I recently talked to an organization who is moving their organization from one end of the city to the opposite far end of the same area. The commuting time between the cities is about 40 minutes, and some employees would benefit and have reduced commute, others would certainly pick up longer train or car rides. I asked about turnover rates and received an answer I was not quite expecting. People who normally would have left the organization were deciding to stay and make the long commutes. For a wholesale organizational relocation, their turnover was in the low single digits. Well, I suppose this is to be expected in this economy, if you leave a job now, there is no telling when you’re going to find the next one.
This got me to thinking, not about corporate relocations, but about the state of turnover and talent in the next couple of years. Sure enough, nobody is leaving their jobs willingly. But whatever the situation is, whether it’s a long commute, someone angry over a missed promotion, or a bad manager situation, there is a large amount of talent that is unhappy and not moving. Let’s say that the average turnover rate in the U.S. is 15% per year and that it sits at 5% today (totally made up numbers – I don’t feel like doing the research). That means a full 10% of the workforce is fairly disgruntled and is in your employee population right this minute. That is a pretty big number, and it’s a lot of unhappiness.
The number is probably a lot bigger than 10%. While this is a global economic problem and most companies are proportionally impacted, negative economies tend to decrease employee engagement. The real problem is that this year you have 10% of the population that is not leaving. That does not exempt you from the additional 10% that is going to get pissed off next year and want to leave. While you might be basking in a disengaged workforce with low turnover this year, next year’s situation might change drastically.
Employees may not be leaving now, but the top talent is already scouting strong companies, identifying which are weak, and determining possible landing spots. You might be the recipient of many applicants when the economy clears, but you might be on the negative end as well. What’s going to happen next year when the economy does turn and the floodgates of people ready to leave open up? Are you ready for the mass exodus or influx? Do you even know where your company is positioned against your competition?
Don’t fool yourself – next year is going to be different for talent and talent acquisition and I don’t know if any of us have really talked about how to prepare for it.
5 responses to “Workforce Talent Retention”
Great Blog- we recently published a white paper on Pay-for-Performance and why it’s important in today’s economy for the same reasoning. I also believe there is a talented workforce pool who will be making an employer change as the market turns.
For those interested, the white paper is available at: http://www.workstreaminc.com/resource_center/campaigns/0709/lp.html
I don’t disagree that there will be some talent issues when the economy improves. You’re spot on.
But after reading your post a thought struck me – what if the people were staying not because of the economy but because the company made a change – and that change signaled that more changes were to come and it might be an indicator that the company is getting interesting. Sometimes people just want to see evidence that something is happening – that the company is making decisions and moving in a direction. Could be as simple as “Hmmm… it might be worth sticking around and see what else happens.”
[…] Workforce Talent Retention Systematic HR Monday, September 21, 2009 That means a full 10% of the workforce is fairly disgruntled and is in your employee population right this minute. While this is a global economic problem and most companies are proportionally impacted, negative economies tend to decrease employee engagement. While you might be basking in a disengaged workforce with low turnover this year, next year’s situation might change drastically. I recently talked to an organization who is moving their organization from one end of the city to the opposite far end of the same area. The commuting time between the cities is about READ MORE […]
Talent management is an ongoing process; while there must be measurable goals, these goals are attained over time in an environment that is in flux. For maximum effectiveness, a program must be not just a gateway but also a pipeline, entered by the employee when hired and exited only upon retirement.
Among the organizations with both formal and informal talent management programs, a wide variety of technologies are used to develop and monitor talent management practices (Table C.12). While employee learning management software came in first place with 37 percent response, other strategies were cited nearly as often, including asynchronous and synchronous web-based training, 360-degree feedback programs, and multi-rater feedback tools. Most solutions are internally developed, with the exception of employee learning management software and satellite broadcasts, which are externally developed and/or monitored.
Recruitment, Retention, and Talent Management Assessing Talent – a Critical Lever to Accelerate Productivity and Drive Focus in Challenging Times
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By Linda Sharkey, Paul H. Eccher
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