Job market to test employee loyalty

As the economy improves, employees who have stayed at jobs out of fear of not being able to find other work may be plotting to free themselves, according to a survey by outsourcing company Accenture and statements from other job market experts.

Forty percent of U.S. workers plan to leave their current job within the next five years, according to a survey of 508 full-time workers conducted by Accenture. The primary reason the respondents said would make them stay was more money (71 percent), followed by opportunities for advancement (58 percent) and a different boss or management team (30 percent).

Twenty-seven percent said they would stay if they received better or more training, but more than half (51 percent) of all respondents said that their employers are not providing training to expand their skills.

Accenture's survey results mirrored recent findings for the second quarter 2004 Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which showed that employers in many of the world's largest economies expect to pick up the hiring pace in the second quarter of 2004.

The findings also are reflected in AOL survey results that showed that 58 percent of 5,000 respondents said they "may" or "definitely" will start a job search if the economy improves.

The Department of Labor reported March 18 that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 336,000 for the previous week, the lowest weekly level in more than three years.

The combination of steadily decreasing unemployment claims, increased hiring and consumer confidence could lead workers to search for greener pastures elsewhere, experts said.

"I believe that retention is going to be the No. 1 issue for HR folks in 2004," said Sharon Koss, SPHR, president of Koss Management Consulting in Seattle. Numbers of job applicants combined with corporate financial cutbacks have meant that programs such as employee surveys, development and training have been neglected, said Koss. "Employers have been less careful about how they treat their employees because they know there is a ready supply out there."

COPYRIGHT 2004 Society for Human Resource Management
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