Aon: Workers More Committed To Their Company

February 23, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The level of commitment that workers feel to their employers increased last year as employees responded positively to increases in human resources' effectiveness in serving employee needs.

The Workforce Commitment Index (WCI) was up 1.6 points to 99.7 in 2003, from 98.1 the previous year. In addition to going higher, 2003’s numbers also represent the third straight year the measure was above the all-time low of 97.0 at the dawning of 2001, according to a news release issued by Aon Consulting.

Strong marks were given to employers’ benefits packages.Over three-quarters (77%) of employees give their organization a positive rating with respect to their efforts to provide pay and benefits that truly meet employees’ needs. Additionally, 73% of workers feel there is a link between job performance and pay, an improvement from 72% that said the same last year.

Further, companies are doing a better job of getting the word out about these programs as benefits communications has improved since 2001 with 81% (versus 79% in 2001) feeling that it meets their expectations.

Yet even with improvements, employees see deficiency. The number of respondents that said their current benefit package cover their needs fell to 76% in 2003, compared to 78% in 2002. Fortunately for employers, nearly half of employees (48%) think their benefits package is the same as that offered by other organizations, while 17% think it is inferior.

Overall though, employees were happy with their companies and foresaw a long future with the same company. Sixty-eight percent of workers intend to stay with their current employer for the next several years, up slightly from 67% in 2002. Further, nearly half (47%) would remain even if offered a similar job with slightly higher pay elsewhere, the same number as last year. Any opportunity though would have to be a good one, as more than half (53%) of the survey pool said they would recommend their organization as one of the best places to work in the community.

Ostensibly, over two-thirds of American workers feel a responsibility to their organization and their supervisor, are proud of the products and services that they provide and intend to stay with the organization, at least for a while. Yet, even with these good vibrations, fewer than half (49%) said they trust the leaders of their organization or would resist an opportunity with an outside firm.

Any opportunity though would have to be a good one, as more than half (53%) of the survey pool said they would recommend their organization as one of the best places to work in the community.

The level of commitment also carries over to how employees view their posts. Seven out of 10 American workers view their current work situation as a career compared to only 30% that say it is “just a job.” Additionally, if they were to leave their current job, only 27% of those workers would look to seek employment in another line of work.

Aon Consulting conducted 3,571 phone interviews during April and May 2003, from a randomly selected national sample. The Workforce Commitment Index is calculated based on the responses to ten questions in the categories of: productivity, pride, retention, responsibility and trust. More information about the study is available by contacting Dave Van de Walle at 312-381-5028 .

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