Life Sciences: Worker Preferences and Workplace Agility

KELLY GLOBAL WORKFORCE INDEX®

WORKER PREFERENCES AND WORKPLACE AGILITYLIFE SCIENCES

2Kelly Global Workforce Index®

CONTENTSTHE KELLY GLOBAL WORKFORCE INDEX 2014

3 Where do employees really like to work?

4 More than money and promotion

9 Why employer size, location, and track record all matter

13 Making the shift for work

16 New and emerging flexible models of work

18 The organizational structure that workers prefer

20 Looking in the mirror

21 How Kelly can help

The Kelly Global Workforce Index®

(KGWI) is an annual global survey

revealing opinions about work and

the workplace. Almost 230,000

people across the Americas; Europe,

the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA);

and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions

responded to the 2014 survey.

The topics covered in the 2014

KGWI survey include:

• Engaging Active and

Passive Job Seekers

• Career Development

• The Candidate Experience

from Hiring to On-boarding

• Worker Preferences and

Workplace Agility.

This fourth installment, Worker

Preferences and Workplace Agility,

canvasses the value employees attach

to key elements of their work, including

skills, flexible work arrangements, and

even the idea of socially conscious work.

Employees also give a clue as to why

they are drawn to some organizations

and not others—shedding light on why

an employer’s geographic location,

size, and management structure all

play a part in talent selection.


Understanding the features that drive

these employees to certain organizations

is vital in managing the talent mix.

While there’s no mistaking that pay is a

key driver of attraction and retention,

these workers also prioritize their

professional growth and personal

development. How a company looks and

feels also makes a difference.

The views and expectations surrounding

non-traditional work styles are also

shifting, and these can provide

employers with an edge in attracting

the best people.

Employers looking to retain current talent

might consider the trade-offs that could

hold appeal for their employees.

It is important to ensure a company’s

compensation and benefits are

competitive, but retaining workers also

involves improving work–life balance and

flexible work arrangements, and providing

employees with clear plans for their

further training and development.

Where do employees really like to work?Life sciences employees embody some of the world’s most highly skilled human

capital. They are also in high demand by leading-edge innovators.


More than money and promotionThe most attractive companies offer more than competitive pay

and benefits. They offer the opportunity to develop skills and a

clear pathway for progression. Indeed, the idea of learning new

skills at work may be worth more than higher pay and/or career

growth or advancement for many life sciences employees.


More than half (58%) of the life

sciences employees surveyed

globally said they would be prepared to

give up higher pay and/or career growth

or advancement for the opportunity to

learn new skills.

The willingness to trade off pay for skills

is more prevalent in APAC (69%) than it

is in EMEA (55%).

Certain countries stand out for

employees’ willingness to sacrifice

remuneration in order to gain skills,

notably India (82%), Portugal (74%) and,

Australia (67%).

How likely would you be to give up higher pay and/or career growth or advancement for the opportunity to learn new skills? (% “definitely would” and “would,” by country)

WILLINGNESS TO TRADE OFF PAY FOR SKILLS

GLOBAL AVERAGE: 58%

APAC AVERAGE: 69%

EMEA AVERAGE: 55%

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Skills development isn’t the only

thing important to life sciences

employees—they also value flexibility.

More than a third (35%) globally said

they would be prepared to give up

higher pay and/or career growth or

advancement for a more flexible work

schedule.

Considerably more employees in APAC

(49%) are willing to make these pay and

advancement sacrifices than those in

EMEA (28%).

How likely would you be to give up higher pay and/or career growth or advancement for a more flexible work schedule? (% “definitely would” and “would,” by country)

WILLINGNESS TO TRADE OFF PAY FOR A FLEXIBLE WORK SCHEDULE

GLOBAL AVERAGE: 35%

APAC AVERAGE: 49%

EMEA AVERAGE: 28%

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Work–life balance is also important

to life sciences employees. A

total of 53% globally say they would

be prepared to give up higher pay

and/or career growth or advancement

for a better work–life balance.

The premium on work–life balance is

considerably greater in APAC, where

67% would be likely to make such

a sacrifice, than in EMEA (50%).

How likely would you be to give up higher pay and/or career growth or advancement for a better work–life balance? (% “definitely would” and “would,” by country)

WILLINGNESS TO TRADE OFF PAY FOR WORK–LIFE BALANCE

GLOBAL AVERAGE: 53%

APAC AVERAGE: 67%

EMEA AVERAGE: 50%

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There is also a group of employees

who are attracted to work that is

socially fulfilling, and who are willing

to give up pay and/or promotional

opportunities to pursue it.

More than a quarter (27%) of life

science wokers globally said they would

be likely to give up higher pay and/

or career growth or advancement for

an opportunity to do more socially

conscious work. The proportion likely

to do so is considerably higher in APAC

(40%) than in EMEA (23%).

