Employee retention is—or at least should be—a major goal of companies in any industry. Not only is top talent hard to come by in general, but it costs money to recruit, hire, and retrain new employees.
Source: Gustavo Frazao / Shutterstock
That’s why some data should be concerning for businesses. Roughly 37% of employees are casually or actively looking for a new job, and 36% aren’t looking but would consider a new position if it presented itself. These stats are based on Ceridian’s 2018 Pulse of Talent survey of 2,000 North American employees.
This trend is even stronger with younger employees; 18- to 34-year-olds are looking at a higher rate than those who are 35 to 50+.
Gaining an Edge Through Training and Development
According to the Ceridian report, the answer to keeping these employees around may be better training and succession planning: Employees aged 34 or younger are looking for a challenge, recognition, and compensation.
Unfortunately, the report also finds that most companies are lacking when it comes to succession planning, with 27% of survey respondents saying there is a program in place at their organization, 14% saying there is but training is done informally, and 59% saying they are unaware of any such program.
Companies that aren’t offering opportunities for advancement are missing out on a potentially cost-effective means of retaining top talent, the Ceridian report suggests. The report found that 83% of survey respondents say that company-offered training is a factor in job happiness.
This means that companies that can implement such programs efficiently could have a means by which to entice new employees and retain existing employees as compared to costly options like salary or benefit increases.
Keeping Talent on Board
It’s natural for employees to consider other job options from time to time, but employers can help mitigate the risks of those looking to roam by keeping them happy in their current role. And for companies that can’t necessarily afford big salary or benefit increases, offering better training and room for advancement might be a great alternative.
Now is a good time to begin thinking about your training (and employee retention) strategy for 2019. What will you do to keep at-risk employees on board?