Seventy-five percent of all employees are looking for new jobs, according to the 2004 U.S. Job Recovery and Retention Survey released by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and CareerJournal.com. Thirty-eight percent of the human resource (HR) professionals surveyed said they have noticed an increase in turnover since the beginning of 2004. Employee turnover creates the need for aggressive employee retention programs because you don't want your best employees seeking new jobs.
Employees say they are looking for new jobs for three reasons.
- Better compensation — 43 percent
- Better career opportunities — 32 percent
- Dissatisfaction with the opportunities at their current job — 22 percent
“During a poor economy, employees tend to stay put,” says Tony Lee, editor in chief, CareerJournal.com. “As the economy improves, interest in jumping ship rises dramatically among employees who are ready to earn more money and find enhanced opportunities for advancement.”
“With so many employees already looking for jobs," said Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR, president and CEO of SHRM, "the expertise of HR professionals is extremely important right now in retaining an organization’s top talent.”
“HR professionals understand that it is far more expensive to recruit new employees than it is to retain them. Their efforts to create a positive work environment where employees are engaged, feel appreciated and see opportunities for career growth will help to decrease turnover rates.”
Employee Retention and Job Search Activity
In the survey, employees were also asked about their job search activity. The survey found that 35 percent of employees are actively job searching; 40 percent are passively job searching. Nearly half of the employed survey respondents said they would step up their job search efforts as the job market improves. HR professionals believe that as employees leave their organization for new opportunities, most of the resignations will come from non-management (69 percent) and middle-management (19 percent) positions.
According to the SHRM press release, a quarter of the HR professionals surveyed said they are very concerned about voluntary resignations. HR professionals participating in the survey believe the top three threats to employee retention are these:- Better compensation elsewhere — 25 percent,
- Job burnout — 24 percent and
- Dissatisfaction with the potential for career development at the current organization — 19 percent.
Read on for retention tips and tools
