This just in from CCH: “A recent survey on employee performance and retention conducted by Express Employment Professionals found that employers are more disconnected than ever from their workforce. Express surveyed nearly 18,000 current and former clients across North America and found that leaders are wrestling with three key areas of performance, including connecting with employees, conducting effective performance reviews and understanding shifting generational values. With 91 percent of employees willing to switch jobs and 55 percent of leaders not expecting it, according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder, the effects could be detrimental. Furthermore, Express’ survey revealed that 77 percent of leaders say retention was not a problem or only a slight problem in 2011.”
Not only are employees open to new job opportunities, but they are actively seeking them. So why are employers so disconnected? Denial can be very comforting, until such time as you are forced to face the issues at hand. Wouldn’t it be better to find the route cause of the problem today, so that you can prevent this from happening in your organization? When I work with my clients on creating a more engaged workforce, we usually begin with focus groups. We find that personal interactions allow us to quickly test our assumptions and to drill down to the core issues impacting engagement. We then develop a plan and work towards swift implementation.
When employers lose touch with their employees, they can see a rise in turnover, dissatisfied workers, decreased morale, lost productivity, and diminished profitability. To determine the real cost of employee turnover in your organization we suggest you read Would You Like Dessert With That Turnover. Clearly there is a cost to employee turnover and preventive care is usually much less expensive. You can turn this situation around, but only if you are willing to take off your blinders.