How likely would you be to give up higher pay and/or career growth or advancement for an opportunity to do more socially conscious work? (% “definitely would” and “would,” by country)

WILLINGNESS TO TRADE OFF PAY FOR SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS WORK

GLOBAL AVERAGE: 27%

APAC AVERAGE: 40%

EMEA AVERAGE: 23%

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Why employer size, location, and track record all matterAttracting and retaining employees goes beyond offering competitive

pay, a good work–life balance, and advancement opportunities. An

organization’s characteristics—its geographic footprint, size, type,

and record of achievement—also factor into the equation.


Globally a significant portion (40%)

of life sciences employees said

they have no preference about the

type of organization they work for—

whether it’s a global company, a national

company (operating in a single country),

or a regional company (operating in a

single region within a single country).

However, a sizable 44% would prefer

to work for a global company—almost

three times the number who would

prefer to work for a national company

(10%) or a regional company (6%).

The preference for global companies

is more pronounced in APAC

(70%) than in EMEA (49%).

What company geographic footprint would you most prefer? (%, by region)

PREFERRED EMPLOYER ORGANIZATION GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT

National company

Global company

Regional company

No preference

EMEA APAC

7%3%

20%

70%11%

7%34%

49%


When it comes to the size of

the organization, the largest

percentage (39%) of life sciences

employees globally said it doesn’t matter.

However, more than a quarter (27%) are

drawn to mid-sized companies (those

with 50–1,000 employees), and the same

percentage prefers large companies

(those with more than 1,000 employees).

Only 7% prefer small businesses

(those with less than 50 employees).

APAC employees showed a clear

preference for large companies

(43%), while in EMEA preferences

were more evenly spread.

Small businesses were the

preferred choice of just 10% in

EMEA and 5% in APAC.

What company size would you most prefer? (%, by region)

PREFERRED EMPLOYER ORGANIZATION SIZE

Large company (more than 1,000 employees)

No preference

Mid-sized company (50–1,000 employees)

Small business (less than 50 employees)

EMEA APAC

29%43%22%

5%30%25%35%

10%


When it comes to the type

of organizations that life

sicences employees like to work

for, they tend to lean toward firms

with an established presence.

While 37% globally have no preference,

40% said they want to work for a business

that is established, with some longevity.

This preference for established

companies is notable in both

EMEA (43%) and APAC (39%).

Fortune 100 or Fortune 500 companies

are only preferred by 12% in EMEA,

but by a much stronger 36% in APAC.

Start-up firms are preferred by only

8% in EMEA and 4% in APAC.

What type of company would you most prefer to work for? (%, by region)

PREFERRED EMPLOYER ORGANIZATION TYPE

No preference

Established company with longevity

Fortune 100 or Fortune 500 company

Start-up company/micropreneur

EMEA APAC

39%4%

20%

36%43%

8%37%

12%


Making the shift for workIs it too much to ask employees to travel to find the right work?

Apparently not—a surprising number of workers are ready to relocate,

often considerable distances, in order to secure the work they want.


Among life sciences employees,

there is a relatively high degree

of labor mobility, with a total of 75%

globally saying that they would be

ready to move for the right job: 18%

to another continent; 17% to another

state, region or province; 16% to

another city or town; 12% within the

same country, district or province

and 12% to another country.

Only 19% of employees surveyed

in APAC and 23% in EMEA are

not prepared to move.

How far would you be prepared to move for the right job? (%, by region)

WILLINGNESS TO MOVE FOR WORK

EMEA

APAC

GLOBAL

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%

Another country

Within the same country/district/province

Another city/town

Another state/region/province

Another continent

Not willing to move


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THE MIDDLEEAST

AFRICASOUTHAMERICA

THE ASIA-PACIFICREGION

DON'TKNOW

NORTHAMERICA

EUROPE

EMEA

APAC

GLOBAL

Among life sciences employees,

Europe stands out as the

destination of choice, cited by more

than a third (37%) of respondents,

followed by North America (25%).

Asia-Pacific region attracted only 9%,

followed by South America (4%), and

Africa and the Middle East (both 2%).

EMEA workers gravitated toward

their own continent (44%), while

those in APAC also predominantly

chose Europe (35%).

Aside from your own region, which part of the globe would you most want to work in? (%, by region)

PREFERRED REGION TO WORK


New and emerging flexible models of workVarious alternatives to the traditional form of employment have

emerged in recent years, including freelancers, temporary employees,

contract employees, independent contractors, project-based Statement

of Work contractors, and entrepreneurs and business owners.


APPEAL OF NON-TRADITIONAL EMPLOYMENT

Globally, 40% of life sciences

employees expressed an

interest in these non-traditional or

flexible employment alternatives.

