Figure 2. Response distribution for the ESI

o a degree; o at least 3 years of industry-relevant experience; o induction training of more than 1 week; o frequent learning/development activities. These four questionnaire items formed the ESI and the response distribution for each of the ESI items is shown in Figure 2.

The percentage of jobs at the establishment that require:

Base: all respondents (n = 3801)

Figure 2 shows that, for example, 9 percent of establishments surveyed reported that none of the jobs in the establishment required more than 3 years of industry-relevant experience. This 9 percent would be relatively low-skill establishments, such as in the retail or food and beverage sectors.

The final ESI was obtained by first averaging each of the four questionnaire items, then standardising the scores to obtain a sample mean of 0 and standard deviation of 1.

2.3 Making better use of skills: employees’ discretionary effort In examining employees’ performance, we adopted discretionary effort as an indicator of how gainfully employees in the establishments are applying their skills in their jobs. Discretionary effort may be described as the voluntary effort that employees contribute to the organisation above and beyond what is required to keep the job and remain functional (Lloyd, 2008). While closely linked to positive behaviours such as motivation and commitment, discretionary effort reflects, beyond merely the intention to act, how these behaviours translate into tangible value for the organisation through accomplished work; it is the value add work or effort by employees that is not and cannot be contractually enforced (Lloyd, 2008). For employees to contribute such effort, it may be expected that employees should possess the relevant technical and cognitive skills to perform their tasks effectively, and should be given sufficient room to exercise their autonomy and decision-making capacities (Lloyd, 2008).

0% 1-20% 21-40% 41-60% 61-80% 81-99% 100%

At least 3 years industry-relevant experience 9% 24% 21% 20% 14% 6%6%

Frequent learning/development activities 16% 27% 21% 18% 9%3%7%

Induction training of more than a week 25% 25% 14% 14% 6%3% 14%

At least a degree holder 23% 35% 16% 11% 8%5%3%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

2.3.1 A measure of employees’ performance: Discretionary Effort Index