The One Perk Entry-Level Employees Want More Than Their Bosses

It's quite intriguing.

Business Insider

By James Kosur

Employees in the early stages of their careers want to be taught new skills, and they want to maintain those skills with continuing education.

A new survey by Robert Half Finance & Accounting has found that entry-level and mid-level employees are more focused on building new skills than their bosses. The company collected online responses from more than 2,500 finance and accounting professionals in the US.

According to the survey, 64% of finance and accounting professionals said the "chance to gain new skills is a critical consideration when making a career move."

Half of respondents also reported that they were very concerned about keeping their skills current over the next few years, while 38% said they were only "somewhat concerned" about the same level of skill building.

The company's research discovered that a higher value is placed on learning and keeping skills current for those employees who are still early in their careers.

When evaluating a new job opportunity, how important is the ability to gain new skills in that role?

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How concerned are you about keeping your skills current in the next three to five years?

Photo Credit: Business Insider

According to Paul McDonald, senior executive director for Robert Half, "Workers at every career stage want to keep their skills both current and relevant. In today's competitive hiring market, a robust professional development program can be an appealing benefit to would-be new hires."

McDonald points out that training programs also are a powerful retention tool. "Our company's research has found a lack of advancement opportunities is a top reason good employees quit, trailing only inadequate compensation," he said. "A company's best performers are often the first to leave if their employer does not provide ample training and development to help them grow professionally."

Since CFOs and other members of upper-level management have already built useful skill-sets needed to perform their jobs, it does make sense that their employees would be more eager to learn those same skills in order to quickly advance their careers.