What goes down must come back up and employers may not be ready for the next shift in the market:
Your top performers may be leaving.
Americans are cranky, disengaged, and looking for something better. Suffering from overwork and being witness to those who had to clean out their office cubes; these employees are the survivors of recession. Clearly the data points to the summer of discontentment in the office.
THE NUMBERS?
In January of 2012, Career Builder surveyed 3,900 leaders across the country. 32% of employers reported top performers left their organization and 39% are concerned they’ll lose top employees in 2013. On the flip side, Career Builder surveyed employees and found while most workers (66%) say they are generally satisfied with their job, 25% say they will change jobs in 2013 or 2014. Clearly they are fishing!
In 2012, CNN reported 84% of American workers were fed up and looking for something better. A recent survey by Manpower confirmed the figure: 84% are uploading their resumes and looking for another position outside of their prospective companies.
Execunet.com conducted a survey of 1,627 executives and discovered that more than 90% would take a recruiter’s call. Not good for employers!
WHY IS EVERYONE UNHAPPY AT WORK?
Surveys found workers feel stagnant and unable to move ahead and were overall disappointed in their leadership. Half of those surveyed reported a promotion was the most effective way of retaining them in their current positions. Equally, 43% stated that support and appreciation from the higher ups was as important as increased compensation.
It’s clear that losing highly talented employees is becoming more probable as the market continues to recover. The workplace is about to enter a time soon when highly productive employees have an advantage. Until then, disgruntled workers need to be prepared to compete for the opportunities that exist and position themselves for the upcoming bull market.
Furthermore, Right Management commented:
- Over 50% of people recruiters into an organization will leave within two years.
- One in four new hires will leave within six months.
- Nearly 70% of organizations report staff turnover has a negative financial impact due to the cost of hire per person.
- Nearly 70% of organizations report having difficulties in replacing staff.
- Approximately 50% of organizations experience regular problems with employee retention.
RETENTION STRATEGY
So what can employers do to retain their best and brightest?
- If you have promising talent that needs a little polishing, offer internal mentors to retain them and show a commitment to their growth. Women in leadership positions in particular, often long for a mentor at the top.
- Many employees don’t realize a career path may exist within their own organization. Show them the way.
- In post recession, it’s important at review time to get a grasp on what employees are doing beyond their pay grad. Consider a promotion if loyalty and time in the saddle have provided a skill upgrade. While it might cost a few more dollars, it’s cheaper than losing a key employee to the competitor and retraining someone new.
- Making an existing employee feel heard is the cheapest and easiest way to retain. Ask for referrals from them. Birds of a feather, flock together.
Lastly, retention isn’t a strategy put in place after an organization is in triage mode. It begins with identifying the high and low performers – now in post recession, and coming up with a plan. Being proactive is important, and frankly this isn’t something that should be saddled with the HR Department. Line managers and executives alike need to be involved, in conjunction with recruiting.
There is no argument that solid business goals are critical to any businesses success. However, people ultimately drive the success. Don’t let your best walk away because you weren’t paying attention.
Bio:
Elizabeth Lions is the Author of I Quit! Working For You Isn’t Working For Me and has a private career coaching practice helping engineers and IT professionals. For more about her work or to contact her directly, please visit www.elizabethlions.com