They were:-
1)     How long have you been working for your current employer for?
2)     Would you describe yourself as ‘happy’ in your current job role?
3)     If you described yourself as ‘unhappy’ what are the main factors impacting you?
 
Over 512 people responded. Here are the results. 

54 % stated that they were NOT ‘happy’ in their current job role

Reasons for the unhappiness varied – the Top 6 reasons (in order of ranking) were as follows:-

1)     Lack of progression opportunities
2)     The Business Culture
3)     Salary
4)     Your Manager
5)     Office Politics
6)     The office/site location I.e. travel time
 
So should we be surprised by these results? Not really.

I have noticed (and I’m sure most recruiters have)a growing number % of candidates over the past 12 months, deciding to move jobs, despite only being in a role for a short duration. 

Please note that periods of employment for those taking part in the survey were:-

Less than 6 months                        17%
Less than 12 months                      13%
Between 1 year to 2 years               20%
Between 2 years to 5 years             28%
5 years plus                                   22%
 
Equifax research backs this up, by highlighting that 40% of people whom voluntary left their job, do so within the 1st 6 months
 
So what impact does this staff turnover have on businesses?
 
Telegraph research in 2015, reported that staff turnover costs UK businesses £4.13 billion per year

A report carried out by Oxford Economics in 2014 revealed that replacing staff incurs the cost of £30,614 per employee. Of course, Time, Knowledge, Expertise amongst other factors is critically lost

So what can businesses do to retain staff?
 
At a recent HR forum group, ideas highlighted for the 1st 6 months of employment could include:-

-         Offering a  forum for recognition and reward
-         Giving  participation towards company common purpose, core values
-         Giving  employee a voice
-         Regular appraisals
-         Providing ongoing and defined education programme
-         Offering defined paths for advancement based upon achievement
-         Being  flexible
-         Giving and receiving  feedback
 
Meanwhile, suggestions on how you capture dissatisfaction include:-

-         Exit interviews
-         Appraisals
-         Employee engagement tools – e.g. confidential survey
-         Team away days
-         1 to 1’s
 
With 2017 only months away, I firmly believe that the staff turnover % will increase and businesses/recruiters will need to consider more honest, practical solutions in order to curb this trend. Management will need to appreciate that simply be offering extra cash will not result in staff being kept ‘happy’ – a lot more, continual work needs to be done

Smart people don’t like to live in a ‘dimly lit world of boredom’

Smart leaders don’t place people in boxes

If you place restrictions on a person’s ability to grow, they’ll leave you for someone whom won’t
Talented people have good thoughts, ideas, insights and observations. 

If you don’t listen to them – someone else will