Benefits December 8, 2000

Improving Communication Said Key To Retention

December 8, 2000 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Improving internal communication is the most critical factor in keeping qualified employees, according to a new survey.
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Nearly 3/4 (71%) of human resource professionals cited the need for improved communication – almost twice as many as a year ago. 

Recruiting good people and retaining high performers were far and away the two most critical challenges facing American employers, according to a new survey of some 4,000 human resource professionals. 

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In fact, when asked to choose the two major issues facing their organizations, 79% chose recruitment and 51% chose retention.

Value Added
 
The survey found that nearly half (41%) said not feeling valued was a significant factor in employee departures, tying for first place on the list with compensation.  Nearly a third (32%) noted that a poor relationship with a manager has a key impact, according to KnowledgePoint, who conducted the survey.

Survey respondents said the biggest problems in hiring qualified candidates were:

  • 34% – poorly defined performance expectations
  • 32% – a lack of interviewing skills for hiring managers
  • 27% – poorly defined position descriptions

This year 14% of respondents are using interns, roughly double the 8% reported in 1999.

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