Research from specialist recruiter Robert Walters has revealed that 86% of secretarial and support professionals would be prepared to change their career for the opportunity to work for a company with positive values and culture.
By comparison, when other professionals were asked the same question, just 56% said they would be willing to change profession to work for an employer with positive values and company culture. Accountancy and finance professionals were the least likely to change jobs for this reason, with just 44% of survey respondents saying that they would do so.
“Increasingly, we are seeing secretarial and support professionals who place a great deal of value on work life balance and a positive working environment,” commented Rebecca Gaden, Manager for Secretarial and Support Recruitment at Robert Walters.
“Employers who are keen to attract and retain top talent in secretarial and support roles should take note of these results. Evidently, a significant majority of professionals in these fields consider their employer’s company culture a top priority. Engaging with staff and taking their feedback into consideration in these areas will help employers to attract and retain the best secretarial and support staff.”
One way companies can aim to attract secretarial and support professionals in this way is to enter awards that recognise positive workplace values.
The research also showed that 51% of secretarial and support professionals considered it important to find an employer who had won awards for their positive workplace culture and policies when they were looking for a new job.
“Awards provide a great opportunity for companies to highlight the positive culture and values that secretarial and business support professionals value,” says Rebecca.
“In particular, employers who can highlight policies that help to ensure a good work-life balance for staff are likely to attract top talent, as are those who can point to examples of how they have created a family-friendly working culture.”
The fact that secretarial and support professionals look for these qualities in a potential employer reflects the priorities many of them have in their career.
When asked what their top career priority was, 55% of secretarial and support professionals answered that it was to work in a job that they found fulfilling and rewarding; 24% said a good work-life balance and 11% listed earning a high salary as their primary goal.
In conclusion, “secretarial and support professionals will, of course, have a diverse range of goals and ambitions,” says Rebecca. “However, employers should not ignore the importance that a rewarding job and positive culture have for a large number of professionals in the field. Employers – particularly smaller firms – may not be able to offer the highest salaries. Developing a positive and inclusive workplace culture along with implementing initiatives to promote work-life balance can give these employers an edge over competitors when looking to secure top-calibre business support professionals.”
