| Attracting and Retaining Employees in a Tight Labor Market
Job satisfaction levels are hovering around 65% and of the 5,600 employees surveyed, 26% say that they plan to leave their current job within two years. This employee-favored market trend does not have a close end in sight. So how will you attract and retain qualified employees in this tight labor market?
First, it is important to understand why employees are leaving their current jobs for new opportunities. The largest causes of job dissatisfaction cited by employees were salary at 27%, followed by career advancement opportunities at 24%, and 22% of employees say they are dissatisfied with their work/life balance.
The first 2008 trend identified is larger salaries. Of the employers surveyed, 64% plan to raise salaries by 3% or more and 17% plan a 5% or higher increase. More than 50% of these employers plan to increase their initial offers, 40% plan for 3% or more and 17% anticipate increases of 5% or more. Even with healthcare costs on the rise, the next trend in 2008 is to offer more comprehensive benefit plans, with 19% of employers reporting plans to offer better health benefits in 2008.
Providing flexible work arrangements to help maintain a healthy work/life balance continues to be a growing trend as 60% of employers reported are already offering flexible schedules and another 39% reported plans to offer more flexible work arrangements in 2008. Flexibility can be maintained in many forms. Of employers surveyed, 78% plan to offer alternative schedules, such as coming in early or leaving later, 38% anticipate offering compressed work weeks, 33% plan to offer telecommuting options, and 18% plan to offer job sharing.
Finally, with 24% of employees planning to leave their current employer because of career advancement opportunities and 18% of employees believing that they were overlooked in 2007, employers are considering offering promotions. Of employers surveyed, more than one in four plans to offer more promotions and career advancement opportunities in 2008.
With the Baby Boomer generation flocking into retirement, we can expect that this employee friendly market trend will continue. Even if your company has not faced recruitment or retention issues thus far, it is wise to regularly evaluate your efforts to ensure that your workforce remains engaged.
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Despite reports of a slow economy, employers are looking to add headcount in 2008 and struggling to find qualified candidates. A hiring trends survey conducted by CareerBuilder.com reveals that 32% of employers surveyed intend to add headcount in the first quarter while only 8% intend to lower headcount. The Professional Services and Information Technology industries are leading this field with both planning to add 45% more headcount.| Issue 3 | March 2008 |
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Kathy Albarado, Helios HR – See the article from Virginia Business Magazine
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