It’s easy to assume a comfortable salary is enough to sway your employees into staying loyal. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that that a pay check was the predominant driving force behind any job application. Today, it takes a lot more to keep your top talent satisfied at work. Of course, salary still plays a fundamental role in securing and retaining your staff. However, if that’s all that is keeping them from throwing in the towel, you might be in trouble.

Shifts in the global workforce have created a split between how organisations manage employee performance and what employees say is crucial to their own individual development. Now more than ever, staff demand accountability, job clarity and regular feedback and communication. Above all, they seek purpose. They seek a role in which their contribution is valued; one which challenges them and inspires them to expand their skill-set to benefit themselves as well as the business. They want to know that their efforts have made a difference.

In their search for happiness, employees expect their managers to be committed to their personal development and become actively involved in their journey to the top. If an organisation is unable to map out a development plan or highlight their purpose of employment, it will most likely notice a high 0-2 year turnover. Therefore, emotional intelligence (EQ) has become an essential quality of an effective leader in today’s working environment. Successful managers will understand that there’s more to job satisfaction than a competitive salary and a swanky office and instead focus on the career ambitions of the people that shape their business.