In recent years, the labor market has become increasingly smaller as the job market continues to widen. Employers in search of the most qualified workers are fighting tooth and nail with their competitors. As soon as bright employees are hired, companies are then struggling to keep these individuals in their positions and not lose them to another company.
Today’s workers are also not committed to companies the way they once were, nor are employers celebrating dedication with token gifts for long years of service. In fact, a vast majority of the labor market population will have four to six job changes within a specific profession over the course of their career. This is no longer a stigma; it is the norm and can be extremely costly for employers when factoring in lost productivity and replacement costs.
To combat these trends, employers need to get creative and employ recruiting and retaining techniques to attract and keep quality employees for the long haul. According to a recent WorldatWork report cited in Employee Benefit News, offering health coverage, telecommuting options and vacation benefits helped employers retain solid employees for the long haul. In addition, on-site day care, flextime and retirement plans were also very popular with typical employees when determining where they should work, according to the report.
Beyond these incentives, employers need to tailor their benefits packages more specifically to their employees. According to Employee Benefits News, younger workers desire more feedback from management and the ability to constantly discuss where they can move and advance. On the contrary, more seasoned workers value work/family balance assistance, flexible scheduling and extra time off. To retain good employees of all generations, employers should consider their employee populations and then create benefit packages accordingly.
