Greater Des Moines tops a list of 28 metro areas in the percentage of professionals who say they would leave their present position if offered a job with better pay, according to a new national survey. 

In a survey of more than 2,800 office workers and more than 300 human resources managers at U.S. companies with 20 or more employees by staffing firm OfficeTeam, a division of Robert Half, 44 percent overall said they would quit their job if they were offered one that pays better. Among 100 employees in Greater Des Moines, that figure was 54 percent — the highest of any of the metro areas. 

“We see it every day in our business,” said Kevin Erickson, regional vice president for Robert Half, who oversees the company’s Des Moines and Minneapolis offices. “We’re screening candidates who are looking to make a move or are ready to make a move for another opportunity.” 

In comparison with pay, other factors such as being bored or unchallenged at work, not feeling appreciated or seeking a higher purpose were next down the list, at 14, 12 and 8 percent of responses, respectively, among the Des Moines professionals surveyed. 

Nationally, 3.6 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs in May, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, or 212,000 more than in May 2017, which Erickson said is another statement of confidence that job seekers have in today’s market. 

In a full-employment climate in which unemployment is running below the national average and often candidates are considering multiple offers, “anecdotally I think we’re seeing pay and compensation rise.” 

Companies need to keep abreast of the labor market by regularly conducting compensation surveys, he said. “Employers need to make competitive offers,” he said. “They’ve got to take a step back and make sure that their compensation is at or above market.” 

Businesses would also do well to streamline their hiring processes, to avoid situations in which they’re “ghosted” by candidates who either fail to show up for follow-up interviews, or are even hired and then fail to show up. Employers may want to consider doing away with initial phone screenings, or to have the candidate meet with multiple interviewers for a single on-site interview. 

“The longer a candidate considers a role before they have an offer, the more confident they are to consider other offers,” he said. “So companies need to move quickly to secure the right talent for the organization.”