Dive Brief:

• More than half of the 1,000 workers polled in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area, said they would consider leaving their job to work at Amazon. Three-fourths of IT professionals and 60% of Millennials in the Eagle Hill Consulting survey also said they would quit to work for the tech giant. The online survey coincides with the recent announcement of an HQ2 Amazon facility heading to northern Virginia. 
• In key survey results, 71% of respondents cited a better salary as the top reason for potentially leaving their current job for Amazon, followed by more interesting work and working for a progressive company (45% each). Notably, 88% of general respondents versus 92% of IT professionals said Amazon's arrival is good for job seekers; and 83% of respondents said Amazon will positively impact the local economy, while 77% said the company’s arrival will negatively affect local traffic.
• Survey data also revealed that respondents who wouldn’t leave their jobs for Amazon said they were happy with their work, experience work-life balance, like their company’s culture and believe they are well paid. Melissa Jezior, Eagle Hill's president and CEO, said in a statement that employers who understand their workers’ satisfaction and give their workforce what it needs will be able to retain their star employees, despite Amazon’s arrival.

Dive Insight:

Amazon's selection of northern Virginia as a second-headquarter location was no accident, Shafin Moledina, Robert Half's VP and metro market manager in D.C., recently told HR Dive. He said the area is a hub for tech jobs. However, other local tech companies might not have anticipated the salary rate Amazon tech workers can command: a reported average of $150,000 a year. As the Eagle Hill poll and other surveys show, money is still the strongest motivator for job seekers.

For employers who are wondering how to compete with high-profile companies like Amazon or Google, the time to prepare for the competition is now, said Moledina. He recommended that employers review their entire hiring process, decide what they can do to speed it up and showcase their company as a great place to work. 

Company culture continues to affect an employer's ability to compete in the market. Experts are increasingly suggesting that employers complete a pay audit to close any race and gender pay gaps and ensure everyone at the organization is paid fairly. A flexible work philosophy, solid salaries and benefits that reflect what employees actually need also will help an employer be prepared when Amazon officially comes marching in.