Employers are finding it increasingly tough to retain their staff, according to a new report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
The CIPD’s annual ‘Recruitment, Retention and Turnover’ survey revealed that 78 per cent of organisations experienced retention difficulties in 2006, compared to 69 per cent in 2005.
The research also highlighted that using initiatives such as recruiting from overseas, targeting migrant workers, and offering flexible working and training to existing staff, can go some way in addressing these problems.
However, the survey also found that, whilst 74 per cent said that flexible working has a positive impact, only 30 per cent use this initiative. Similarly, 75 per cent agreed that targeting migrant workers from EU countries was a positive step, yet only 14 per cent actively do this.
Nicola Monson, CIPD research associate and author of the report, said: “Employers will continue to struggle to find suitable candidates and keep staff turnover under control if their approach to recruitment and retention fails to take account of both business and employee needs.”
She added that employers must take a proactive approach to talent management and tap into the skills of the people wanting to contribute and progress. “Actively developing employees should not only increase the internal talent pool, in turn reducing their reliance on external candidates, but also see problems retaining staff ease due to new career opportunities.”
