A recent survey of over 124,000 local and overseas employees of Australia's leading companies showed employees the majority of respondents have increased their expectation of what their companies will provide more for them - and many of those employers are now delivering more in order to keep and attract the best of staff. The survey was carried out by human resources consulting firm Aon Hewitt whose Chief Executive of Talent and Rewards, Tim Powell, said this year's survey showed a new and worrying trend for employers: For the first time more organisations are exhibiting declining employee engagement than those exhibiting rising engagement. "The drivers that used to attract and retain talent - relationships with co-workers, relationships with customers and work/life balance - have now become standard expectations within the majority of organisations," says Powell.

This is not likely to come as news to anyone who is presently seeking to hire new talent as the higher expectations and more complex models of employee engagement have become increasingly common challenges faced by many employers and managers.

As unemployment drops, workers have become more confident in seeking new opportunities and so the hot question is, "What is it that makes a good employee choose to stick with a business in this competitive market?"

The survey found that the top companies on the list displayed strong common features: Senior leaders who are judged as more effective; leaders who prioritise their teams to ensure problems are solved effectively; teams who are clear about how pay is structured and how rewards are related to personal performance.

72% of senior leaders in the businesses listed in the top category of "Best Employers" were viewed by their teams as showing strong evidence of effective leadership and were cited as having skills which included:

• proper time management

• a knack for matching employees with roles to which they are best suited

• the ability to effectively motivate team members

• communication with their team members

• delivering on promises made to staff

• being able to explain the vision of the company

• clarity about how pay and rewards are determined

• recognising and rewarding exceptional behaviour

The survey shows top companies pay close attention to their employees' performance, and have simple and effective processes for realigning their performance with the company's goals whenever they move off track.
The research clearly demonstrates that a leader's accountability for and ability in improving the engagement of their teams are two key factors positively affecting the performance of employees and of companies a whole.
This approach is reflected in the comments of several executives from the top employers.
David Garmon-Jones, Managing Director, of Merck Serono says, "A lot of HR initiatives are not expensive." Listening to what people have to say and giving people choices are good examples. "It is a false economy to mess with people".
Ben Dixon, Managing Director of Millward Brown said there needs to be a clear distinction between "business financials" and "business investment" and people are definitely a key investment.

"Employees need to know what the company goals are and feel part of achieving them. The ability to keep employees satisfied with their jobs (and therefore motivated) gives them the opportunity to experience achievement." "They need to celebrate and be rewarded when things go well and understand how they impacted that result. Consistency from the senior leadership team in message and management approach ties into all of this." Jan Pacas, Hilti general manager, also said the best employees are those "who are motivated to perform beyond just their usual duties". Powell explains these companies top others because of their ability to motivate staff. "The difference is that their senior leaders have taken accountability for the engagement of their people, and persisted over time in taking action for improvement."

Being on the move all the time is draining, but the rewards make up for it. David Soul For them to perceive the advantage of defeating the enemy, they must also have their rewards. Sun Tzu I do not believe in the God of theology who rewards good and punishes evil. Albert Einstein People who create 20% of the results will begin believing they deserve 80% of the rewards. Pat Riley

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