Workers in APAC (45%) are more likely

to be interested in non-traditional or

flexible employment than those in

EMEA (31%).

To what degree are you interested in non-traditional or flexible employment? (% “very interested” and “interested,” by country)

GLOBAL AVERAGE: 40%

APAC AVERAGE: 45%

EMEA AVERAGE: 31%

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The organizational structure that workers preferWorkplace structures vary greatly—virtual teams, collaborative

environments with cross-functional teams, flexible arrangements,

environments with both high risks and rewards, and environments

characterised by latest technology and equipment.


IDEAL EMPLOYEE WORK ENVIRONMENT

The ideal work environment for

life sciences employees is one

that offers collaboration (68%) and

flexible work arrangements (55%).

These workers also want exposure to

the latest technologies and equipment

(51%), a culture of innovation

(48%) and virtual teams (36%).

Fewer workers are attracted to

highly individualized structures with

limited teamwork (15%), competitive

environments with both high risks

and rewards (19%), and traditional

work arrangements (24%).

By region, flexible work arrangements

are more popular in APAC (60%) than

in EMEA (46%). Virtual teams and

competitive environments with high

risks and rewards are more attractive

to those in APAC than in EMEA.

Your ideal work environment would include which of the following features? (%, multiple responses allowed, by region)

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EMEA

APAC

GLOBAL

Highly individualized, limited teamwork and collaboration

Competitive, where rewards and risks are high

Traditional work arrangements, 9–5 schedules

Traditional hierarchical structure

Rapid pace with constant change

Matrix structure

Virtual teams

Culture of innovation and creativity

Exposure to latest technologies and equipment

Flexible arrangements, remote work, flexible schedules/hours

Highly collaborative environment (cross-functional teams)


It is important for organizations to

understand the attributes that are

attractive to prospective employees.

Firms need to be able to assess their

relative appeal as an employer, and then

use this information to determine their

recruitment and retention strategies.

The KGWI shows that organization type,

size, location, and managerial structure all

carry weight when employees are deciding

where to work, and have a direct bearing on

remuneration and other benefits on offer.

Most candidates might not appreciate

these features from the outside, and

many organizations don’t use them as

a selling point.

Firms with less appeal to employees

may need to offer a premium, while the

most sought after companies can probably

afford to be less generous than the market

as a whole.

A culture that is collaborative, creative,

team-oriented, and focused on leading-

edge technologies may well be a strong

point of difference.

There are certain things that employers can

do to better understand and leverage their

position in the market:

• Conduct an employee “attraction” test

that will identify the organization’s appeal

in terms of its type, size, location, track

record, and organizational structure.

• Undertake an audit of the organization’s

“non-work” features that could be

attractive to employees and candidates,

and consider how they could be

embedded in the employment offering.

CONCLUSION

Looking in the mirror• Encourage employees to identify

particular interests, such as lifestyle,

family, recreational, or other pursuits that

may provide an opportunity to inject

flexibility into the work schedule.

• Harness the organization’s positive

features to extend the recruiting footprint

to cities, regions, or even countries where

in-demand skills may be more plentiful.


How Kelly can helpKelly Services aims to understand the factors that drive the recruitment process

and deliver insights that help every employer source the best talent.

Understanding employees’ varying

motivations and employers’ needs

is a critical element in this. We know

that just as employers have different

requirements, employees bring their

own values, styles, and requirements.

One of the important aspects highlighted

by the KGWI survey is the diversity

of views among talent regarding the

most desirable places to work, as well

as distinct preferences for particular

organizational styles and types.

Kelly’s global presence, knowledge, and

experience helps employers to better

appreciate these traits and enables

organizations and employees to achieve

the optimum fit.

Knowledge of local markets, industry

sectors, and skills availability is crucial.

In a world where talent is increasingly

mobile, it is more important than ever

to reach into markets and regions where

skills can be harnessed to maximize

productivity and profitability.

22Kelly Global Workforce Index® 22Kelly Global Workforce Index™ EXIT

An Equal Opportunity Employer. © 2014 Kelly Services

kellyservices.com

ABOUT THE KELLY GLOBAL WORKFORCE INDEX

The KGWI is an annual global survey revealing opinions about work and the workplace.

Approximately 230,000 people across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions responded

to the survey. The survey was conducted online by RDA Group on behalf of Kelly Services.

ABOUT KELLY SERVICES®

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) is a leader in providing workforce solutions.

Kelly® offers a comprehensive array of outsourcing and consulting services as well as

world-class staffing on a temporary, temporary-to-hire, and direct-hire basis. Serving clients

around the globe, Kelly provided employment to approximately 540,000 employees in 2013.

Revenue in 2013 was $5.4 billion. Visit kellyservices.com and connect with us on Facebook,

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