HR professionals and employees expect heavy turnover when the job market improves

HR professionals and employees expect heavy turnover
when the job market improves, the job recovery survey finds
employees cited better compensation and benefits
as top reasons for beginning a new job search.

The majority of HR professionals and employees agree that turnover will rise significantly once the job market improves, which both believe will most likely improve in the next year according to the latest Job Recovery Survey. The survey is produced by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and CareerJournal.com
(www.CareerJournal.com), the free executive career site of The Wall Street Journal. It includes responses from 451 HR professionals and 300 managerial or executive employees.
Eighty-three percent of employees said it was extremely likely or somewhat likely that they would actively seek new employment once the job market and economy improved. In addition, 56 %of HR professionals agreed it was extremely likely or somewhat likely that voluntary turnover would rise due to the improving economy. However, survey results also show that HR professionals have in place retention programs to address many of the issues expressed by employees, which may help to lower voluntary turnover rates as the job market improves.

HR professionals and employees also were asked whether the job market would improve in the next three months, six months, 12 months, or more than a year from now. Twenty-three percent of HR professionals and 42% of employees thought the job market would improve in the next three to six months. Forty-two percent of HR professionals and 36% of employees thought it would improve in the next year, while 34% and 22%, respectively, thought it would be more than a year.

HR professionals constantly address the reasons employees give for pursing other job opportunities, said Debra Cohen, SPHR, Ph.D., SHRM vice president of Knowledge Development. However, given the percentage of employees who plan to seek new employment opportunities, HR professionals need to place even more focus on retention efforts to ensure employers retain good, productive employees.

We''re surprised by the percentage of executive employees who say they plan to jump ship once hiring rebounds, says Tony Lee, editor in chief/general manager of CareerJournal.com. And with 56 percent of HR professionals agreeing that turnover will rise, we''re interested to see what types of retention efforts those companies launch to keep their best employees on board.

Employees cited the following three top reasons they would begin searching for a new job:
53%-better compensation and benefits
35%-dissatisfaction with potential career development
32%-ready for a new experience.
HR professionals were asked which programs or policies they use currently to help retain employees. The following three are the most common retention programs:
62%-tuition reimbursement
60%-competitive vacation and holiday benefits
59%-competitive salary

Most HR professionals (71%) in large organizations (those with more than 500 employees) thought it would be extremely likely or somewhat likely to experience an increase in voluntary turnover once the job market improves. Forty-one percent of those in small organizations (1-99 employees) said it was extremely likely or somewhat likely that there would be an increase in turnover and 53% of respondents from medium organizations (between 100 and 499) thought the same.