Dear Job Doctor,

What is the main motivator behind people changing jobs in Luxembourg?

I have collected a significant amount of evidence to comfortably answer this question; the business I manage in Luxembourg meets over 100 people every week looking to change and there are many individual reasons and some common themes too.

Although not a choice, due to the current economic climate “downsizing” or “restructuring” is now a common reason for change. I have been looking at the most common reasons for considering a change for those who have a choice are “relationship with manager”,  “better pay or conditions”, “work/life balance”, “new challenge/opportunity” and “job security”. This week I continue with “better pay or conditions”.

Luxembourg has some of the best employment conditions in the world, however discrepancies exist between industry sectors, organisations and team members; this occurs when people of equal competence and productivity regardless of tenure (seniority) are rewarded differently. If you haven’t come across “expectancy theory” I recommend reading this and I encourage managers to grasp the principles.

Understanding valance--the value the individual places on the rewards based on their needs, goals, values and sources of motivation--is the hallmark of a good manager.

From experience, many people looking to change initially consider an increase in salary their prime reason for leaving. However a skilled recruiter or coach will uncover that there are in fact more fundamental reasons, inside and outside of their employment. And on too many occasions I uncover that an employee just does not feel valued, regardless of pay. It may be surprising to some that the top retention strategies companies adopt are compensation related; when in fact there are other priorities that employees would like to have considered (please refer to my previous column, “Asking for a raise”).

During the 16 years I have been in the recruitment industry, the motivators for change have not significantly developed. As Luxembourg occupations become purely service centred, employers will rely further on their employees to differentiate their service, a higher degree of emphasis is required on creating a more satisfied workforce.

Darren Robinson is managing director of Badenoch & Clark Luxembourg, the largest staffing and recruitment firm in the Grand Duchy.

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