Why employees look for a new job

Why employees look for a new job

Lack of career progression is the main reason candidates decide to change jobs, according to research conducted by specialist recruiter Hays. Over 600 candidates of Hays where asked why they were looking for a new job. The ten most common reasons given were:

1. Lack of career progression
2. Seeking new challenges
3. Salary
4. Lack of training or development opportunities
5. Poor management
6. Too much stress
7. Travel time too great
8. Seeking to specialise in a particular field
9. Poor work/life balance
10. Office politics.

“In a candidate-tight market retention is more important than ever,” said Jason Walker, General Manager of Hays New Zealand. “By identifying the common reasons people decide to look for a new job, businesses can focus on preventative strategies to work towards keeping their existing talent.

“As our survey shows, a big part of this is giving staff room to grow and develop their careers within the business. Linked to this is the importance of providing new challenges to staff as many candidates surveyed said they felt stale or bored in their current job and felt they were not going anywhere in their role.

“A lack of training or development opportunities was also a high factor, ahead of work/life balance and stress. Poor management was also a key reason for leaving a current job, with lack of direction, little empowerment or lack of recognition from management common complaints,” said Jason.

“Unsurprisingly, salary was a high factor although this survey makes it clear salary is not the main motivating factor for candidates seeking to change roles.

“Certain sector-specific reasons for leaving a current employer also emerged. For example, in the IT sector technically challenging roles were the key priority, followed by lack of career development, salary then training,” Jason said.

612 candidates were surveyed.

Hays is Australasia’s leading specialist recruitment consultancy, with 29 offices strategically placed around Australia and New Zealand, including offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to service local employers and job seekers.

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