Monster: Salary Bump Key to Attracting Employees

At least that’s what happened in a new survey released Monday by the Monster online employment site and the resulting report, A Changing Landscape: The Effect of Age, Gender and Ethnicity on Career Decisions.

According to the report,78% of employees consider “a higher salary than other companies” as a reason to definitely accept a job.Both men and women rank salary highest as the single most important deal-maker, but men are more

likely than women to do so (45% versus 38%).

Meanwhile, according to a Monster news release , 46% of Caucasian employees feel that when considering job opportunities, it is very important that the company already has a diverse workforce. The survey found thattraining and growth opportunities as well as career progression are stronger motivating factors for ethnically diverse job seekers than for their Caucasian counterparts.

More specifically, 76% of minorities consider opportunities for continued training and learning to be important when evaluating a new position, versus 64% of Caucasians. Some 80% of African-Americans and 77% of Hispanics rate promotional opportunities in the company as “important” versus only 63% of Caucasians.

Why People Leave

On the negative side about motivating factors for people to leave an employer, Monster said the following are more frequently deal-breakers for women than for men:

• A long commute (62% women versus 50% men),
• Inconvenient office location (39% women versus 30% men); and
• No flexibility in work hours (41% women versus 26% men).

Difficult relationships and poor communication push people out, according to Mercer. Some 29% considered leaving because of conflicts with their boss or coworkers and 26% actually resigned for this reason. While34% considered leaving a job because they felt their work was not appreciated, 22% actually left for this reason.

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Finally, older employees, who may be anticipating life stage changes, place a greater weight on benefits and retirement plans, while younger and entry-level workers appear to view their jobs as transitional and they are willing to tolerate less desirable situations, Monster said.

“Across the survey segments, we found that salary, opportunity for work-life balance and benefits were the leading deal-makers when a seeker accepts a new job – regardless of his or her age, gender or ethnicity,” said Steve Pemberton, chief diversity officer, Monster, in the press release.

The report presents the results of an online study conducted July 10-20, 2006 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media. A total of 1,859 adult online Americans, 18 years and older – 801 men and 1058 women – participated, including: 302 African-Americans, 300 Hispanics, 302 Asian-Americans, 927 Caucasians, and 28 other Americans.

The full report is here .