A job applicant’s ability to work as a team was rated highly as a pre-employment requirement by respondents who took part in our recent survey: Are you investing in team culture?
However, the survey also showed only three per cent of respondents consider their employers have invested in a formal approach or process towards teamwork on a daily basis, suggesting a significant number of managers are paying lip-service to team-working as a fundamental component of workplace culture.
More than 40 per cent of our survey participants said workshops, courses or seminars that embrace the spirit of team-working are offered to staff, but only on an annual basis.
Public recognition and reward was reported as a rare occurrence by 25 per cent of respondents, while almost a third said opportunities for brain-storming and working together were either rare or non-existent.
Research shows that managers who invest time and effort in fostering a positive and supportive team culture frequently demonstrate higher levels of employee retention and satisfaction.
“In 2010, employers will need to be more creative with their allocation of benefits, in light of workplace changes, such as an employee’s right to request flexible working,” said Donna Neill, Managing Consultant of Beilby's HR Consulting Division.
“Managers are encouraged to adopt a more holistic approach to employee attraction and retention by taking time to find out what their employees really want because one size definitely does not fit all.
“Gen X and Y are unlikely to be attracted by the same benefits as an a baby boomer. We are here to help clients tailor rewards and benefits to achieve higher levels of employee attraction and retention,” said Donna.
National standards for workplace culture are available in a new Australian Standard of Employment Rights document, providing employers and workers with a benchmark against which to measure the industrial relations health of their workplace.
Recently launched by The Australian Institute of Employment Rights (AIER), the Standard provides a strategic management tool in the recruitment, productivity and retention of employees. The four-page document can be viewed online (PDF: 150kb) or for more information contact AIER in Melbourne on 03 9647 9102.