There’s no getting around the fact that product team members have been under pressure to do more with less for a sustained period of time. While the pressure brought on by the great recession continues to recede – it has done so at a measured pace.
In our latest market research we wanted to hone in on some hard numbers and quantify satisfaction levels on today’s product teams. As a product management consulting and training organization we are currently witnessing fewer layoffs and more emphasis on hiring “the right” talent to augment existing product team members. While hiring has been slower than most organizations would desire – momentum has been picking up.
So just how satisfied are today’s product team members?
How Would You Characterize Your Satisfaction?
That was the question we asked in our most recent survey. Here’s what you told us.
Overall, those responding to the survey are satisfied with their positions. More than 63% indicate that they
are either satisfied (48.3%) or extremely satisfied (14.8%) in their work. An additional 24.6% experience
some level of satisfaction with their positions. Only 12.3% responded that they are dissatisfied with their
jobs, including 5.1% who are actively looking for employment in another organization.
Conclusion
Our findings show that the majority of product team members are pretty content with the status quo. Only 17.4% of respondents indicate that they are dissatisfied with their current positions and just 5.1% are actively looking to exit.
While these numbers are relatively low, turnover on product teams has a significant impact on performance. On-boarding newly minted product team members takes time and detracts from performance as other team members divert time from doing their specific job to bring new a team member up to speed. We know from past studies that only 4% of organizations indicate that they have a best practice bringing new product team members into the fold! The majority of organizations continue to rely upon the sink or swim approach.
Given the facts, what is your organization doing to retain the 17.4% of product team members who are at risk? Only 5.1% are actively looking but there is another 12.3% waiting for the right opportunity.
Advancing the Profession of Product Management™
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