This is because a return to economic growth is likely to result in a strong resurgence in recruitment activity. Many top-performing employees - who have stayed put while they weathered the worst of the recession - may therefore be looking for new opportunities.
Harvey Nash Group CEO Albert Ellis states:
As conditions improve, the retention of top talent is likely to play an increasingly important role in returning our economy to growth and confidence. [...] If 2009 was the year of remuneration realignment, 2010 could very easily become the year of talent retention.
Employers who have been forced to cut jobs in response to the recession may also face retention issues. Almost half (46.6%) of employers taking part in 2009 IRS benchmarking research on the impact of redundancies on those remaining (subscription required) say they are not confident that they are able to retain key talent during and after job-loss programmes, even though these individuals were not chosen for redundancy.
Rewarding those who remain once business conditions improve is of course one time-honoured way to boost retention among these groups.
Therefore it is arguably more important than ever to focus on getting reward decisions exactly right in 2010. Pay awards will play a key role in economic recovery (or otherwise) over the coming year. And - if the CBI/Harvey Nash research proves correct - reward will also prove a key differentiator in retention come the new year.
Consequently, pay practitioners need to ensure their decisions are informed by the most up-to-date and reliable benchmarking data, for the good of their own organisation and for the wider economy.
The XpertHR group offers a host of resources to help make informed reward decisions. These include the following (subscription required for each):
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