'War for talent' surviving the credit crunch

A new survey of over 900 employees and nearly 300 employers has found that businesses across the UK are still finding it difficult to recruit and retain staff, despite the economic downturn.

The survey, part of an annual programme carried out by recruitment specialist, Ochre House, found that less than 60 per cent of respondents had been in their job less than two years and as many as 68 per cent planned to change employer within the next six months.

The most common reason cited for a move was pay (39 per cent), followed by their employer’s culture and ethics (28 per cent). 26 per cent were considering leaving their job because of a lack of training.

These figures from individuals tie in closely with the results from employers. While staff turnover rates were running around 30 per cent per annum in the 2007 poll, organisations now reported that they had jumped to as much as 42 per cent.

“Our surveys over the past five years have shown that career cycles among younger workers, the ‘Generation Y’ aged between 21 and 28, have been getting shorter all the time,” said Ochre House director, Jennie Emerson. “However we’re now seeing that this is spreading to staff of all ages as the old idea of long term loyalty to a company dies out. Organisations need to understand what really motivates their workforce and to adopt a clearly defined strategy for both recruitment and retention. This will be particularly important given the fact the survey
found most businesses optimistic about the future.”

Although over 70 per cent expected that the UK economy would grow at a slower rate in 2008, less than 10 per cent expected a recession and nearly 45 per cent predicted that their own business would expand over the course of the year.

Source: Recruitment Consultant Magazine

Posted by Recruitment Consultant Magazine