More than half of bosses worried about losing staff - survey

An improving economy means more than half of bosses are worried about losing staff this year. Photo / Martin Sykes

Employees looking to improve career prospects should keep a close eye on the job market in 2012.

A survey of 200 New Zealand chief financial officers and financial directors showed more than half were concerned about losing staff as New Zealand's economic growth prospects were looking to improve.

The survey, which was performed by Robert Half ranked different incentives used by hiring managers to attract and retain staff.

Salary and bonuses remain the preferred choice by managers, with over 30 per cent of those surveyed using it as the main incentive for hiring staff. Career development opportunities such as subsidised training or education rated second, being used by 24 per cent of those surveyed.

Robert Half general manager Megan Alexander said the survey highlighted staff retention as a top priority for companies.

"Optimism in the job market leads to opportunities for employees and you can guarantee they'll be watching the job market closely," she said.

The survey also showed 61 per cent of CFO's and financial directors found it difficult to hire skilled finance professionals.

The average time taken to fill a finance or accounting vacancy at management level was seven weeks, while a staff level role took an average of 5.7 weeks.

Alexander said managers should ensure remuneration and reward for top performers was in line with what the market was offering, but warned that was not where the efforts should stop.

"Staff turnover is expensive as well as disruptive, but there are some simple measures managers can take to improve staff satisfaction", she said.

"Many issues boil down to problems with people, structure or process. It's good for managers to regularly review each of these areas and be honest and transparent about what needs to change."

Alexander added that with high business confidence and the current difficulties in finding skilled staff, retention of employees should be given top priority by companies.