Executives Report Employee Retention a Top Priority in 2008

Thursday, March 20, 2008

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More than 80 percent of business executives consider employee retention a top priority, according to the annual Employee Turnover Trends survey by TalentKeepers Inc., a researcher of employee retention.

The survey finds that 81 percent of executives consider employee retention an important business priority, a staggering jump from the 41 percent in 2007 who considered employee retention a top priority. The survey gathers turnover data from major U.S.-based organizations representing every major industry. This year's survey response was the largest yet, with more than 600 participating organizations.

"It's great that executives finally view retention as not only an HR priority, but as an important business priority that affects company performance and the bottom line," commented Craig Taylor, “Employee Turnover Trends” research author and vice president of client services for TalentKeepers. "This opens up the dialogue about retention strategies that can be measured in relation to performance and financial goals."

What's interesting to note is that, although there is a growing concern for employee retention as a business priority, executives seem to be more optimistic about their own situation than they are about others in their industry, expressing an "it won't happen to me" mentality. Almost 40 percent of respondents believe that turnover will increase within their industry, but only 21 percent expect their own to worsen.

This and other turnover data and statistics will be released in the “2008 Employee Turnover Trends” report, which will be available in mid-April. For a copy of the report, please contact Mara Schwartz at mschwartz@talentkeepers.com.