How to retain talented employees - Deloitte survey

"As reflected in the survey, the current high unemployment rate did not in fact result in the talent surplus many predicted. Rather many executives continue to report talent shortages across key business units with organisations across the globe reporting continued concerns over elevated levels of voluntary employee turnover," says Ricky Robinson, CEO of performance agency LRMG.

"With high unemployment one would expect employees to not only be more grateful to have a job and be less demanding of their employers, but also to hang onto the security of their existing jobs or employers. Clearly this is not the case and employers need to sit up and take note," says Robinson.

Employees are becoming more valuable

He suggests that what is happening is employees are being required to multi-skill and do more. In doing so, these employees are becoming more competent and hence more valuable to their organisations, and are suddenly finding themselves more mobile. At the same time, employers are far more reticent to employ inexperienced people, albeit that they may be well educated. Hence, a further talent vacuum is developing. The talent pool has suddenly become richer but at the same time a lot shallower.

Of concern from the survey results is that employers appear to be missing the mark. "Most evident from the 2011 survey is the divergence between the attitudes and desires of employees as opposed to the talent strategies and practices currently being utilised by employers," says David Conradie, director of human capital at Deloitte Consulting.

Promotion the top retention incentive

With 65% of respondents indicating that they are considering leaving their current organisations, employers are right to be worried. Not surprisingly the top retention incentives identified by employees present a near-mirror image of departure drivers, with 'promotion/job advancement' topping the incentive list, followed by 'additional compensation', and 'additional bonuses'. 'Boosting employee support/recognition from managers' also ranked highly, indicating that companies can improve their talent retention efforts through non-financial incentives as well.

According to Robinson, a successful talent strategy should ultimately ensure that talent is aligned to the organisation, is loyal to the organisation and wants to be part of the future success of the organisation. This can be achieved by taking certain organisational environment factors into consideration. "A culture of high performance, where good performance is consistently and equitably recognised and rewarded and consequences for poor performance are clearly understood, is a good starting point," he suggests.

Another important environmental factor influencing talent retention is that of information. "Employees should know where the company is going, why they are going there and what their specific roles are in this plan. There also need to be regular and robust feedback loops ensuring ongoing alignment."