World at Work
March 25, 2008

More than 80% of business executives consider employee retention a top priority, according to a new survey.

The Employment Turnover Trends survey by TalentKeepers Inc. finds that 81% of executives consider employee retention an important business priority, a staggering jump from the 41% in 2007 who considered employee retention a top priority. The survey gathers turnover data from major U.S.-based organizations representing every major industry. More than 600 organizations participated in the survey.  

This opens up the dialogue about retention strategies that can be measured in relation to performance and financial goals.

“It’s great that executives finally view retention as not only an HR priority, but as an important business priority that affects company performance and the bottom line,” comments Craig Taylor, Employee Turnover Trends research author and vice president of client services for TalentKeepers. “This opens up the dialogue about retention strategies that can be measured in relation to performance and financial goals.”

Although there is a growing concern for employee retention as a business priority, executives seem to be more optimistic about their own situation than they are about others in their industry—expressing an “it won’t happen to me” mentality. Almost 40% of respondents believe that turnover will increase within their industry, but only 21% expect their own turnover to worsen.