A VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS | 
Fending Off Employee Dissatisfaction: How to Retain Top Talent in a Turbulent Job Market
A number of recent reports have indicated that nearly 50% of the U.S. work force is unhappy with their current job. Amid the prospect of a recovering labor market, if this news doesn’t seriously concern you as a business owner or manager, it should. With such a high level of employee dissatisfaction, it’s a safe bet that once the job market recovers, a great number of people will “jump ship” when the opportunity is right.
The Retention Factor
If it isn’t already, retaining talent within your organization should be a top priority. But, the stakes are even higher now. Why? So much of a company’s success, its value to customers and its potential for future growth reside within its people. Keeping your most talented team members on your side is important for a number of reasons:
Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:
[reveal_quick_checkout id=”25489″ checkout_text=”Subscribing to the Self Guided Program – It’s Free!”]
About the Author
Solange Charas joined TalentScope in 2008 as the Global VP of Pre-Sales for the group. Prior to her joining TalentScope, she held several top level HR positions including CHRO of Praetorian Financial Group, SVP, Head of Human Resources for Benfield Group, and Global Head of Human Resources for Havas Advertising. In these roles she was responsible for all aspects of HR for these three organizations. Ms. Charas’ prior professional consulting experience includes many senior-level positions with companies such as Arthur Andersen, Ernst & Young LLP, and Towers Perrin. Ms. Charas served as a chairperson of the Remuneration Committee 2005 to 2009 for NASDAQ-traded Able Energy. Ms. Charas has a Masters in Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from Cornell University, a Bachelor of Arts in International Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley and a Certificate in Negotiations from Harvard University. In the fall, she will be pursuing her Doctor of Management.
Business Programs
I agree with Ms Charas: Retaining talent must be your top priority. But, one of the most important reasons was overlooked in this post. If you fail to hang onto the people you have, then you may not be able to replace them. You read that correctly. There’s a skills shortage now, and it will get a lot worse. In fact, the problem will not go away during your working life.
The size of the US population, for example, may be growing; but this is due to the influx of legal and illegal aliens. The number of indigenous citizens is shrinking. Not only that, but Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age now at the rate of about one every 20 seconds.
The time to begin retaining talent begins before the first application reaches your door. Find out how the application process works. Find out what happens if potential candidates call the HR office. You don’t want good applicants to decide not to apply because they had a bad experience with your organization.
Bruce Hoag, PhD, CPsychol
Work Psychologist
http://www.p-advantage.com