diverge too far, this leads to dissatisfaction.

What does Gen Z expect from employers?

Generation Z enjoys switching around. Since members of this generation and Generation Y will make up about three quarters of the workforce by 2030, employers need to become aware of what really matters to students and recent graduates. 

Our latest career barometer shows, among other things, that work-life balance is especially important for these young people. When asked about their three most important criteria, three out of five respondents named the balance between professional demands and private needs. This was second only to the criterion of working conditions, named by three out of four respondents. Salary follows some way behind that, in third place, with just 40% naming it as a decisive factor. After that came aspects such as social commitment, the image of the company, further training opportunities, diversity policy and equal opportunities.

Recognition and purpose are also significant issues. A study by Deloitte, found that a sense of being needed and recognised by others is of paramount importance to students and recent graduates. This correlates with the great desire of Gen Z to pursue a profession that is in some way meaningful. Which is by no means to be equated with "world-improving". There are many ways for employers to convey to their employees this feeling of “being needed". 

Another important factor is the positive (external) perception of the company - defined by employer branding - every bit as relevant to existing employees as to future ones. To maintain employee satisfaction levels in a positive range at all times, it is also important to embody, develop and strengthen your employer branding internally. We explain how to do this in our article on employer branding.

How to: This is how to measure employee satisfaction

There is a direct and an indirect way to measure the satisfaction of your employees.

The indirect way involves measuring parameters that can be collected without a survey. Examples include figures for sick leave, absenteeism, dismissal and the rate of employee turnover. These figures need to be collected and evaluated continuously if they are to serve as an indicator of employee satisfaction. It is important to vector out external factors that may distort the picture obtained from the general survey, e.g. the impact of a flu epidemic on the sick leave figures. With indirect measurement, the question of "why" often remains unanswered.

Direct measurement is different, as employees can be asked specifically about change requests, problems and positive aspects. The best way to accomplish this is by conducting regular, anonymous online surveys. Questionnaires make it easy to find out what matters to employees and how satisfied they are. A sound basis for adopting improvement measures to improve satisfaction levels.

Tips: How to increase employee satisfaction

You can increase the satisfaction of your own employees through a consistent and targeted approach. This works best if you know and can define the wishes and expectations of your employees in advance.

For example, if you know that it is important for Gen Z employees to feel needed, you need to ask whether your company already has a culture of appreciation and how this can be created or improved. A culture of this kind also has a positive impact on the sought after recognition factor described above: through regular constructive feedback and appreciation, employees are made aware that they are making an important contribution to the company and that this contribution is being recognised. Which in turn makes them feel needed. This creates the framework for that sense of being engaged in a meaningful activity. 

The need for a healthy work-life balance - or work-life separation - can be met in different ways. For example, you can create flexible working models that are adapted to suit the individual life situation of your employees. This not only includes flexible working hours, but also the scope for working from home office or for part-time working models. 

In conclusion, Increase employee satisfaction with sound insights

Employee satisfaction is a decisive factor and a valuable asset in the War for Talent. However, general tips on how to improve it are difficult to define because individual contexts and corporate culture influence what might constitute appropriate measures. If there is a mismatch, those measures may lack credibility and appear synthetic.

The first and most important step is therefore to listen to your employees and to identify their needs. Understanding, measuring and increasing employee satisfaction is a process involving the steps described above. It is only through knowing where weak points exist that you can optimise them in a targeted way.

So ask questions, also on a large scale, for example using the kind of online survey described above. You are then in a position to take the right individual measures to satisfy your employees and to retain them on a long-term basis.