What do employees REALLY want most?

It's a question Dr. Jack Wiley, executive director of the Kenexa High Performance Institute, has spent more than 25 years researching. And on today's episode of Salary Talk, Aaron and Wendy talk to Jack about his new book "RESPECT: Delivering Results By Giving Employees What They Really Want," which was just released this week. Jack has spent more than two decades studying employee engagement surveys from more than 200,000 workers, with input from companies in more than two dozen countries. Whether it's an issue of fair pay, giving employees the recognition they've earned or reducing employee replacement costs by mitigating turnover, Jack has some great advice on why it pays to have a high RESPECT factor.

Jack Wiley is the author of RESPECT: Delivering Results By Giving Employees What They Really Want.

Asking 200,000 employees what they value most and then writing a book about it might seem silly at first. After all, workers value money first and everything else a distant second right?

Not exactly.

Dr. Jack Wiley, executive director of the Kenexa High Performance Institute and author of the brand new book "RESPECT: Delivering Results By Giving Employees What They Really Want," has researched this area extensively for nearly 30 years. And while money is mentioned by 25 percent of employees, it is clear workers value many other things in addition to the almighty paycheck. And here they are:

Recongition
Exciting Work
Security
Pay
Education and growth
Conditions
Truth

Employees want to be properly recognized, crave job security and place much importance on positive working conditions. They also desire some excitement in their job and relish new challenges. This book advocates employers meeting these criteria in the name of happier workers, an improved bottom line, reduction of costs and higher profits.

Listen to this podcast to find out what employees value, why it's important to pay attention to those values and how it can affect companies of all sizes.

Connect with Today's Guest: Discover more about Jack Wiley. You can purchase a copy of RESPECT: Delivering Results By Giving Employees What They Really Want from this link. You can also visit the Kenexa High Performance Institute to view more of Jack's work, and connect with that group on Twitter (@kenexa_khpi).