No matter what industry you're in, you've most likely witnessed a fairly significant decrease in turnover during the past 18 months.
This is hardly surprising news, given that employees typically grow extremely resistant to change during turbulent times.
Last September, Accenture surveyed employed middle managers to find out how many would be open to making a job change.
Nearly half (46 percent) of respondents said that making a change right now was just too risky.
Further, only 13 percent of respondents said they were actively looking for a new job - a decrease from 30 percent in 2005, when the survey was last conducted.
And that was in September when things undoubtedly looked brighter than they do today.
One of the biggest risks an employer can take in today's climate - especially if you're in an industry that often has trouble attracting talent or faces ongoing labor shortages - is to avoid developing a plan for how you're going to hang on to your employees when things get better.
First, don't assume that your estimation of employee satisfaction is necessarily accurate.
According to Salary.
com's fourth annual 2008/2009 Employee Satisfaction and Retention Survey, today's employers often overestimate the "degree of extremely satisfied employees nearly 2 to 1.
" More specifically, respondents estimated that 77 percent of their employees were at least "somewhat satisfied," yet only 65 percent of employees reported this level of satisfaction with their jobs.
All this points to challenges down the road.
Because the majority of employers believe they don't have to think about turnover right now, they are doing less to address employee concerns than they do when times are better.
However, failing to address internal issues could turn out to be far more costly in the long run because when things do improve you may find that some of your best and brightest jump at new opportunities.
Instead, consider investing in the development of an effective retention program, one that begins with primary research, before turnover becomes a significant problem for your organization.
Contact a CKR Interactive account manager for more information and tips.
This is hardly surprising news, given that employees typically grow extremely resistant to change during turbulent times.
Last September, Accenture surveyed employed middle managers to find out how many would be open to making a job change.
Nearly half (46 percent) of respondents said that making a change right now was just too risky.
Further, only 13 percent of respondents said they were actively looking for a new job - a decrease from 30 percent in 2005, when the survey was last conducted.
And that was in September when things undoubtedly looked brighter than they do today.
One of the biggest risks an employer can take in today's climate - especially if you're in an industry that often has trouble attracting talent or faces ongoing labor shortages - is to avoid developing a plan for how you're going to hang on to your employees when things get better.
First, don't assume that your estimation of employee satisfaction is necessarily accurate.
According to Salary.
com's fourth annual 2008/2009 Employee Satisfaction and Retention Survey, today's employers often overestimate the "degree of extremely satisfied employees nearly 2 to 1.
" More specifically, respondents estimated that 77 percent of their employees were at least "somewhat satisfied," yet only 65 percent of employees reported this level of satisfaction with their jobs.
All this points to challenges down the road.
Because the majority of employers believe they don't have to think about turnover right now, they are doing less to address employee concerns than they do when times are better.
However, failing to address internal issues could turn out to be far more costly in the long run because when things do improve you may find that some of your best and brightest jump at new opportunities.
Instead, consider investing in the development of an effective retention program, one that begins with primary research, before turnover becomes a significant problem for your organization.
Contact a CKR Interactive account manager for more information and tips.
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