Cash may still be king when it comes to attracting and retaining staff, but these days experienced professionals are expecting a whole lot more than just a competitive salary, according to a new study.

The 2014/2015 Employee Engagement Report, compiled by the Irish recruitment firm HRM Recruit, shows staff want to work for companies that not only pay them well, but also help them to develop their careers and perhaps most importantly, respect their opinions and seek to help them achieve a good work/life balance. The study is based on interviews with more than 13,000 professionals working across a large number of different disciplines including IT, sales, banking, marketing, HR, science, healthcare and engineering. It reveals that engaging sought-after professionals is considerably harder than it once was.

“The most obvious difference between this study and the one we did two years ago is that there is a lot more confidence in the market generally,” said HRM Recruit’s managing director Michael O’Leary.

“When we first undertook the research, employees were more fearful about their situation than now. This was not surprising given the state of the economy at that point.

“This time around, we have seen a more natural and intuitive response as to how people feel about the organisation that employs them. It’s obvious that for many professionals, salary is but one factor that will lead them to opt for one organisation over another,” he added.

The report looks at the three most influential and the three least important elements to winning the hearts and minds of professional talent – in terms both of recruitment and retention. It found the amount of annual leave that employees are offered ranks almost as highly as annual salary in terms of importance, regardless of the type of work.

There are subtle differences between sectors when it comes to other rewards. A car or car allowance is of huge interest to those working in sales, while possible share options rank highly with IT staff and performance bonuses are crucial to marketing professionals.

Across the board, however, basic salary, the amount of annual leave on offer and employee pension contributions tend to be the key benefits for employees in Ireland.

Other rewards, such as life assurance and healthcare packages barely register with most survey participants, according to the study findings.

“In reality, it’s not that people want more time off because they wish to work less, but more to get a better work/life balance. Professionals want their lives and work to integrate easily, but also to be able to separate them properly. One of the things that emerges from the study is that a company’s approach to flexible working is of increasing importance,” said Mr O’Leary.

In relation to retaining that talent once the right people have been recruited, the research also shows that professionals are increasingly concerned about the quality of people they work alongside and the type of leaders for whom they work. The level of respect employers show them is something that also comes across strongly in the study results.

While a company’s location and attitude towards innovation are considered important, these pale into significance when compared to the quality and reputation of an organisation’s leadership.

“How fairly I am managed, how objectively this is done and perhaps even more importantly, how much I’m listened to are issues with which staff are concerned. An important feature that emerged in the research is the need for leaders to listen to the opinions of employees. It’s not that employees expect their every thought or wish to be immediately implemented, but that they want to know that they are at least being heard,” said Mr O’Leary.

While most business people know about the exciting extras the likes of Google and Facebook give staff, it seems these have only a minor impact on recruiting and retaining staff.

“Some household names in the tech space trade on having a more casual work environment, but this isn’t something that necessarily resonates with employees. However, without question the most important question for every employee across disciplines and one that rates higher than basic salary is how an organisation shows respect for its staff,” said Mr O’Leary.

A key part of this is career development, with staff taking considerably more interest in this area than before. While access to training is key, and is something that survey respondents highlighted, performance feedback ranked more highly for most industry sectors.

“Our research shows that if you’re not investing in training and development, then you need to be aware that the people who you want to keep are probably already considering leaving for a firm that will help them bring their career along.

“Everyone wants to work for the organisation that is prepared to invest in them and give them the training support they want. This is particularly relevant in the recruitment phase where it forms a core part of winning over candidates,” said Mr O’Leary.

“One of the overwhelming things to emerge was the frequency to which people want feedback on their performance. We know that this is a very strong feature of Generation Y, in particular. They don’t just want feedback, they crave it and for very practical reasons. They consistently want to know how they can improve their work and to know what they need to do to be able to move to the next level within their firm,” he said.

One key trend to emerge from the study is for firms to carry out staff performance reviews more frequently. “Many organisations are doing these on a half-yearly or annual basis and yet most employees want this done on a quarterly basis or even more frequently. What we’ve been told is that in the absence of these reviews then there’s often a fall-off in the level of productivity and commitment.” For those organisations looking to secure top talent, another feature that comes through loud and clear from HRM Recruit’s study is frustration over how long the recruitment process usually takes.

While candidates cited the need for a good rapport with potential new managers and mentioned the need for a high level of interest to be shown in them at interviews, many were put off the idea for companies who dragged out the length of time it took to hire someone.

“Unemployment is still quite high and so there’s a perception that companies still have the upper hand but that’s not really the state of play with professional candidates. It’s as much a case of pitching to the talent as them pitching to you and so it’s important to have senior management involved in the recruitment process upfront and for them to really engage with candidates,” said Mr O’Leary.

“If you want to attract the right staff then you need to think about how long you take with the recruitment process. The number one frustration according to candidates we interviewed is the time it takes for decisions to be made. Managing the process is very important because it shows how respectful companies are of those they’re interviewing and if there’s one factor that emerges from our study above all others, it’s that respect is arguably the most essential thing that professionals want to see at all times,” he added.