(We'll come back to Ethics again soon!)

Talent Management: A Priority

Can we avoid a repeat of 2003? As the last recession was coming to an end, the statistics on the number of disgruntled workers started to grow quarter by quarter. By the spring of 2003, one study showed that only 26% of the working population was loyal. That same study reported some other, rather staggering, findings:

• 55% of the working population was miserable and just putting in their time
• 28% of the working population was actively looking for a new job

The number one login time for many job sites was Monday morning at 9:00 a.m.

2009 was a Rough Year for Most Employers

I am sure most of us did NOT need this as a reminder! Salary increases were non-existent; many companies instituted across-the-board freezes or cuts. Bonus plans were flat. An ExecuNet 2009 Executive Job Market Intelligence Report found that a good cultural fit is second only to doing work that is enjoyable as "most important factor in keeping them engaged in their current role." Another report, the 2009 BlueSteps Executive Mobility Survey found that 75% of employed executives would likely consider a new job opportunity.

So what can be done?

There have been multiple studies published during the second half of this year that talk about what employers can be doing to engage their workforce. A few of the items that the studies seem to share in common are:

• Communicate to employees - the good AND the bad
• Connect employees to the company through public displays of values
• Emphasize the intangibles and low-cost programs
• Institute an Incentive Recovery Plan

Over the next few weeks, we will talk further about these ideas.