With the tight labour market showing little sign of abating, employees continue to prioritise pay and job security as the most important factors in attracting and retaining them. Other than that, flexible working and a sense of purpose are also important factors to attract and keep employees in their jobs. 

Additionally, they want their employers to focus on retirement and health benefits, reflecting their concerns for long-term financial security.

These are among the key findings in a survey of more than 5,900 employees from six markets in Asia Pacific (APAC) done by global advisory, broking and solutions company WTW.

According to the survey, although only 28% of employees in APAC are looking for a new role, even those who plan to stay are open to offers. The number who are looking to leave their current employer is particularly high in markets such as Hong Kong (45%), Japan (43%) and Singapore (46%).

Pay and bonus is still key when it comes to attracting employees across all markets surveyed. They also cite factors such as job security, flexible work, career advancement and opportunities to learning new skills as the other reasons for staying with their current employers. Having a sense of purpose has also appeared in the top five attraction factors and top three retention factors in the region.

“These findings suggest that employees continue to job hunt and there’s pressure for employers to find ways to better meet their needs, particularly on issues such as wellbeing, engagement, skills development and career structure in order to tip the scales so that employees choose to stay,” said Eva Liu, Head of Strategic Development, Health & Benefits, Asia and Australasia, WTW.

“Purpose is also one of the areas that matters most to employees and features as a key factor in creating a high performing employee experience in an organisation and is associated with exceptional business results,” added Eva.  

Retirement and healthcare benefits also play an increasingly important role in employee decisions to stay or leave. In many markets in the region, the importance of health and retirement benefits as attraction and retention tools has reached a 10-year high.

The survey revealed that 85% of employees are more likely to remain with their organisations when their benefits package meets their needs. When asked to rank their top three benefits, retirement comes first or second across all six markets, reflecting their employees’ concern for long-term financial security.