Hiring Will Get Tougher

The employment report should heighten the attention of business leaders on hiring challenges.  First, look at the tightening labor market:


Our 4.7 percent national unemployment rate is a far cry from a few years ago.

Now look at voluntary quits:


Workers feel that they have more options (which they do) and they are more willing to quite their jobs than back in 2003.  Why do workers quit?  Mostly because they are not appreciated.  "Soft compensation" will keep a lot of workers on the job, and it’s cheaper than hard compensation (money).  I’m no expert on employee retention, but I know that the time to start working on it is before it’s a critical problem–then it’s too late.  I’ve compiled a list of resources–consultants, books and articles–that might be able to help you keep employee turnover low in the tightening labor market.  View it here.

Business Implication: Get focused on employee retention NOW.