Receive posts by emailRetention: Are Your IT Employees Staying or Leaving?
Two recently published articles focus on employee retention during this time when many in the workforce are leaving their current workplaces for greener pastures. Frustrated employees are seeking new opportunities, while disconnected employers seem unaware (in many cases) of the mass exodus.
The first article, “Retention: A Top Concern for Employers” discusses a recent survey on employee performance and retention. The survey found that employers are more disconnected than ever from their workforce. Nearly 18,000 employers across North America and found that leaders are wrestling with three key areas of performance: connecting with employees, conducting effective performance reviews and understanding shifting generational values. The survey also revealed that 77 percent of leaders say retention is not a problem or only a slight problem in 2011. This attitude is in sharp contrast to another survey conducted by CareerBuilder which revealed that 91 percent of employees are willing to switch jobs. It appears that employers are not recognizing they have a retention problem, while employees are not only open to new career opportunities, they are actively seeking them.
The survey also found that 79 percent of leaders report over half of their employees are looking to be rewarded and 68 percent say more than half of their employees are looking for more pay. However, only 17 percent of businesses have recently reinstated previous pay levels or raises.
The second article, “The Door is Opening and People are Leaving” confirms that frustrated employees are seeking new jobs in record numbers. The author cites a new survey that found one in two U.S. employees are looking to leave or have checked out on the job. Why are so many workers unsatisfied with their current employer or job? The writer provides four primary drivers shaping employees’ tolerance and expectations in the workplace.
The first driver is pay. For many, it’s been a long time since they’ve received a pay increase and employees perceive a unfairness in how they are currently paid compared to how firms are profiting. The second driver is workload. During the Great Recession, most employees were asked to take on additional work/responsibilities without additional pay. But the job market is changing and many workers are making a move if for no other reason than to lessen their workload or find a more flexible employer. Driver 3 involves the attitude of younger workers. Gen Y professionals may feel their personal freedom is threatened by restrictive social media polices, and they are unhappy with the unwillingness of many firms to allow flexible working hours. And the fourth driver is the lack of development. Most workers, at some time, want to take on new responsibilities and learn new skills. During the recession organizations cut back on training and limited development opportunities. This has resulted in frustrated and bored employees who are looking for a change.
What can employers do to improve employee retention? First, read Agile’s white paper “Four Winning Talent Strategies for the New IT.” The paper offers IT leaders four strategies that will help organizations identify, hire and retain superior performers. You should also read an earlier blog titled “An IT Staffing Solution: Retain Top Talent in 2011.” With the information provided within these two resources, you‘ll have enough information to get started on finding ways to keep your top performers satisfied so that they don’t jump the fence in search of greener grass.
